Judgment No. 544
Decision
1. CERN SHALL PAY THE COMPLAINANT 30,000 SWISS FRANCS IN COMPENSATION.
2. IT SHALL PAY HIM 6,000 FRANCS AS COSTS.
3. HIS OTHER CLAIMS ARE DISMISSED.
Consideration 2
Extract:
An article of the Staff Rules "provides that there shall be no internal appeal against any decision not to renew a contract. There may therefore be a direct appeal to the Tribunal against such a decision, without any breach of the Statute, and whether the internal means of redress were exhausted is not a material issue in this case."
Keywords
receivability of the complaint; direct appeal to tribunal; internal remedies exhausted; exception; contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract
Consideration 3
Extract:
The organization "is disregarding the restrictions on the Director-General's authority. It believes that the Director-General need provide no justification for not extending a fixed-term appointment. Not only did it fail to inform the complainant, at least in writing, of the reasons for the decision but it has said nothing whatever about them in the course of the present proceedings. In short, it acts as if the Director-General were free from any review of the exercise of his authority. It is not so. The non-renewal was therefore tainted with a mistake of law and should be quashed."
Keywords
duty to substantiate decision; contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; judicial review; discretion; flaw
Consideration 2
Extract:
The decision not to renew the complainant's appointment was notified to him more than ninety days before the date on which he filed the complaint. "However [...] he made a request [...] for the institution of disciplinary proceedings to dispel the suspicion which he believed he was under; and [...] he [subsequently] appealed to the Director-General against the failure to convince the Disciplinary Board. His ultimate purpose [...] was to have the decision of non-renewal set aside; in other words to challenge it." It would be unduly formalistic to make the time limit run from the date of the decision not to renew his appointment was notified.
Keywords
complaint; decision; receivability of the complaint; internal appeal; date of notification; start of time limit; non-renewal of contract; disciplinary procedure; request by a party
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