Judgment 1548
81st Session, 1996
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 21
Extract:
The grounds for non-renewal being deterioration from 1990 in the complainant's performance and conduct, "the burden is on the Organization to show that its decision rested upon proper appraisal of the complainant's performance. [...] All the reports up to September 1990 having been satisfactory, the Organization's failure to have proper appraisal reports made since then is a flaw in the decision."
Keywords:
breach; burden of proof; conduct; contract; decision; different appraisals; flaw; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; performance report; period; procedural flaw; rating; unsatisfactory service; work appraisal;
Judgment 1546
81st Session, 1996
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 18
Extract:
"The conclusion is that he had quite sufficient warning [two written warnings in addition to oral warnings and written comments on the quality of his work] about shortcomings in his performance and the risk of non-renewal. So it is immaterial whether the earlier criticisms are the same as those on which the decision rests. Furthermore, although the Organization's warning was sufficient, it was at liberty to cite prior incidents as well."
Keywords:
conduct; contract; discretion; fixed-term; grounds; non-renewal of contract; unsatisfactory service; warning;
Judgment 1544
81st Session, 1996
United Nations Industrial Development Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 11
Extract:
"A firm line of precedent has it that though a fixed-term appointment ends automatically at the scheduled date of expiry the staff member must be told of the true grounds for non-renewal and given reasonable notice of it even if the contract does not expressly so require."
Keywords:
case law; contract; date of notification; duty to substantiate decision; fixed-term; grounds; non-renewal of contract; notice; organisation's duties;
Consideration 14
Extract:
"Reinstatement would not be appropriate in the circumstances of the case. The complainant's appointment was limited to service in Zimbabwe. From the beginning of 1993 she knew that relations with her first-level supervisor were so unsatisfactory that she could not continue to serve in that country; indeed she herself had made several requests for transfer. She could have had no expectancy of renewal of her appointment in Zimbabwe. She is, however, entitled to damages for the material and moral injury she suffered on account of the premature termination of her appointment and the failure to give her due notice of non-renewal."
Keywords:
contract; due process; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; notice; organisation's duties;
Judgment 1526
81st Session, 1996
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 3
Extract:
"An organisation owes its staff a general duty of care, and must not cause them undue hardship. A case of non-renewal is no exception. The duty may entail avoidance or reduction of injury that termination may cause [...] at least when it was not a short-term appointment, when the record of service was long, and when the official had reasonable expectations of making a career in the organisation."
Keywords:
career; contract; duration of appointment; general principle; injury; legitimate expectation; moral injury; non-renewal of contract; official; organisation's duties; respect for dignity; short-term;
Judgment 1525
81st Session, 1996
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
"The breach of due process [that tainted the decision not to renew the complainant's appointment] caused him moral injury that warrants redress. But he has sufficient redress in the award of full pay from the date of his departure without having had to provide any services in return [the Tribunal cites the case law]".
Keywords:
case law; compensation; date; decision; moral injury; non-renewal of contract; procedural flaw; reinstatement; salary;
Consideration 3
Extract:
Consulting an advisory board before the Director-General takes a decision not to extend an appointment "is no idle formality: it is supposed to afford a means of working out a fair solution. In this case it offered the hope of redeploying someone with a long record of service.Several judgments have stressed the importance of advisory boards: see for example Judgment 352 [...], under 5."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 352
Keywords:
advisory body; advisory opinion; contract; decision; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest; patere legem; procedure before the tribunal; purpose; staff member's interest;
Consideration 4
Extract:
The Director-General took a premature decision not to renew the complainant's appointment. The Tribunal holds that "for want of a valid decision to terminate his appointment, the contract between the complainant and the organization is still in force and he is entitled to payment of salary and allowances as from the purported date of termination. UNESCO must also decide whether to reinstate him. In view of his seniority his appointment would not have been bound to end if due process had been observed. In deciding whether or not to renew his contract the organization must comply with any procedural and substantive rules that are material."
Keywords:
advisory body; advisory opinion; consequence; contract; extension of contract; flaw; non-renewal of contract; procedural flaw; reinstatement;
Judgment 1494
80th Session, 1996
Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 6
Extract:
"Though the Tribunal held in [Judgment 938 under] 12 that 'a staff member cannot be separated while on sick leave', the ruling must be seen in context: it cannot apply to termination in any circumstances whatever. [...] In [that] case the defendant organisation had dismissed [a staff member] at a time when she said she was ill and had applied for sick leave. The Organisation refused to grant her the leave on the grounds that she was not ill."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 938
Keywords:
case law; contract; extension of contract; illness; international civil service principles; interpretation; non-renewal of contract; sick leave; social benefits; staff regulations and rules;
Consideration 6
Extract:
"The judgments [607 and 938 that the complainant] relies on must not be read out of context. The Tribunal was not ruling therein that someone who falls ill towards the end of his appointment should, whatever the circumstances, be entitled to sick leave, to the consequent extension beyond the date of expiry and to pay for the same term. Indeed it ruled out the idea of such extension in Judgment 157 [...]."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 157, 607, 938
Keywords:
case law; contract; extension of contract; illness; non-renewal of contract; salary; sick leave; staff regulations and rules;
Judgment 1450
79th Session, 1995
European Patent Organisation
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 23
Extract:
"[E]specially when there is not full employment, the decision not to renew a contract on expiry may cause hardship. But that is why, in keeping with precedent, the Tribunal will in each case look to the circumstances in which the decision not to renew or not to convert to permanent appointment may have come about."
