Judgment No. 3343
Decision
The complaint is dismissed, as is the application to intervene.
Summary
The complainant, acting as a staff representative, challenges the Organisation’s direct placement of a contract with an external consulting firm.
Judgment keywords
Keywords
locus standi; staff representative; outsourcing; complaint dismissed; plenary judgment; en banc review
Considerations 2 and 3
Extract:
"On the issue of receivability, the complainant takes the position that she is acting to protect the collective interests of the staff. She contends that these interests are not limited to matters such as remuneration and other working conditions, but also include the broader interest of ensuring that the EPO respects its own laws. She claims that other than staff representatives, there is nobody either within or outside the EPO in a position to challenge a direct placement.
It is clear that this complaint is irreceivable and it will be dismissed. Chapter 2 of Title II of the Service Regulations provides a mechanism for staff representation at the EPO including the establishment of a Staff Committee, its functions (Article 34), composition (Article 35) and competence (Article 36). However, as the Tribunal stated in Judgment 2649, under 8, “in order for a complaint submitted to the Tribunal on behalf of a Staff Committee to be receivable, it must allege a breach of guarantees which the Organisation is legally bound to provide to staff who are connected with the [EPO] by an employment contract or who have permanent employee status, this being a sine qua non for the Tribunal’s jurisdiction”."
Reference(s)
Jugement(s) TAOIT: 2649
Keywords
locus standi; staff representative
Consideration 5
Extract:
"Unless it can be shown that the alleged violation of the rule has a direct and immediate bearing on the employment status or rights of employees, the staff representative does not have standing to bring the complaint. In this case there is no such violation. It follows that in her capacity as a staff representative, the complainant clearly does not have standing to bring this complaint."
Keywords
locus standi; staff representative
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