Judgment 1115
71st Session, 1991
World Intellectual Property Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations 6-7
Extract:
The complainant wants the Tribunal to set aside two reports which describe his work as unsatisfactory as well as decisions to suspend his salary step increase and not to extend his appointment. He alleges bad faith and abuse of authority on the part of the administration. There is conflicting evidence. "A complainant must discharge the burden of proof and satisfy an internal appeal body or the Tribunal that the balance of probability is that his allegations of fact are true. [...] The Tribunal has [...] considered all the evidence, including a transcript of a recording the complainant secretly made of a conversation with his supervisor. It finds that he has not discharged the burden of proving his allegations".
Keywords:
abuse of power; appraisal of evidence; burden of proof; complainant; conduct; contract; evidence; fixed-term; good faith; increment withheld; lack of evidence; misuse of authority; non-renewal of contract; performance report; recording; unsatisfactory service;
Consideration 11
Extract:
"The Director General decided [...] not to allow his request for a permanent appointment on the grounds that he failed to meet the condition of seven years' satisfactory service. The complainant therefore has no right to any further extension".
Keywords:
condition; contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; permanent appointment; refusal; unsatisfactory service;
Judgment 1114
71st Session, 1991
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 7
Extract:
The complainant, an official of the World Bank, was hired by UNESCO to work for a limited period in a "co- operative programme". His appointment was not extended. He "had no entitlement to any extension since according to Staff Rule 104.6 a fixed-term appointment ends automatically on expiry, without notice or indemnity, and carries no expectation of renewal: his mere expectation of renewal did not confer any right on him in law."
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: UNESCO STAFF RULE 104.6
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract;
Consideration 8
Extract:
The complainant, whose appointment had not been extended, "accuses the organization of acting arbitrarily because it made no effort to find a position for him, though it did seek to place other members of [his division]. But the explanation is that he had the possibility of reinstatement in the World Bank - and indeed he himself arranged [...] to go back to the Bank - whereas the other members [of the division] presumably had no such alternative to fall back on. In the circumstances there was no abuse of authority or arbitrariness in the organization's stand."
Keywords:
abuse of power; contract; fixed-term; misuse of authority; non-renewal of contract; reassignment;
Judgment 1052
69th Session, 1990
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
"Where the reason given for the non-renewal is unsatisfactory performance, the Tribunal will not replace with its own the organisation's view of the complainant's fitness for his duties."
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract; unsatisfactory service; work appraisal;
Consideration 4
Extract:
"The case law is that a decision not to renew a fixed-term appointment, being discretionary, may be set aside only if it was taken without authority, or in breach of a rule of form or of procedure, [etc]. Although such criteria hold good for the review of all discretionary decisions, the Tribunal will exercise especial caution in reviewing a decision not to confirm the appointment of someone who is still on probation; else probation would fail to serve its purpose as a period of trial. In the case of a probationer the administration must indeed be allowed the widest measure of discretion, and its decision will stand unless the flaw was particularly serious or glaring."
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract; probationary period; termination of employment;
Consideration 5
Extract:
The complainant objects to the non-renewal of his appointment after probation. He alleges breach of his right to a hearing. "The plea is unsound because there was no element of disciplinary sanction in the decision. What the administration did was to make an assessment of the complainant's performance and it was under no duty to enter into any dialogue with him on the subject."
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; probationary period; right to reply; termination of employment;
Judgment 1047
69th Session, 1990
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 9
Extract:
"A decision by the Director-General not to renew an appointment is a discretionary one, but his discretion is not unfettered. Since one of the reasons he gave for the decision impugned in this case is unfounded and the other reason is tied in with it, the decision must be set aside."
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; grounds; judicial review; non-renewal of contract;
Judgment 1046
69th Session, 1990
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Summary
Extract:
The organization alleges that the reason it put an end to the complainant's appointment was the expiry of his contract. The Tribunal is satisfied that it failed to extend his appointment because his performance was considered unsatisfactory. "The Director-General's decision confirming the complainant's termination must be set aside because he was not separated for the reason it gave."
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; grounds; judicial review; non-renewal of contract; unsatisfactory service;
Summary
Extract:
The complainant was transferred on 1 February 1988. On 5 February he got notice that his contract would not be renewed because of an unsatisfactory report concerning his new assignment. The Tribunal holds that "it was incumbent on the [organization] to give him a fair trial in the job, and [...] to ask after the lapse of only four days for an immediate replacement was to act with undue haste."
