Judgment 268
36th Session, 1976
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations
Extract:
"The decision whether or not to extend a fixed-term appointment on its expiry falls within the discretionary authority of the Regional Director [in the present case] and, on appeal, within that of the Director-General. By reason of its very nature it is subject to only limited review by the Administrative Tribunal. In general the Tribunal will not interfere with that decision unless [...]."
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract;
Considerations
Extract:
The complainant's appointment was not renewed on the grounds of unsatisfactory performance and poor relations with her supervisor. Her previous supervisors had been consistently satisfied and the record contains no serious criticisms. "[T]he regional administration failed in particular to carry out a thorough and impartial inquiry, which would have been possible shortly after the incidents in question, and merely endorsed the report made by [the supervisor], whose impartiality was in dispute. [...] The decision [...] was not based on the interests of the Office"; the Tribunal will set it aside.
Keywords:
bias; contract; different appraisals; fixed-term; inquiry; investigation; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest; performance report; supervisor; unsatisfactory service; working relations;
Judgment 267
36th Session, 1976
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 2
Extract:
The complainant maintains that the circumstances of his dismissal damaged his reputation. "There is nothing dishonourable about having to retire at the normal age stipulated in the Staff Regulations. Moreover [...] the organization gave him a written testimonial thanking him for his services over the past twenty-two years, and that served to remove - assuming it were necessary - the prejudice he has alleged."
Keywords:
age limit; contract; enforcement; extension beyond retirement age; fixed-term; lack of injury; non-renewal of contract; refusal; retirement; staff regulations and rules;
Judgment 266
36th Session, 1976
European Southern Observatory
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations
Extract:
"It appears from the facts of the case that [...] the complainant's attitude had not been such as is expected of an international official and that in particular he committed serious acts of misconduct which cast doubt on his integrity. The behaviour of which the complainant was accused - and the falsity of those accusations is not established - is such as to afford lawful grounds for the impugned decision. It was open to the Director-General to take disciplinary action against the complainant on the grounds of that behaviour and he was therefore entitled, as he in fact did, merely to refuse to renew his contract."
Keywords:
conduct; contract; disciplinary procedure; fitness for international civil service; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; serious misconduct; subsidiary;
Considerations
Extract:
"The total or partial renewal of a fixed-term contract, to which an official is in no way entitled, is a decision which falls within the discretionary authority of the head of the organisation alone. The Tribunal will not interfere with such a decision unless [...]."
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract;
Judgment 251
34th Session, 1975
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 3
Extract:
"In this case the décision not to extend or convert the complainant's appointment is not tainted with any irregularity which entitles the Tribunal to interfere. That decision is based on the abolition of the complainant's post - made redundant by the installation of three computers - and that is a plausible reason for not extending an appointment which has expired."
Keywords:
abolition of post; contract; fixed-term; grounds; judicial review; non-renewal of contract; reorganisation;
Consideration 3
Extract:
The refusal to extend the complainant's appointment is based on the abolition of the complainant's post. Considering the length of his service, the complainant might have expected to be kept on, but "it does not follow that the Director-General exceeded his discretionary authority in taking a decision which there is no reason to doubt was in accordance with the interests of the organization in his charge."
Keywords:
abolition of post; contract; discretion; fixed-term; legitimate expectation; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest;
Consideration 2
Extract:
"A decision not to extend a fixed-term appointment or not to convert it into an appointment of indeterminate duration falls within the Director-General's discretionary authority. Hence the Tribunal may quash it only if [...]."
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract; offer; permanent appointment;
Judgment 245
33rd Session, 1974
International Atomic Energy Agency
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
"[The] argument [of misuse of authority] can be accepted only if the Director-General was actuated by improper motives. Since it is the Director-General's duty to safeguard the [organisation's] interests at all times, the question arises whether the impugned decision [not to renew the complainant's contract] is in accordance with those interests. the tribunal will not substitute its own opinion of the nature of the [organisation's] interests for that of the highest authorities of the administration, which are the sole judges."
Keywords:
abuse of power; contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; misuse of authority; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest;
Consideration 5
Extract:
[T]he refusal of the complainant's request to extend his contract "deprives him of his pension entitlements. It therefore has substantial effects on the financial interests of a staff member whose services were consistently regarded by [the organisation] as satisfactory."
