Judgment No. 4426

• Organization: European Patent Organisation (EPO)
• Date: 07.07.2021
• Original: Anglais
• Judges: Hansen, Barbagallo, Rawlins
• Full judgment text (anglais) - Texte intégral du jugement

Decision

The complaint is dismissed.

Summary

The complainant challenges the decision not to retroactively promote her while she was on sick leave.

Judgment keywords

Keywords

time bar; promotion; sick leave; complaint dismissed

Consideration 5

Extract:

The Committee was not precluded from applying its summary procedure to the appeal as the same rationale that underlies applying the summary procedure where an internal appeal is lodged out of time (avoiding procedural futility) also underlies the rationale for applying the summary procedure where a request for review is lodged out of time.

Keywords

internal appeal; report of the internal appeals body

Consideration 9

Extract:

Consistent principle has it that a complainant must comply with the time limits and the procedures, as set out in the organisation’s internal rules and regulations and that, where a complainant does not comply with prescribed time limits for lodging a request for review, a grievance and/or an appeal, the complaint may be irreceivable for the complainant’s failure to exhaust all internal means of redress in accordance with Article VII, paragraph 1, of the Tribunal’s Statute (see, for example, Judgments 4103, consideration 1, and 4221, consideration 8).

Reference(s)

Jugement(s) TAOIT: 4103, 4221

Keywords

time bar; late appeal; internal remedies not exhausted

Consideration 10

Extract:

The case law recognizes that, in very limited circumstances, an exception may be made to the requirement of strict adherence to the relevant time limits. These include instances in which some new and unforeseeable fact of decisive importance has occurred since the decision was taken, or where the staff member concerned by that decision is relying on facts or evidence of decisive importance of which she or he was not and could not have been aware before the decision was taken (see, for example, Judgments 3903, consideration 6, and 4118, consideration 4).

Reference(s)

Jugement(s) TAOIT: 3903, 4118

Keywords

exception; late appeal; internal remedies not exhausted