Judgment No. 516
Decision
THE COMPLAINT IS DISMISSED.
Considerations
Extract:
"The complainant was an honourable and useful official and committed no misconduct. Moreover, the non-renewal was a personal decision taken by the Director-General at his discretion. The same compassionate reasons which warranted retroactive extension of the appointment to 31 July [...] may therefore justify a further and final retroactive extension to 29 August [*] [...] Be that as it may, it is not a matter for the Tribunal to decide."
[*] date based on a medical certificate.
Keywords
contract; extension of contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; sick leave; judicial review; discretion
Summary
Extract:
The Tribunal is limited in the extent to which it can assess the legality of a decision not to grant the renewal of a contract. The Tribunal finds none of the defects which it would have competence to redress. There was no abuse of authority, and no essential facts were overlooked; nor were clearly mistaken conclusions drawn from the evidence. The Tribunal noted that a further extension of the appointment for compassionate reasons could be justifiable, but the Tribunal did not take a stand on the matter.
Keywords
contract; extension of contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; judicial review; discretion
Considerations
Extract:
After the lodging of an internal appeal - the complainant sought a further short-term appointment - an extension was granted from 1 April to 31 May. A further extension was granted retroactively on 3 November from 31 May to 31 July. "None of this means [...] that the appeal was allowed or that the [...] complaint is therefore without substance. The two short extensions were granted for compassionate reasons, and they were not tantamount either to acceptance of the appeal or to an offer of any further short-term appointment. Accordingly the complainant still has a cause of action and the Tribunal will hear his claims for relief."
Keywords
receivability of the complaint; cause of action; internal appeal; contract; extension of contract; fixed-term; short-term; non-renewal of contract
Considerations
Extract:
"Although different views had been expressed about the complainant's professional qualifications, his performance reports and appraisals of his work, it is for the Director-General to take account of such questions, and the Tribunal will not replace the administration's assessment with its own insofar as that assessment is not flawed. The Tribunal may, it is true, determine whether the performance reports have been properly established, but it may not freely pass judgment on the supervisor's evaluations."
Keywords
work appraisal; different appraisals; judicial review; discretion
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