Practical guide to the procedure before the ILO Administrative Tribunal

This document, prepared by the Registry, contains information regarding the procedure before the Tribunal. It is based on the Registry’s practice and the Tribunal’s case law, but it cannot, in itself, be cited as a source of law before the Tribunal. It will be updated periodically to reflect changes of practice of the Registry and developments in the Tribunal’s case law.

Filing a complaint

[VIDEO]

Who can file a complaint?

  • Serving officials of the international organisations which have recognised the jurisdiction of the Tribunal (Article II(2),(5) and (6) of the Statute). The list of those organisations can be found on the Tribunal’s website.
  •  Former officials of those organisations (Article II(6)(a) of the Statute).
  • Any person on whom the official’s rights have devolved on her or his death (Article II(6)(a) of the Statute). These persons must provide a legal document issued by national authorities indicating their status as successors or heirs of the official.
  • Any other person who can show that she or he is entitled to some right under the terms of appointment of a deceased official or under provisions of the Staff Regulations on which the official could rely (Article II(6)(b) of the Statute).
  • Any other person who had entered into a contract with the International Labour Organization if the terms of the contract provide for this (Article II(4) of the Statute).
Is it necessary to be represented by a lawyer?
  • This is not compulsory. The complainant may plead her or his own case. If the complainant decides to be represented, she or he can appoint for the purpose a representative who shall be a serving or former official of an organisation which has recognised the Tribunal's jurisdiction or of the United Nations, or a member of a bar in a Member State of one of those organisations, or, with leave from the President of the Tribunal, someone who is qualified to deal with issues relating to the international civil service (Article 5(1) of the Rules). The representative must send to the Tribunal the original of the power of attorney.
What can be the subject of a complaint?
  • A complaint must concern the “non-observance, in substance or in form, of the terms of appointment […] and of such provisions of the Staff Regulations as are applicable to the case” (Article II(1) and (5) of the Statute). In other words, a complainant must allege that her or his terms of appointment, and/or certain provisions of the internal rules of the organisation that are or were applicable to her or him, have been violated by the organisation that employs or employed her or him.
  • If the complaint does not concern a violation of the kind mentioned above, it must be dismissed. This is particularly important in the case of former officials who have to relate the violation of their rights to contractual clauses or statutory norms (see, for example, Judgment 3709).
What are the time limits for filing a complaint?
  • To be receivable, a complaint must be filed within 90 days after the complainant was notified of the decision impugned or, in the case of a decision affecting a class of officials, after the decision was published. (Article VII(2) of the Statute).
  • Note that the time limit is 90 calendar days and not three months as indicated in the internal rules of certain organisations. If in doubt, always bear in mind that it is the time limit mentioned in the Statute of the Tribunal that will apply.
  • The ninety-day period begins to run on the day following the date of notification of the impugned decision (see, for example, Judgment 3708, consideration 3).
  • The relevant date for determining whether the time limit has been observed is the date of dispatch of the hard copy of the complaint (exceptionally the date of receipt at the Registry – Article 4(2) of the Rules). In case the postmark is illegible, it is a sensible precaution to register the envelope or parcel and so get a receipt from the post office. The receipt will then serve, if need be, as evidence of the date of dispatch.
  • Filing a complaint by email is not accepted and sending of an email is not valid for the purposes of the 90-day time limit.
  • The parties are usually asked to provide an electronic version of all submissions, in addition to the hard copy. However, for the purpose of determining whether a document has been filed within the specified time limit, it is always the date of dispatch of the hard copy that counts, and not that of the electronic copy that may be sent by e-mail on a different date.
  • There will be no extension of the 90-day time limit for filing a complaint. As the Tribunal stated in Judgment 3708, consideration 3: “It is not within the competence of the Tribunal to extend this period of time set forth by the Statute.” The Tribunal has also repeatedly stated that “time limits are an objective matter of fact and [the Tribunal] should not entertain a complaint filed out of time, because any other conclusion, even if founded on considerations of equity, would impair the necessary stability of the parties’ legal relations, which is the very justification for a time bar”.
Weekends and public holidays
  • When the time limit expires on a Sunday or a public holiday, it is automatically extended to the next working day (for example, with regard to Sunday, see Judgments 306, 517 and 3034, consideration 14, and with regard to public holidays, see Judgments 890, consideration 4, and 2250, consideration 8).
  • Saturday is considered to be a working day for the purpose of determining the date of filing (see Judgment 3566, considerations 3 and 4).
Is it necessary to go through the internal dispute resolution procedures before filing a complaint?

