Judgment No. 4360
Decision
The complaint is dismissed.
Summary
The complainant challenges her summary dismissal for serious misconduct.
Judgment keywords
Keywords
misconduct; summary dismissal; complaint dismissed
Considerations 10-11
Extract:
The standard of proof of beyond reasonable doubt does not exist to create an insuperable barrier for organisations to successfully prosecute disciplinary proceedings against staff members. Indeed it should not have that effect. What is required is discussed in many judgments of the Tribunal. Rather the standard involves the recognition that often disciplinary proceedings can have severe consequences for the affected staff member, including dismissal and potentially serious adverse consequences on the reputation of the staff member and her or his career as an international civil servant, and in these circumstances it is appropriate to require a high level of satisfaction on the part of the organisation that the disciplinary measure is justified because the misconduct has been proved. The likelihood of misconduct having occurred is insufficient and does not afford appropriate protection to international civil servants. It is fundamentally unproductive to say, critically, this standard is the “criminal” standard in some domestic legal systems and a more appropriate standard is the “civil” standard in the same systems involving the assessment of evidence and proof on the balance of probabilities. The standard of beyond reasonable doubt derived from the Tribunal’s case law as it has evolved over the decades, serves a purpose peculiar to the law of the international civil service.
[...]
The standard of beyond reasonable doubt concerns both the finding of specific facts and the overall level of satisfaction that the case against the staff member has been made out. In relation to the proof of any essential relevant fact the person or body charged with the task of assessing the evidence and making a decision in the context of determining disciplinary proceedings must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that a particular fact exists.
Keywords
misconduct; disciplinary measure; standard of proof; beyond reasonable doubt
Consideration 14
Extract:
Because the Prosecutor rejected the findings and recommendations of the Board, she was obliged to motivate her conclusion and address not only the relevant inculpatory evidence pointing to guilt but also the relevant exculpatory evidence pointing to innocence, including the alibi evidence. She failed to do so [...].
Keywords
disciplinary procedure; final decision; motivation
Consideration 20
Extract:
Ordinarily, when a decision to dismiss a staff member is legally flawed, it is set aside and the Tribunal considers, in appropriate circumstances, whether the complainant should be reinstated and the financial consequences on the complainant of the unlawful decision.
Keywords
decision quashed; reinstatement; termination of employment
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