Judgment No. 2254
Decision
1. THE DECISION OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE WTO OF 7 JUNE 2002 IS SET ASIDE.
2. THE ORGANIZATION SHALL PAY THE COMPLAINANT 13,988 SWISS FRANCS FOR THE MONTH'S SALARY OF WHICH HE WAS DEPRIVED.
3. IT SHALL ALSO PAY THE COMPLAINANT 15,000 FRANCS IN COMPENSATION FOR MORAL INJURY.
4. IT SHALL PAY HIM 5,000 FRANCS IN COSTS.
5. ALL THE COMPLAINANT'S OTHER CLAIMS ARE DISMISSED.
Consideration 6
Extract:
"According to firm precedent, before deciding a disciplinary sanction, an organisation should inform the person concerned that disciplinary proceedings have been initiated and should allow him ample opportunity to take part in adversarial proceedings, in the course of which he is given the opportunity to express his point of view, put forward evidence and participate in the processing of the evidence submitted in support of the charges against him. ... Failing a valid waiver on the part of the complainant of the adversarial proceedings provided for in the staff rules, the Director-General incorrectly based his decision on information that was not gathered in the context of adversarial proceedings guaranteeing the complainant's right to be heard. Since the complainant was not given the opportunity to put forward a proper defence, this fundamental flaw must cause the impugned decision to be set aside."
Keywords
evidence; appraisal of evidence; disclosure of evidence; case law; adversarial proceedings; right to reply; due process; organisation's duties; staff regulations and rules; disciplinary measure; disciplinary procedure; procedural flaw
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