Article VII(1) of the Tribunal’s Statute states that “[a] complaint shall not be receivable unless the decision impugned is a final decision and the person concerned has exhausted such other means of redress as are open to her or him under the applicable Staff Regulations”.

In practice, this means that if the organisation concerned has established procedures for challenging administrative decisions or, more generally, for resolving disputes internally, these procedures must be followed before a complaint is filed with the Tribunal. This requirement has often been recalled in the Tribunal’s case law. In Judgment 1653, consideration 3, for example, the Tribunal stated that “where the staff regulations lay down a procedure for internal appeal it must be duly followed: there must be compliance not only with the set time limits but also with any rules of procedure in the regulations or implementing rules.” Similarly, in Judgment 3458, consideration 7, referring to several earlier judgments, the Tribunal stated that “[i]t is firm case law that a staff member is not allowed on his or her own initiative to evade the requirement that internal means of redress must be exhausted before a complaint is filed before the Tribunal”.

The Tribunal’s case law allows for very limited exceptions to this rule. For example, the following was relevantly stated in Judgment 3714, consideration 12:
“The Tribunal has established through its case law that exceptions to the requirement of Article VII, paragraph 1, of the Statute that internal remedies be exhausted will be made only in very limited circumstances, namely where staff regulations provide that the decision in question is not such as to be subject to the internal appeal procedure; where for specific reasons connected with the personal status of the complainant she or he does not have access to the internal appeal body; where there is an inordinate and inexcusable delay in the internal appeal procedure; or, lastly, where the parties have mutually agreed to forgo this requirement that internal means of redress must have been exhausted (see, in particular, Judgments 2912, consideration 6, 3397, consideration 1, and 3505, consideration 1). Moreover, the complainant bears the burden of proving that the above conditions are satisfied [...].”

As the Tribunal stated in Judgments 3621, consideration 2, 1141, consideration 17, and 2811, consideration 11, “the purpose of the requirement that internal means of redress be exhausted is not only to ensure that staff members do actually avail themselves of any opportunities they may have within an organisation for obtaining redress before filing a complaint with the Tribunal, but also to enable the Tribunal, in the event that a staff member lodges a complaint, to have at its disposal a file supplemented by information from the records of the internal appeal procedure.”

Can a complaint be filed with the Tribunal before a final decision on the appeal has been taken?

As indicated above, one of the cases in which the Tribunal may exceptionally waive the requirement that internal remedies must be exhausted concerns the situation where there is an “inordinate and inexcusable delay” in the internal appeal procedure. Whether a delay can be considered “inordinate and inexcusable” depends on the particular circumstances of each case. The Tribunal has stated that an argument based on an inordinate and inexcusable delay may be accepted provided that “a complainant shows that the requirement to exhaust the internal remedies has had the effect of paralysing the exercise of her or his rights. It is only then that she or he is permitted to come directly to the Tribunal where the competent bodies are not able to determine an internal appeal within a reasonable time, depending on the circumstances. A complainant can make use of this possibility only where he has done his utmost, to no avail, to accelerate the internal procedure and where the circumstances show that the appeal body was not able to reach a decision within a reasonable time (see, for example, Judgments 1486, under 11, 1674, under 6(b), and 2039, under 4 and 6(b), and the cases cited therein).” (See Judgment 3558, consideration 9.)

What if the organization simply does not respond to a claim from an official?

Article VII(3) of the Statute states that “[w]here the Administration fails to take a decision upon any claim of an official within sixty days from the notification of the claim to it”, a complaint can be filed directly with the Tribunal.

This provision concerns the situation where an official submits a claim or request to the organisation, and there is no response whatsoever from the organisation during the following 60-day period. The Tribunal’s case law makes it clear that the “decision” to which Article VII(3) refers does not mean a “final decision” on the claim. If the organisation responds to the claim in some way, by forwarding it to the competent authority, for example, that step in itself constitutes a “decision” on the claim within the meaning of Article VII(3) of the Statute, and in that case the official cannot file a complaint directly with the Tribunal (see, for example, Judgments 3975, consideration 5, 3889, consideration 3, and 3428, consideration 18).

How to file a complaint?