Keywords:
case law; contract; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract; permanent appointment;
Judgment 1444
79th Session, 1995
Pan American Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 8
Extract:
"Termination of an appointment is a discretionary decision which the Tribunal will set aside only on limited grounds".
Keywords:
contract; discretion; executive head; judicial review; non-renewal of contract; separation from service;
Judgment 1441
79th Session, 1995
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 18
Extract:
"The complainant held a fixed-term appointment. His proven shortcomings and misconduct were undoubtedly such that the organization might have refused without further ado to extend his appointment. As the Tribunal has always acknowledged, an organisation has discretion in the matter and, as many rulings bear out, it may refuse renewal on grounds of unsatisfactory performance or misconduct: for a recent example see Judgment 1405."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 1405
Keywords:
case law; contract; discretion; fixed-term; misconduct; non-renewal of contract; unsatisfactory service;
Judgment 1432
79th Session, 1995
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 5
Extract:
Some days before the expiry of her contract the complainant's doctor prescribed a medical certificate for one month's sick leave. The complainant invokes Judgment 932 [...] which states that "a staff member cannot be separated while on sick leave" and argues that her appointment was prolonged for the duration of the sick leave. The Tribunal holds that "the effect was not to postpone the scheduled date of expiry of her contract. The fact is that she was not treated as having been on sick leave [during the period preceding the expiry of her contract]. So Judgment 938 [...] does not support her case."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 938
Keywords:
case law; contract; non-renewal of contract; separation from service; sick leave;
Judgment 1425
79th Session, 1995
European Organization for Nuclear Research
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 12
Extract:
The complainant argues that an international official who is unfit for work may be dismissed only for reasons of health. "That is beside the point because hers is not a case of dismissal. What happened was that [...] CERN refused to renew her appointment".
Keywords:
complainant; contract; health reasons; incapacity; non-renewal of contract; separation from service; sick leave; termination of employment; termination of employment for health reasons;
Judgment 1418
78th Session, 1995
Universal Postal Union
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 6
Extract:
"According to the case law a decision not to renew a staff member's appointment is discretionary and will be set aside only if taken without authority or in breach of a rule of form or of procedure, or if based on a mistake of fact or of law, or if some essential fact was overlooked, or if clearly mistaken conclusions were drawn from the facts, or if there was abuse of authority. Those criteria hold good for any discretionary decision, but in reviewing a decision not to confirm the appointment of a probationer the Tribunal will be particularly cautious; otherwise probation would fail to serve as a period of trial."
Keywords:
case law; contract; discretion; judicial review; limits; non-renewal of contract; probationary period; purpose;
Judgment 1406
78th Session, 1995
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 9
Extract:
The complainant may not validly argue that she held a contract with the organization. Although she and various officers of the WHO did sign a proposal to extend her contract, it "was never approved by the competent officers; besides, it did not purport to be a decision and was not binding upon the WHO. So there is no valid basis in law for the rights she is claiming from the organization."
Keywords:
binding character; contract; decision; effect; non-renewal of contract; proposal;
Consideration 11
Extract:
"The Tribunal dismisses [the complainant's] claims to reinstatement or payment of two years' salary and to further moral damages to cover the injury to her future financial prospects since there was nothing unlawful in the WHO's refusal to reinstate her or extend her appointment."
Keywords:
claim; contract; good faith; material damages; moral injury; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; reinstatement;
Judgment 1405
78th Session, 1995
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 6
Extract:
"Disciplinary proceedings, and the safeguards they afford, are relevant in the event of misconduct warranting disciplinary action while an official is under contract, and one possible sanction is termination of the appointment, whatever its duration may be. Disciplinary proceedings do not apply in the event of due expiry of a fixed-term appointment, when the issue is whether in the light ofpast performance the contract should be renewed. An organisation must be allowed full freedom to decide the issue without having to go through the disciplinary procedure."