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; reasonable time; time limit; unsatisfactory service; work appraisal;
Judgment 1044
69th Session, 1990
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 3
Extract:
"Whether to renew a fixed-term appointment is a discretionary decision, and the Tribunal may not set it aside unless it was taken without authority, or in breach of a rule of form or of procedure, or unless it was based on a mistake of fact or of law, etc." The organization's financial difficulties constituted a proper basis on which to base the decision not to extend her appointment.
Keywords:
budgetary reasons; contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract;
Summary
Extract:
The complainant objects to the non-renewal of her appointment. She alleges that upon recruitment she was given assurances that her fixed-term appointment would be converted into a continuing one on the date of expiry. But there is no evidence to suggest that she was given any such assurance.
Keywords:
contract; evidence; fixed-term; lack of evidence; non-renewal of contract; permanent appointment; promise;
Judgment 1040
69th Session, 1990
Pan American Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 3
Extract:
"Precedent is clear: even when someone has just a temporary appointment a decision not to renew it must be taken when the contract period is expiring; the administration's decision not to renew must be notified to the employee within the prescribed time limit; and if due notice is not given there will be implied renewal for a further period." The complainant got notice four days too late and the Tribunal held that the extension of his contract by five days to make up the required period of notice had no effect.
Keywords:
compensatory measure; consequence; contract; effect; extension of contract; non-renewal of contract; notice; omission; organisation's duties; short-term;
Judgment 1038
69th Session, 1990
European Southern Observatory
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 5
Extract:
The complainant, who is challenging the non-renewal of his contract, is concerned that the Director-General's decision may have been prompted by unsubstantiated charges. He alleges breach of his right to a hearing. "The plea is unsound because there was no element of disciplinary sanction in that decision [...] The Director-General made a value judgement which did not require entering into a dialogue with him. There is no reason to hold that the Director-General was not genuine in his evaluation of the complainant's suitability for the post of administrator or that his decision was based on any mistake of fact."
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; right to reply;
Consideration 4
Extract:
"The Director-General took his decision [not to renew the complainant's contract] in the exercise of his discretionary authority. Even though colleagues of the complainant's thought him suitable and recommended extending his appointment, the decision was not theirs to make."
Keywords:
competence; contract; discretion; executive head; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; qualifications; work appraisal;
Judgment 1037
69th Session, 1990
European Southern Observatory
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Summary
Extract:
After his appointment was extended several times and he received favourable staff reports, the complainant was denied the renewal of his appointment. That decision was based on a lack of leadership qualities, even though these were not mentioned in the requirements set out in his job description. As the decision mistakenly took account of facts unrelated to the duties assigned to him, it is tainted by a fatal flaw and the Tribunal will set it aside.
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; mistaken conclusion; non-renewal of contract; post description; qualifications; work appraisal;
Judgment 974
66th Session, 1989
Pan American Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
"In the absence of a specific provision in the Rules, the Tribunal holds that, for the reasons it stated in Judgments 470 [...] and 891 [...], the right to the application of the reduction-in-force procedure arises on the abolition of a post of indefinite duration even though the official may have only a fixed-term appointment."
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: ARTICLE 1050.2 OF THE PAHO STAFF RULES
ILOAT Judgment(s): 470, 891
Keywords:
abolition of post; contract; duration of appointment; fixed-term; no provision; non-renewal of contract; permanent appointment; post; procedure before the tribunal; right; staff reduction;
Judgment 972
66th Session, 1989
World Meteorological Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 15
Extract:
"The complainant's performance reports all show that he was a highly competent and dedicated officer who did valuable work for the organization, and letters in the dossier support the view that administrations in several countries appreciated the effectiveness of the programme he supervised. There is therefore no question of the non-renewal's being justified by unsatisfactory professional performance on his part."
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; performance report; satisfactory service;
Consideration 18
Extract:
"The Secretary-General not only omitted to give due weight to the complainant's excellent record of service over a period of seven years, but also [...] overlooked essential facts. The five reasons stated are based on mistakes of fact which could have been put right if the Secretary-General had agreed to give him a hearing. In so holding the Tribunal is not interfering in the actual management of the organization. Because of those flaws his decision not to renew the complainant's appointment must be set aside."
Keywords:
contract; disregard of essential fact; fixed-term; flaw; grounds; mistake of fact; non-renewal of contract; satisfactory service;
Consideration 6
Extract:
"The decision whether or not to renew or convert is at the Secretary-General's discretion and the Tribunal's case law is that it will interfere only if such a decision was taken without authority".