The filing of a complaint involves, at least, filing a fully completed Complaint form, dated and signed by hand, together with a copy of the impugned decision, and, if applicable, a power of attorney executed in favour of the person who signed the Complaint form, if it was not signed by the complainant personally.

Complaint form [VIDEO]
  • The Complaint form is available for download from the web site of the Tribunal. It is available in Word (expandable) and pdf formats. Complainants should follow the instructions given on the Complaint form.
  • Point 3(a)(i) and (ii) deal with the date of the impugned decision and the date of receipt by the complainant. Fill in both fields even if the date is the same. The impugned decision must be identified in the Complaint form (see Judgment 3856, consideration 3).
  • Point 3(b) deals with the situation in which the organisation has failed to take a decision on a claim (Article VII(3) of the Statute). The date to be entered is the date on which the claim was submitted to the Administration.
  • For point 4, see the explanation in the margin. In particular, this box should not contain arguments but only claims for relief addressed to the Tribunal. If the list of claims for relief is longer than the space provided in pdf format, please use the Word version of the Complaint form instead, so that the relief claimed will appear on the form itself and not as a separate list appended to the Complaint form.
  • In point 5 (oral proceedings) the complainant must tick one of the two boxes and must indicate, if applicable, the names of witnesses.
  • Signature:
          • All six copies must be signed by hand. The signature must not be photocopied, because by signing the Complaint forms the complainant (or her/his representative) certifies that the copies are true copies (Article 6(1)(d) of the Rules).
          • The date indicated beside the signature cannot be a later date than the date of dispatch.
          • If the Complaint form is corrected, the date on the corrected form must be the same as on the form submitted initially.
          • If the Complaint forms are signed by a representative, the original of the power of attorney in English or French must be included (Article 5(2) of the Rules).

  • A list of annexes must be provided and the details indicated on the list (date, addressee, etc.) must correspond to what appears on the annexes themselves.
  • If several complainants wish to file complaints simultaneously, each of them must file six copies of an individual Complaint form.
  • A complaint can only impugn one final decision (see Judgment 111, consideration 1).
Brief [VIDEO]

The brief must state the facts of the case and the pleas (Article 6(1)(b) of the Rules). Each argument raised must be expressly stated in the brief submitted to the Tribunal, including those which may have been raised previously in the internal appeal procedure. It is not sufficient to simply refer to arguments in other documents. The Tribunal’s case law is clear on this point:

          • Judgment 2264, consideration 3a: “In his written submissions [to the Tribunal] the complainant refers in part to explanations he provided in other documents. Under Article 6(1)(b) of the Rules of the Tribunal, the arguments of fact and law must appear in the complaint itself (supplemented, if need be, by the rejoinder). Those arguments may not consist of a mere reference to other documents, since this would be contrary to the provisions of the Rules and would not enable the Tribunal and the other party to apprehend the complainant's pleas with sufficient ease and clarity. Consequently, the complainant's references are acceptable only as illustrations, but not as an extension of the arguments contained in the complaint.” (See also Judgments 3692, consideration 4, and 3434, consideration 5.)

            • Judgment 3619, consideration 20: “The complainant’s arguments on these issues involved no more than a very brief tabulation of the conclusions of the [Internal Appeals Committee] which was said to be ‘incorporated by reference’ into the complainant’s legal brief and a ‘[maintenance] of [the] argumentation as presented during the internal appeal procedure’. This is an entirely unacceptable way of presenting an argument to the Tribunal and creates the real risk that the Tribunal will not appreciate the arguments advanced (see, for example, Judgments 3434, under 5, 2264, under 3(a), and 3538, under 5). The Tribunal will thus focus on the conclusions of the [Internal Appeals Committee] favourable to the complainant.”

Similarly, it is not acceptable to simply refer to arguments or documents presented in other complaints pending before the Tribunal. It cannot be assumed that the complaints will be joined, or that they will be examined by the same judges at the same session. Consequently, there is no guarantee that material contained in other case files will be before the Tribunal when it examines a particular complaint.

The brief must not exceed 25 pages of A4 size paper, using normal margins, Times New Roman font size 12, and with line spacing of 1.5 lines (Annex 1 to the Rules). It should have at least two main parts. One part will be a narrative account of the dispute, including references to the relevant items of evidence. The other will set out the complainant's pleas, again with references to annexes (supporting documents). All the other annexes should be cited in the brief. Every text cited in the brief should be provided as an annex.