Keywords:
consequence; contract; extension of contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; participation; pension; refusal; unjspf;
Consideration 3
Extract:
"The complainant cannot properly take the [organisation] to task for appointing him without informing him of its general practice of not granting fixed-term appointments of more than five years' duration. It may of course be regrettable that he was not informed at the outset of that restriction, as new staff members [...] apparently now are. But since he should have expected his appointment to be terminated [...] he cannot found any claim on the omission which he attributes to [the organisation]."
Keywords:
contract; contributory service; duration of appointment; duty to inform; fixed-term; forfeiture of benefit; limits; negligence; non-renewal of contract; organisation;
Consideration 5
Extract:
"[B]y causing the complainant serious loss which was not justified by the need to safeguard any interest of the [organisation] the Director-General drew from the dossier conclusions which are clearly mistaken."
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; forfeiture of benefit; injury; mistaken conclusion; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest; pension; pension entitlements;
Consideration 3
Extract:
The director of personnel had informed the complainant that fixed-term contracts "[...]'can be followed by [further] fixed-term contracts depending upon the needs of the [organisation's] programme and work performances of the staff member concerned'. The complainant could not infer from that statement [...] any right to continue in the [organisation's] service until completion of the programme to which he had been assigned and for as long as his work performance was satisfactory. On the contrary, by using the word 'can' the [organisation] reserved the right to terminate his appointment even if the stipulated conditions were fulfilled."
Keywords:
condition; contract; extension of contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties;
Judgment 243
33rd Session, 1974
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 1
Extract:
"[T]he Administrative Tribunal may interfere with a decision [...] refusing to extend a fixed-term appointment only if [...]."
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract;
Consideration 7
Extract:
The organisation, "instead of terminating the complainant's services as soon as it realised his inability to work in an international organisation, ¨[...] found him other work; but again he proved incompetent. It offered him field posts; but he refused them. It is clear therefore that he was treated with consideration."
Keywords:
contract; fitness for international civil service; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; unsatisfactory service;
Judgment 241
33rd Session, 1974
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 2
Extract:
According to the complainant, the decision not to renew her contract was taken on mistaken grounds, that is on incorrect facts. In concluding that there had been no prejudice, that her case had been fully examined and that despite warnings her work performance had not improved, the Director-General "took account of facts which are not proved to be incorrect." Each of these points is confirmed by the evidence in the dossier.
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract; unsatisfactory service; warning;
Consideration 2
Extract:
There is no "question of misuse of authority. [Indeed] there is no reason to suppose that in terminating the complainant's appointment the Director-General was actuated by motives foreign to the organization's interests."
Keywords:
abuse of power; contract; fixed-term; misuse of authority; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest;
Judgment 230
32nd Session, 1974
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations
Extract:
"When the complainant was reappointed [...] the officials of the organization did not realise that they were depriving him of the chance of becoming a full participant in the Joint Staff Pension Fund. In all likelihood, had they realised the consequences of their decision, they would have extended the period of the contract [...] without regard to the date of expiry of the project and so enabled the complainant to become a full participant."
Keywords:
contract; contributory service; extension of contract; fixed-term; forfeiture of benefit; negligence; non-renewal of contract; participation; unjspf;
Considerations
Extract:
"The decision to extend the complainant's appointment [...] was taken in the exercise of discretion. The Tribunal can therefore interfere with it only if [...]."
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract;
Judgment 229
32nd Session, 1974
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 2(h)
Extract:
"[T]he Director-General did not draw conclusions which are clearly false from the facts brought to his attention. Over and above the various criticisms, couched in more or less veiled terms, of the complainant's relations with other staff members, the organisation's financial difficulties [...] warranted the decision to terminate the appointment of a staff member whose services appeared no longer necessary."
Keywords:
budgetary reasons; conduct; contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; working relations;
Consideration 2(b)
Extract:
"The decision not to renew a staff member's appointment need not take any particular form. The impugned decision was communicated in writing and its form is not open to any formal criticism."