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract;
Decision
Extract:
The decision not to renew the complainant's contract is set aside. The Tribunal holds that in the circumstances reinstatement would not be advisable. It orders the organization to pay the complainant the equivalent of two years' salary as damages for material injury, 25,000 Swiss francs for moral injury and 10,000 Swiss francs as costs.
Keywords:
amount; contract; costs; fixed-term; material damages; material injury; moral injury; non-renewal of contract;
Judgment 956
66th Session, 1989
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 2
Extract:
"The case law says that when authorised to refuse, without notice or compensation, to renew such an appointment the Director-General has discretion which he exercises subject to an implied requirement of respect for the demands of efficient administration and for the organization's interests. The rule consistently applied is that, short of replacing the Director-General's appraisal of the evidence with its own, the Tribunal will set aside a decision not to renew that was taken without authority [...]".
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest;
Consideration 3
Extract:
"The Tribunal is satisfied that it was open to the Director-General to come to the view that what the complainant had done [import a firearm] was, to quote the letter of 14 May 1986, 'harmful to the FAO's good name in the host country' and, being behaviour unworthy of an international civil servant, had been contrary to Staff Regulation 301.014.
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: FAO STAFF REGULATION 301.014
Keywords:
conduct; contract; discretion; fitness for international civil service; fixed-term; misconduct; non-renewal of contract; organisation's reputation;
Judgment 946
65th Session, 1988
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 6
Extract:
"As a rule the reasons for any administrative decision must be stated. Non-renewal is plainly a decision of great consequence to a staff member and, though the Director-General is free to make his own assessment of the material facts, the staff member is entitled to know the reasons for the Director-General's conclusion so that he may, if he chooses, lodge first an internal appeal and then, if need be, a complaint with the Tribunal."
Keywords:
contract; decision; discretion; duty to substantiate decision; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract;
Consideration 11
Extract:
"There is no award of moral damages. Since the organization was applying a policy of staff retrenchment required by financial constraints, the non-renewal cannot be deemed to have harmed the complainant's professional reputation. Nor indeed does he offer any evidence of moral injury."
Keywords:
abolition of post; contract; evidence; fixed-term; lack of evidence; moral injury; non-renewal of contract; professional injury;
Consideration 7
Extract:
"The organization [is] in breach of the duty of consideration it owes its staff, of the principle of good faith and of the rule that the staff member has a right to be kept informed of any action that may affect his rights or legitimate interests."
Keywords:
contract; duty to inform; fixed-term; good faith; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties;
Considerations 4-6
Extract:
"In this case the decision not to renew the complainant's appointment was tainted with several fatal flaws. First, the decision was not taken by the competent authority. [...] What was even more serious was the failure to inform the complainant of the reasons for the decision."
Keywords:
competence; contract; decision-maker; duty to substantiate decision; fixed-term; flaw; grounds; non-renewal of contract; right to reply;
Consideration 10
Extract:
"Since the complainant had served UNESCO for only four years and the renewal he might have expected would not have been for more than two years, the Tribunal sets the amount at the equivalent of six months' full pay at grade P.4 at the rate applicable at the date of his separation."
Keywords:
contract; damages; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract;
Consideration 9
Extract:
"The need for savings affords no proper excuse for breach of the principles that protect the staff against arbitrary decision-making."
Keywords:
abolition of post; budgetary reasons; contract; discretion; fixed-term; limits; non-renewal of contract;
Judgment 938
65th Session, 1988
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 12
Extract:
"A staff member cannot be separated while on sick leave."
Keywords:
contract; extension of contract; fixed-term; illness; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; sick leave; unsatisfactory service;
Judgment 894
64th Session, 1988
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
"It is mistaken to contend that an appointment cannot be terminated until there has been a proper medical check-up as prescribed by the Rules. [...] In fact [the check-up] is the consequence of termination."
Keywords:
consequence; contract; fixed-term; medical examination; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; separation from service;
Judgment 892
64th Session, 1988
International Office of Epizootics
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
The complainant challenges the non-renewal of her contract. She alleges breach of an oral promise of automatic renewal. But she offers no proof of the allegation. "Even supposing she were right and the head of personnel had said that fixed-term appointments were automatically renewed, there would not necessarily be a binding rule but just a common practice which would neither require the Director General to employ her nor confer on her any right to renewal."
Keywords:
contract; evidence; extension of contract; fixed-term; lack of evidence; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; practice; promise;
Consideration 8
Extract:
"Since the assessments of her varied, the Director General was free, in exercising his discretion in the Office's interest, to take account only of the factors that he thought ruled out renewal."