Few complaints are likely to push forward the frontiers of case law and most will raise issues of law of a kind that the Tribunal has already ruled on. A knowledge of precedent may help in determining whether a suit is worth pursuing and, if so, how to plead. The Registry maintains in English and in French a database on the case law known as Triblex. There is no fee. Anyone considering bringing a case to the Tribunal is advised to consult Triblex before submitting a complaint.

It is advisable to indicate in a separate section of the brief all procedural requests (for joinder, for the production of documents, or for hearings, for example), preferably at the beginning of the brief.

The language of the brief must be the same as that used in the Complaint form (English or French) (Article 6(4) of the Rules).

It is advisable to quantify any damages claimed. For material damages, details of how the amount claimed has been calculated, with supporting documents (such as payslips and contracts), will assist the Tribunal, and indeed the defendant, in considering the claim. For moral damages, the complainant should explain the basis for such a claim, as this may not always be obvious.

There is no charge for filing a complaint, but a complainant may incur costs for the services of counsel, photocopies, typing and so on and may enter a claim for costs under point 4(a) of the Complaint form. An unsuccessful complainant will ordinarily get no costs. A successful one may be awarded whatever sum the Tribunal thinks fit in the circumstances and the sum will not necessarily be as much as claimed.

Several complainants who file their complaint at the same time and wish to rely on the same pleadings, may file a single brief (accompanied by common annexes) but it cannot be assumed that their complaints will be automatically joined. The Tribunal will rule on the joinder at the time when it examines the complaints during a session.

Annexes (supporting documents) [VIDEO]

The complainant should append to the brief the original or a certified copy or transcript of any item of evidence adduced in support of her or his statements and arguments stated in the brief.

• Annexes should be properly labelled, using either numbers or letters.
• They should be collated, in other words, arranged in the correct order as indicated in the list of annexes. The Registry cannot be expected to organise the submissions on behalf of the parties.
• In the interest of protecting the environment, it is strongly recommended to provide double-sided photocopies.
• Hypertext links (electronic links to documents available on the internet) are not acceptable; any document relied upon must be printed and appended to the brief.
• All documents/copies must be legible.
• All documents in languages other than French and English must be translated (Article 6(1)(c) of the Rules). It is not necessary for the translation to be prepared by an official translator; anyone can make a translation, including the complainant, but the translation must be true to the original (with no comments being added). If only part of a document is translated, the non-translated parts of the original document should be deleted or redacted accordingly.

To avoid requests for additional documents from the Tribunal, complainants are advised to include always in the annexes a copy of the initial request submitted to the Administration and a copy of the internal appeal.

Correction of complaints

Article 6(2) of the Rules provides that if the Registrar of the Tribunal is not satisfied that the complaint meets the requirements of the Rules, she or he shall call upon the complainant or the complainant's representative to correct it and may where appropriate return the papers for the purpose.

Corrections are to be limited to what is requested by the Registry. If the corrections are not satisfactory, additional corrections may be required.

The normal deadline for corrections pursuant to Article 6(2) is 30 days, but it can also be less than 30 days (see Judgment 3716). The President of the Tribunal has instructed the Registrar that the deadline of 30 days should not be extended, except in exceptional circumstances that are duly explained by the complainant.

The time limit starts on the day following the date of receipt of the Registrar’s letter setting it. The date of receipt is the date entered in the certificate of delivery (the orange card which the postal services will return to the Registry) or the date of an official email sent by the Registry. The time limit expires at the end of the last of the days allotted; so the envelope or parcel containing the submissions must be sent to the Registry at no later date.

Complaints that are not corrected within the deadline are considered by the Tribunal to be out of time. This was clearly stated in Judgment 3556: “The legal effect of a request by the Registrar under Article 6(2) of the Tribunal’s Rules is to extend the period in which a complainant can correct a complaint (which is only a complaint in form but not in substance) that, though filed in time, did not comply with the Tribunal’s Rules and, in particular, Article 6(1). Unless the complaint is corrected (that is, rendered conformable with the Rules) within the extended period or any further extended period notified by the Registrar, then it remains deficient. The unremedied deficiency existing at the time of filing means that the complaint form filed was not a complaint for the purposes of Article 6 of the Rules. The legal consequence of this is that the complaint form was not a complaint at the time of filing, for the purposes of Article VII(2) of the Tribunal’s Statute. Thus, it is obvious that the complaint is out of time. It has not been filed within the time limits provided for in the Tribunal’s Statute and Rules.”

