Judgment No. 4271
Decision
The complaint is dismissed.
Summary
After the delivery of Judgment 4006, the complainant re-submitted to the new Registrar of the ICC a harassment grievance on the part of the former Registrar. He filed his complaint directly with the Tribunal, considering that he did not receive a final decision on his grievance within the prescribed time limit.
Judgment keywords
Keywords
direct appeal to tribunal; internal remedies exhausted; summary procedure; complaint dismissed
Considerations 2-3
Extract:
In filing his complaint with the Tribunal, the complainant relies on Article VII, paragraph 3, of its Statute. He considers that as he did not receive a final decision within sixty days of the date on which the DAB’s report was submitted to the Registrar, he is entitled to proceed directly to the Tribunal, by filing a complaint within the following ninety-day period.
This approach is mistaken. As the Tribunal recalled in Judgments 4174, consideration 4, and 3975, consideration 5, for example, it is clearly established in the case law that where the Administration takes any action to deal with a claim, this step in itself constitutes a “decision upon [the] claim” within the meaning of Article VII, paragraph 3, of the Statute, which forestalls an implied rejection that could be referred to the Tribunal. Moreover, firm precedent has it that when an organisation forwards a claim before the expiry of the prescribed period of sixty days to the competent authority, this step in itself constitutes “a decision upon [the] claim” within the meaning of this provision (see, on these points, Judgments 532, 762, 786, 2681, 3034 and 3956). In the present case, it is obvious that the complainant’s grievance has been examined in accordance with the procedure set forth in the Administrative Instruction ICC/AI/2005/005. His complaint therefore cannot be considered receivable under Article VII, paragraph 3, of the Statute.
Reference(s)
Jugement(s) TAOIT: 532, 762, 786, 2681, 3034, 3956, 3975, 4174
Keywords
direct appeal to tribunal; internal remedies exhausted; summary procedure
Consideration 5
Extract:
If the competent authority is not able to determine an internal appeal within a reasonable time, depending on the circumstances, an official can indeed file a complaint directly with the Tribunal, but only where she or he has done her or his utmost, to no avail, to accelerate the internal procedure and where the circumstances show that the competent authority was not able to reach a decision within a reasonable time (see, for example, Judgment 3558, consideration 9, and the case law cited therein).
Reference(s)
Jugement(s) TAOIT: 3558
Keywords
direct appeal to tribunal
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