Keywords:
consequence; contract; disciplinary measure; disciplinary procedure; discretion; fixed-term; misconduct; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest; safeguard;
Consideration 4
Extract:
"Precedent acknowledges an organisation's wide discretion in renewing a fixed-term appointment and its right to refuse renewal for reasons that include misconduct and unsatisfactory performance".
Keywords:
case law; contract; discretion; fixed-term; misconduct; non-renewal of contract; unsatisfactory service;
Consideration 3
Extract:
The complainant was charged with unsuitability for the international civil service and the Organization decided not to renew his appointment. "The WHO's reasons for not renewing his appointment might have warranted disciplinary proceedings [...]. Though in no way bound to take disciplinary action against him, it was of course free to take into account any evidence of behaviour that led it to believe - as it does - that he was unfit for international service."
Keywords:
conduct; contract; disciplinary procedure; fitness for international civil service; grounds; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest; staff member's duties;
Consideration 6
Extract:
"Since disciplinary proceedings are irrelevant to non-renewal of a fixed term appointment, the complainant may not properly allege hidden disciplinary action."
Keywords:
contract; disciplinary measure; disciplinary procedure; fixed-term; hidden disciplinary measure; non-renewal of contract;
Judgment 1385
78th Session, 1995
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations 12-13
Extract:
The complainant had his short-term appointment extended after a break during which he had an external collaboration contract. Under Rule 3.5 of the short-term rules whenever the appointment of a short-term official is extended by a period of less than one year so that the total continuous contractual service amounts to one year or more, the terms and conditions of a fixed-term appointment - with certain exceptions - apply. "The interruption of the complainant's appointment by the external collaboration contract was merely a device to deny him the protection of Rule 3.5 without forfeiting the benefit of his services. There being no change in the actual conditions of employment, the real intention was that he should continue to do the same work as before. [...] The external collaboration contract must be treated like any other of his short-term contracts that ensured continuity of service. So his 'total continuous contractual service' [exceeded one year] and he thus became entitled [...] to 'the terms and conditions of a fixed-term appointment'."
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: ILO SHORT-TERM RULE 3.5
Keywords:
contract; duration of appointment; enforcement; extension of contract; external collaborator; fixed-term; intention of parties; interpretation; non-renewal of contract; short-term; staff regulations and rules; successive contracts;
Judgment 1384
78th Session, 1995
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 11
Extract:
The complainant was accused of removing computer equipment from the work place. The organization accordingly decided not to renew his fixed-term appointment. After carrying out an inquiry, the regional director submitted a first report which "showed that there was at most mere suspicion that the complainant might have been involved. There was no basis on which the organization could contend that the charge of theft had been satisfactorily proved. What it did in effect was to reverse the burden of proof by expecting the complainant to show that hisconduct was 'spotless'."
Keywords:
burden of proof; conduct; contract; evidence; fixed-term; inquiry; investigation; lack of evidence; misconduct; non-renewal of contract; presumption of innocence;
Consideration 16
Extract:
The complainant was accused of removing computer equipment from the work place. For that reason the organization decided not to renew his fixed-term appointment. "The decision not to renew the complainant's contract was based on loss of confidence consequent upon the finding of misconduct. That finding was based on an error of law as to the burden of proof; rules of procedure relating to the right of defence were seriously violated; essential facts were not taken into consideration; and clearly mistaken conclusions were drawn from the facts. so the finding cannot stand, and the plea of loss of confidence which the organization based thereon must be rejected."
Keywords:
breach; burden of proof; conduct; contract; disregard of essential fact; evidence; fixed-term; misconduct; mistaken conclusion; non-renewal of contract; right to reply;
Consideration 17
Extract:
The complainant was charged with removing computer equipment from the work place but no evidence of theft was ever produced. "The decision not to renew his contract, based as it was on a finding of theft, must have seriously harmed his moral and social standing and his prospects of finding other employment."
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; misconduct; moral injury; non-renewal of contract; professional injury;
Consideration 18
Extract:
The complainant was accused of stealing computer equipment but no formal proof of this was ever given. The organization decided not to renew his fixed-term appointment on grounds of theft. The Tribunal holds that the complainant "must be put in the same position as if his contract had never terminated and be reinstated as from the date of termination up to the date of this judgment. Since his performance was good he should be granted any within-grade salary increases he would ordinarily have been entitled to. Although any indemnities or earnings from employment after termination may be deducted from the amounts due, he is entitled to the payment of interest on all arrears of pay at the rate of 8 per cent a year from the dates at which each component sum fell due. [...] He is to be granted an appointment for a period of two years starting at the date of delivery of this judgment."