If a complaint is not corrected, it will normally be dealt with under the summary procedure set forth in Article 7 of the Tribunal’s Rules.

Fast-track procedure

The parties may, in accordance with Article 7bis of the Rules and Annex 2 of the Rules, apply to the President of the Tribunal for a fast-track procedure. This is possible if the dispute regards only a question (or questions) of law, identified by agreement of both parties, and the main facts are uncontested.

The complainant may apply for a fast-track procedure within 30 days of the notification of the impugned decision (or within 30 days as from the expiry of the 60-day time limit of Article VII(3) of the Statute) by sending to the Registrar a fully completed Complaint form and indicating in section 5 (“Special Applications”) under the heading “Fast-track Procedure” the question(s) of law which the complainant proposes to submit to the Tribunal for a decision under this procedure. The defendant organisation may apply for a fact-track procedure within 15 days from the date of receipt of the complaint for reply, by sending a letter to the Registrar containing a proposal identifying the contested question(s) of law, and a concise summary of the facts. Applications for a fast-track procedure can be also made once the reply and the rejoinder are received, as well as once the written procedure is completed, provided that the case has not yet been included on the list of a session of the Tribunal.

If the parties agree to apply for such a procedure and the President of the Tribunal approves their application, the pleadings will focus on the agreed contested question(s) of law and on the consequent remedies. The complaint shall be given priority and, if possible, be put on the list for the next session of the Tribunal.

Stay of proceedings

  • A stay of proceedings can be requested by the complainant at any time once the complaint is ready to be forwarded to the defendant (i.e. after complying with any correction requests by the Registrar). The defendant may also request a stay of proceedings. The application for stay of proceedings must be motivated.
  • The President of the Tribunal rules on an application for a stay of proceedings (Article 10(4) of the Rules) and the parties are then notified of the President’s decision.

Reply

The reply must not exceed 25 pages of A4 size paper, using normal margins, Times New Roman font size 12, and with line spacing of 1.5 lines (Annex 1 to the Rules).

Article 8 of the Rules deals with the reply of the defendant. It sets a 30-day deadline from the date of receipt of the complaint for filing a reply. Extension of this deadline is possible under Article 14 of the Rules, but such an extension must be requested before the expiry of the initial time limit for filing a reply.

The time limit starts on the day following the date of receipt of the Registrar’s letter. The date of receipt is the date entered in the certificate of delivery (the orange card which the postal services will return to the Registry) or the date of an official email sent by the Registry. The time limit expires at the end of the last of the days allotted; so the envelope or parcel containing the submissions must be sent to the Registry at no later date.

The person who signs the reply must be either a serving or former official of the organisation concerned, or a serving or former official of another organisation which has recognised the Tribunal's jurisdiction or of the United Nations, or a member of a bar in a Member State of one of those organisations, or, with leave from the President of the Tribunal, someone who is qualified to deal with issues relating to the international civil service (Article 5(3) of the Rules). Anyone who is not a serving or former official must provide the original of a power of attorney in English or French (Article 5(4) of the Rules).

Pursuant to Article 9(1) of the Rules, the Registrar of the Tribunal may call upon the defendant to correct the reply if she or he is not satisfied that the reply meets the requirements of the Rules.

Certified true copies

Article 8(2)(c) of the Rules requires the defendant organisation to provide, in additional to the originals, five copies of its reply and of any evidence appended thereto. In order to certify that the copies are true, the organisation’s representative can either sign each copy of the reply brief by hand (it is unnecessary to sign each of the appended documents as well), or simply indicate expressly in a duly signed covering letter, when filing the reply, that the copies of the reply and of the appended documents are true.

Procedural requests (for joinder, for example) should be clearly presented in the reply itself, preferably at the beginning and not in a footnote.

Any normative documents cited should be provided, to the extent possible, in both English and French.

Rejoinder

Article 9(1) of the Rules establishes a time limit of 30 days from the date of receipt of the reply for filing a rejoinder. Extension of this deadline is possible under Article 14 of the Rules, but such an extension must be requested before the expiry of the initial time limit for filing the rejoinder.

The time limit starts on the day following the date of receipt of the Registrar’s letter. The date of receipt is the date entered in the certificate of delivery (the orange card which the postal services will return to the Registry) or the date of an official email sent by the Registry. The time limit expires at the end of the last of the days allotted; so the envelope or parcel containing the submissions must be sent to the Registry at no later date.