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; formal flaw; formal requirements; non-renewal of contract;
Consideration 2(e)
Extract:
Provision is made under the Staff Regulations for the automatic expiry of fixed-term appointments and the material provision expressly states that such appointments carry no expectation of renewal. "Being in conformity with this provision the impugned decision is not based on any error of law. The duration of her appointment does not invalidate this finding, since there is no provision of the Staff Regulations or of her contract of appointment requiring the organisation to take account of the duration of the appointment." (The complainant had been advised of the impending non-renewal of her contract after 6 years of service.)
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; judicial review; legitimate expectation; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; successive contracts;
Consideration 2(c)
Extract:
The complainant had in fact exercised her right to a hearing when she sent the Director-General a letter which included an account of her position. "She has no grounds for complaining that the Director-General did not interview her personally since the right to a hearing does not imply any right to plead one's case orally before the Director-General."
Keywords:
consequence; contract; fixed-term; general principle; non-renewal of contract; right to reply;
Judgment 223
31st Session, 1973
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations
Extract:
It appears from the evidence that the "sole purpose [of the decision not to renew the complainant's contract upon his reaching retirement age] was to remove [him]." Certain irregularities could be observed in his service, but no serious inquiry was made nor any disciplinary proceedings undertaken. "[T]he decision [...] was based on mere suspicions unsupported by the slightest evidence, and is therefore tainted by misuse of authority and must be quashed."
Keywords:
abuse of power; age limit; contract; disciplinary procedure; fixed-term; inquiry; investigation; lack of evidence; misconduct; misuse of authority; non-renewal of contract; retirement;
Considerations
Extract:
"[T]he Tribunal's competence to review the legality of the decision is confined to determining, among other things, whether the impugned decision is tainted by misuse of authority."
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract;
Considerations
Extract:
The non-renewal decision having to be quashed for misuse of authority, account must be taken of material and moral damage and of the fact that the complainant could not have been retained in service beyond the age of 65. "It would therefore be a fair assessment of the circumstances as a whole to award [...] compensation in an amount of 35,000 Swiss francs, less the sum already granted to him by [the organisation]."
Keywords:
abuse of power; age limit; amount; contract; criteria; fixed-term; material damages; misuse of authority; moral injury; non-renewal of contract; retirement;
Judgment 221
31st Session, 1973
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 5
Extract:
The complainant accepted the renewal of his contract, while reserving the right to appeal in connection with the circumstances of an earlier non-renewal. This reservation means either that while accepting the renewal, he is appealing against the non-renewal, which is a self-contradiction, or that while accepting the renewal, he still wishes to complain about an earlier non-renewal; that "would involve an investigation into the history of a decision which is not impugned and which, being superseded, is not impugnable. The Tribunal cannot give effect to a reservation in such terms."
Keywords:
contract; extension of contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; receivability of the complaint;
Judgment 215
31st Session, 1973
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 1
Extract:
"There is not, nor is there alleged to be, any term of the complainant's appointment nor any provision in any Staff Regulation which requires the organization either to grant or to extend secondments to another international organization. Accordingly, the Tribunal is not competent to examine this complaint or to consider whether or not the reason given by the organization for its refusal was well-founded."
Keywords:
competence of tribunal; extension of contract; no provision; non-renewal of contract; secondment; terms of appointment;
Judgment 195
29th Session, 1972
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Summary
Extract:
The complainant's appointment was not renewed because the government concerned did not favour his return to the regional office. There is evidence of strong and unjustifiable prejudice against the complainant. The organization failed in its duty to bring to the attention of the government concerned all relevant matters of the case. The complainant is awarded an indemnity of US $20,000 for moral and material damage.
Keywords:
bias; contract; damages; fixed-term; material injury; moral injury; non-renewal of contract; persona non grata;
Judgment 191
28th Session, 1972
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations
Extract:
"The Director-General fell into the error of supposing that because the limited part of the complainant's work which he himself saw was bad in his opinion therefore the complainant's work as a whole was to be condemned. In treating as of no account the unanimous opinion of those who were familiar with the whole of [the complainant's] performance, the Director-General failed to take into consideration essential facts of the case. His decision must therefore be quashed."