Keywords:
contract; different appraisals; discretion; executive head; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; unsatisfactory service; work appraisal;
Judgment 857
63rd Session, 1987
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Summary
Extract:
Some weeks before the expiry of her contract, the complainant had a heart attack. In accordance with the Staff Regulations, her appointment was extended on 1 September for the duration of her sick leave. After ascertaining that the complainant was fit to work, the FAO terminated her sick leave and, a few days later, her appointment. The complainant has failed to show any irregularity in the application by the Director-General of the rules on sick leave.
Keywords:
contract; extension of contract; fixed-term; flaw; illness; non-renewal of contract; sick leave;
Consideration 4
Extract:
"The Tribunal has said there must be reasonable notice of non-renewal, with due regard to the particular circumstances of each case. But she was well warned, for the first time orally over a year before expiry and in writing fifty days before, that her appointment would not be renewed."
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; notice; organisation's duties; reasonable time; time limit;
Summary
Extract:
The Tribunal observes that the non-renewal of the complainant's appointment was not tainted by any fatal flaw. The decision was taken by the Director-General at his discretion and was founded on inadequacies in the complainant's work and on the needs of the organization.
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest; unsatisfactory service;
Judgment 849
63rd Session, 1987
World Intellectual Property Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 3
Extract:
"The case law of the Tribunal supports the principle that when the Director General is granted authority not to renew a fixed-term appointment, and to do so without notice or indemnity, his power is discretionary and is subject to the implied condition that his authority must be exercised only for the good of the service and in the interests of the organization. The Tribunal has held that a decision not to renew a fixed-term contract taken in the exercise of this discretion is subject to review, but the consistent case law is that the Tribunal will interfere with the decision only if it was taken without authority, [...]".
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract;
Consideration 3
Extract:
"It appears from the evidence as a whole that the Director General's decision was not based on any inability of the complainant to carry out his duties, nor on the unsatisfactory performance by him of those duties, nor on any considerations relating to the necessities of the service or the interests of the organization. It is clear that the Director General's conclusion [...] that the complainant was guilty of serious misconduct constituted the sole and underlying reason for exercising his discretion as he did. The Tribunal has quashed that decision in Judgment 848 and holds that the impugned decision in the present proceedings, based solely on a conclusion which is wrong in law, constitutes an abuse of authority and cannot be allowed to stand."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 848
Keywords:
abuse of power; contract; fixed-term; grounds; misrepresentation; misuse of authority; nationality; non-renewal of contract; serious misconduct;
Judgment 844
63rd Session, 1987
International Atomic Energy Agency
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 26
Extract:
"The failure of the complainant to find another position within the Agency cannot form the basis of a claim since Staff Rule 3.03.2[d] provides that a fixed-term appointment does not carry any expectation of renewal or of conversion to any other type of appointment. There is nothing to substantiate his allegation that his attempts to find other employment within the Agency were thwarted by the head of his section."
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: ARTICLE 3.03.2 OF THE IAEA STAFF RULES
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; reassignment;
Consideration 27
Extract:
"In reaching his decision of 11 February 1987 the Director-General failed to take an essential fact into consideration, namely the degree of the Agency's own responsibility for the lack of information supplied initially to the complainant. While the paramount consideration in making or renewing appointments is to secure employees of the highest standard, it is not the only one. The principle of good faith requires that employees be treated with due regard for their rights. If the Director-General had considered the application in the light of the organisation's own responsibility for the complainant's difficulties when his contract was not renewed, he might have reached a different decision."
Keywords:
contract; disregard of essential fact; duty to inform; fixed-term; general principle; good faith; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; post description;
Judgment 703
57th Session, 1985
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
"Though a seconded official holds a fixed-term appointment his position is out of the ordinary. He cannot expect his contract to last more than two years unless the organisations decide differently. But on leaving the receiving organisation he goes back to the releasing one [...] It is therefore only reasonable that either organisation should have the right to end the secondment if it so wishes on the expiry of the prescribed period without having to explain its decision."
Keywords:
consequence; contract; discretion; duty to substantiate decision; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; reinstatement; secondment;
Consideration 7
Extract:
"The alleged promises were not in writing, the FAO denies they were ever made and it is not proved that they were. Besides, to be enforceable, they would have had to be agreed to by both organisations".
Keywords:
condition; contract; extension of contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; promise; secondment;
Consideration 9
Extract:
"The holder of a fixed-term appointment is entitled to know the date of separation early enough to enable him to arrange things."
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; notice; organisation's duties; reasonable time; secondment; time limit;