Rejoinders filed outside the deadline will not be accepted, as Article 9(2) of the Rules provides that “[i]f no rejoinder is filed within the time limit, the written pleadings shall close” (see Judgment 3599, under 2, and Judgment 871).
The rejoinder must not exceed 10 pages of A4 size paper, using normal margins, Times New Roman font size 12, and with line spacing of 1.5 lines (Annex 1 to the Rules).

As with the complaint, either each of the six copies of the rejoinder must be signed by hand, or the cover letter must expressly indicate that the copies are true copies.

The Registrar of the Tribunal may call upon the complainant to correct the rejoinder if she or he is not satisfied that it meets the requirements of the Rules.

According to the case law, the rejoinder must not contain new claims for relief which were not included in the complaint (see, for example, Judgments 3655, consideration 9; 3653, consideration 9; 2996, consideration 6; 2965, consideration 11; 1768, consideration 5; 960, consideration 8; 909, consideration 4; and 655, consideration 4).

Surrejoinder

The surrejoinder must not exceed 10 pages of A4 size paper, using normal margins, Times New Roman font size 12, and with line spacing of 1.5 lines (Annex 1 to the Rules).

The written procedure normally ends with the filing of a surrejoinder (Article 9(3-5) of the Rules), unless the Registrar of the Tribunal requests its correction so that it meets the requirements of the Rules. If no surrejoinder is filed within the time limit, the written pleadings shall close.

Although the filing of further submissions (after the surrejoinder) may sometimes be accepted, the Tribunal’s case law draws certain consequences from the fact that the complainant ordinarily does not have an opportunity to respond to the arguments contained in the surrejoinder. The following was stated in Judgment 3648, consideration 5, for example:

“[…] an organisation may not raise a new objection to receivability in its surrejoinder, that is to say at a stage of the proceedings when the other party is, in principle, no longer able to respond, where the objection could have been raised in its reply, as is the case for an objection based on the absence of a cause of action (see, in particular, Judgments 1082, under 16, 1419, under 20, and 3422, under 14, in fine). The fact that in this case the complainant was allowed by the Tribunal to file additional submissions enabling her to respond to the new argument raised by [the Organisation] in its surrejoinder does not alter the fact that this manner of proceeding is not acceptable.”

Further submissions

As indicated above, the written procedure normally ends with the filing of the defendant's surrejoinder. When forwarding the surrejoinder to the complainant, the Registrar will state that the complainant is not asked to answer. But there are two exceptions (Article 9(6) of the Rules):

(1) the President of the Tribunal may, on her or his own motion or on the application of either party, order or authorize further submissions by either party or the production or disclosure of further written evidence;
(2) the President of the Tribunal may allow an application from either party to file further submissions.

An application by one of the parties to file further submissions will be allowed only in exceptional cases (where the surrejoinder includes some plea or item of evidence on which the complainant has not yet had an opportunity to comment and which the Tribunal considers material, for example). The Tribunal will not ordinarily allow further submissions for the sole purpose of commenting on issues which should have been addressed in earlier submissions or which, though they may be new, the Tribunal sees as irrelevant.

The application to file further submissions should take the form of a letter or an email addressed to the President of the Tribunal or to the Registrar in a single copy, summarising the issues that the applicant wishes to address in these further submissions and indicating the reasons for the application. The actual submissions should be filed only if and when the application has been allowed by the President of the Tribunal. Where further submissions are allowed, the other party will be invited to provide final comments thereon. These further submissions and final comments must be filed in six copies.

Unsolicited submissions filed with the Tribunal will not be included in the case file.

Can a third party intervene?

  • Article 13 of the Rules provides, in paragraph 1, that "[a]nyone to whom the Tribunal is open under Article II of the Statute may apply to intervene in a complaint requesting that the Tribunal's ruling on the complaint apply to them. The application must set out the basis on which the intervener considers that she or he is in a situation in fact and in law similar to that of the complainant."
  • The intervention procedure enables the intervener, without filing a complaint, to benefit from the Tribunal's decision if it is favourable to the complainant. Conversely, if the complaint is dismissed, the application will likewise be dismissed.
  • The application to intervene MUST be received by the Registry no later than 60 days following the date on which the organization's reply to the complaint is received by the complainant (Article 13(1) of the Rules).
  • A Word version of the application form is available on the Tribunal’s web site.
  • Each application to intervene and its annexes, if any, must be filed in three copies.