Keywords:
compensation; contract; date; fixed-term; increment; interest on damages; non-renewal of contract; procedural flaw; professional injury; reckoning; reconstruction of career; reinstatement;
Consideration 15
Extract:
The complainant was accused of removing computer equipment from the work place. For that reason the organization did not renew his fixed-term contract. "There were many flaws in the procedure that the organization followed. It did not allow the complainant to be present when statements were taken from the witnesses or to question them. [...] Not only was he denied access to their statements but even their identity was concealed from him. [...] No verbatim record of the statements by the witnesses was ever produced." He never got to see the results of the investigation carried out into the matter and he was not given an opportunity to put forward any arguments in his favour. "The conclusion is that he was denied his right to defend himself before an adverse decision was taken [...]. The complainant's right of defence was seriously prejudiced."
Keywords:
conduct; contract; due process; fixed-term; flaw; inquiry; investigation; misconduct; non-renewal of contract; procedural flaw; right to reply;
Consideration 9
Extract:
"As the Tribunal has consistently affirmed - more recently, for example, in Judgment 1317 [...], under 24 and 28 - an organisation is required to give a reason for [the] non-renewal [of a fixed-term appointment]".
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 1317
Keywords:
case law; contract; decision; duty to substantiate decision; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract;
Consideration 18
Extract:
The organization accused the complainant of removing computer equipment from the work place. It decided not to renew his fixed-term appointment on the grounds of theft. "The damage to the complainant's career and reputation is so grave that nothing short of reinstatement and the grant of a further contract of employment will suffice."
Keywords:
compensation; contract; fixed-term; moral injury; non-renewal of contract; professional injury; reinstatement;
Judgment 1381
78th Session, 1995
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations 18 and 20
Extract:
During a staff meeting the complainant spoke out on issues of a personal nature. Although he then heeded an order not to raise personal matters at staff meetings, "his subsequent remarks show some defiance, even if they were not intended to threaten; by circulating the text of his statement to the staff he thwarted that ruling; and the language he used in it, and his refusal to withdraw it,only made matters worse. He was thereby guilty of misconduct likely to undermine the authority of his supervisors and to disrupt the functioning of the organization by embroiling other officials in personal disputes. [...] The organization was justified in deciding not to renew the complainant's appointment."
Keywords:
conduct; contract; fixed-term; insubordination; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest; serious misconduct; staff member's duties;
Considerations 19-20
Extract:
"As to his suitability for the international civil service, the flow of documents between him and his supervisors on matters which could easily have been dealt with by discussion and dialogue shows a deterioration in his relationswith others at work, and for that he was at least partly to blame. The many notes for the record also indicate some lack of mutual respect and trust. He got a written reprimand [...] for ignoring normal channels of communication and for threatening to ask [his government] to make an official request to the organization, but even that did not deter him. His conduct fell below the standards expected of an international civil servant. The organization was justified in deciding not to renew the complainant's appointment."
Keywords:
censure; conduct; contract; disciplinary measure; fitness for international civil service; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; serious misconduct; working relations;
Judgment 1374
77th Session, 1994
Pan American Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 11
Extract:
"Even if the reduction-in-force procedure had been properly carried out the letters [which the PAHO sent the complainants] did not give valid notice of termination. They gave the complainants only just over one month's notice [...], not the three months to which they were entitled under Rule 1050.3. For that reason too the complainants' contracts must be deemed to have been extended by implication."
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: PAHO STAFF RULE 1050.3
Keywords:
contract; flaw; intervention; non-renewal of contract; notice; procedure before the tribunal; reinstatement; staff reduction; staff regulations and rules; time limit;
Consideration 6
Extract:
According to the case law (see Judgments 469 and 1045) the reduction-in-force procedure "must be followed before, not after, notice of termination is given. In line with the rules and the case law, therefore, the notices of termination served on the complainants [...] were premature and so unlawful and without effect. For that reason [...] their contracts must be deemed to have been extended by implication."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 469, 1045
Keywords:
case law; contract; due process; flaw; non-renewal of contract; notice; procedure before the tribunal; reinstatement; staff reduction; staff regulations and rules;
Judgment 1371
77th Session, 1994
Pan American Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 15
Extract:
"The complainant not having received any valid notice under Rule 1050.3, his contract was renewed by implication and remains in force."
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: PAHO STAFF RULE 1050.3
Keywords:
contract; flaw; non-renewal of contract; notice; reinstatement; staff regulations and rules; termination of employment;
Judgment 1362
77th Session, 1994
World Intellectual Property Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 6
Extract:
"[S]ince the dispute arose out of the decision not to renew [the complainant's] two-year appointment, the organization is right as a matter of principle to refuse his claim to damages for loss of a full career. The two consecutive awards of one year's salary afford sufficient redress to someone who had a rightful expectation of renewal for no more than two years. His claims under this head fail."
Keywords:
amount; application for execution; career; compensation; contract; fixed-term; injury; legitimate expectation; non-renewal of contract;