List of cases for the session

The list of cases to be examined at a session is established by the President of the Tribunal (Article 10(1) of the Rules). First, a provisional list of cases is drawn up on the basis of several criteria, including the date upon which the written pleadings ended and the subject-matter of the complaint. The parties are notified that their case is on the provisional list. The final list of cases is sent to the parties shortly before the session begins (Article 10(2) of the Rules). However, the Tribunal retains the power to add additional cases to the list during the session or remove them from the list. The parties are informed accordingly.

Withdrawal of complaints

The complainant may wish to withdraw her or his complaint, either because a settlement has been reached between the parties or for some other reason. If so, the complainant or the complainant’s representative should inform the President of the Tribunal or the Registrar in writing as soon as possible so that the Tribunal will not devote time to the case unnecessarily, and so that another case may be put on the list instead, if time permits.

The withdrawal of a complaint cannot be subject to conditions.

The defendant organisation will be given an opportunity to comment on the request to withdraw.

Pursuant to Article 16 of the Rules, the President of the Tribunal may record the withdrawal by means of an Order.

Review of a judgment

The Tribunal's judgments are final and without appeal (Article VI(1) of the Statute). However, Article VI(1) provides that the Tribunal may nevertheless consider applications for review of a judgment.

The Tribunal has made it clear through its case law (see, for example, Judgment 3897, consideration 3) that a judgment can be reviewed only on limited grounds.

Admissible grounds for review are:
• failure to take account of material facts;
• a material error (a mistaken finding of fact involving no exercise of judgement);
• omission to rule on a claim;
• the discovery of new facts on which the complainant was unable to rely in the original proceedings.
Note: these ground must be likely to have a bearing on the outcome of the case.

The following grounds are not admissible grounds for review:
• mistake of law;
• failure to admit evidence;
• misinterpretation of the facts;
• omission to rule on a plea.

An application for review must satisfy the formal requirements provided for in the Rules; the party applying for review should fill in a specific form available on the web site of the Tribunal, write a brief, provide a list of annexes as well as the annexes themselves, and submit six copies of all these documents.

An application for review must be made within 90 days following the public delivery of the judgment (Article 6(5) of the Rules).

The President may, upon request, extend or reopen this time limit. This may be appropriate, for example, where the application for review is based on the discovery of new facts on which the applicant was unable to rely in the original proceedings.

There is no obligation to exhaust internal means of redress before filing an application for review.

Interpretation of a judgment

Where a party considers that a judgment is insufficiently clear and requires interpretation by the Tribunal, an application for interpretation may be filed pursuant to Article VI(1) of the Statute. An application for interpretation may only be filed for the purpose of clarifying the decision which appears at the end of the judgment. However, if the decision refers explicitly to one or more of the considerations of the judgment, the application for interpretation may also extend to those specific considerations (see Judgment 3564, consideration 1, and Judgment 2483, consideration 3).

An application for interpretation must satisfy the formal requirements provided for in the Rules; the party applying for interpretation should fill in a specific form available on the website of the Tribunal, write a brief, provide a list of annexes as well as the annexes themselves, and submit six copies of all these documents. These applications are not subject to specific time limits, nor is there any obligation to exhaust internal means of redress before filing the application.

Execution of a judgment

The Tribunal’s judgments carry the authority of res judicata and must be executed as ruled. The parties must work together in good faith to this end. In cases where no time frame is set by the Tribunal for the execution of an order, the judgments must be executed within a reasonable period of time. In order to ascertain whether this is the case, all the circumstances of the case must be taken into account, especially the nature and the scope of the action which the organisation is required to take (see, in particular, Judgments 3656, consideration 3; 2684, considerations 4 and 6; and 3066, consideration 6). If there are serious reasons to believe that the defendant organisation will not honour its obligations or will delay execution, the complainant may, after having allowed the organisation a sufficient and reasonable period of time to execute the judgment, ask the Tribunal, by an application for execution filed pursuant to Article VI(1) of the Statute, to rule that the organisation has failed to do so and to order that appropriate measures be taken.

An application for execution must satisfy the formal requirements provided for in the Rules; the party applying for execution should fill in a specific form available on the website of the Tribunal, write a brief, provide a list of annexes as well as the annexes themselves, and submit six copies of all these documents. These applications are not subject to time limits, nor is there any obligation to exhaust internal means of redress before filing the application.