Keywords:
contract; different appraisals; disregard of essential fact; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; satisfactory service; unsatisfactory service; work appraisal;
Considerations
Extract:
The Tribunal must determine whether a decision taken by virtue of a discretionary authority "was taken with authority, is in regular form, whether the correct procedure has been followed and, as regards its legality under the organization's own rules, whether the administration's decision was based on an error of law or fact, or whether essential facts have not been taken into consideration, or again, whether conclusions which are clearly false have been drawn from the documents in the dossier, or finally, whether there has been a misuse of authority."
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract;
Considerations
Extract:
"While the Director-General [...] was entitled to differ [with] the opinion expressed by the high-ranking officials [...] he should, before reaching the final decision which he alone was competent to make, have taken into account not only the complainant's attitude on the particular occasions when he had 'personally seen him at work', but also the quality of the complainant's general performance of his duties as attested by his immediate supervisors in highly favourable terms."
Keywords:
contract; different appraisals; disregard of essential fact; executive head; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; supervisor; unsatisfactory service; work appraisal;
Judgment 190
28th Session, 1972
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations
Extract:
The minutes in question "merely show the organization's wish to find some means of retaining the complainant's services after the expiry of his appointment [...] and the attempts made to that end. They contain no promise either of a further extension or of a new appointment, still less any commitment." The complainant "could not justifiably rely on the [...] assurances [...] given to him by certain officials" in respect of an extension.
Keywords:
contract; evidence; fixed-term; lack of evidence; non-renewal of contract; offer; promise;
Considerations
Extract:
The complainant "alleges that the Organization did not in fact employ him on the work for which he had been recruited for a period of two years, and was thus gravely at fault; even supposing that the truth of this allegation were established, it would not be such as to vitiate the impugned decision not to renew his contract."
Keywords:
assignment; contract; difference; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; post description;
Considerations
Extract:
"[T]he offer made to the complainant by the organization of a new contract involving appointment to a P.4 post [...] at a salary substantially equivalent to his previous salary did not imply any demotion, entailing as it did the conclusion of a new contract. To avoid incurring the injury for which he has claimed compensation, the complainant could have accepted that offer, which in the circumstances of the case appeared to be a reasonable one."
Keywords:
amendment to the rules; complainant; contract; downgrading; fixed-term; grade; non-renewal of contract; offer; refusal; salary;
Judgment 176
26th Session, 1971
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 1
Extract:
"The liability of the organization to pay compensation is established by Judgment No. 136 [under two heads:] [...] compensation to the complainant for the non-renewal of his contract [...] and compensation for moral damage for illegal suspension from duty."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 136
Keywords:
contract; execution of judgment; fixed-term; injury; judgment of the tribunal; material damages; moral injury; non-renewal of contract; suspension;
Judgment 166
25th Session, 1970
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations
Extract:
"[T]he fact that other staff members whose contracts, like that of [the complainant] had not been extended were able to find other posts within the [organization] does not in itself prove that the decisions not to appoint the complainant to the [...] posts [applied for] are tainted by misuse of authority. While it may be a matter for regret that [the complainant], whose efficiency is not in question, should have had to leave the service of [the organization], the Tribunal can only find that the decisions impugned are legally valid."
Keywords:
abuse of power; contract; discretion; equal treatment; fixed-term; judicial review; misuse of authority; non-renewal of contract;
Considerations
Extract:
"With regard to the non-renewal of the complainant's contract, it is clear from [...] the evidence [...] that the measure in question was justified by the termination of the [mission] for which [the complainant] had been appointed, and by the exhaustion of the funds allocated to it, and also that the measure was of a general character which did not affect [the complainant] alone." There is no evidence of animosity or bias.
Keywords:
budgetary reasons; contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; project personnel;
Considerations
Extract:
"The action of the Director-General [...] or of an official acting under his orders in deciding not to renew the temporary appointment of a staff member [lies within] the discretionary power conferred on the head of the organization in the interest of the organization itself. The existence of this discretionary power excludes any right [...] to the renewal of [an] appointment and also restricts the Tribunal's power of review."
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest;
Judgment 157
24th Session, 1970
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 1
Extract:
On return from a mission, the complainant was ill. The organisation extended his contract for as long as the sick leave to which he was entitled under his contract. With the expiry of that contract, there was no longer any legal connection between the official and the organisation, which "could no longer lawfully grant him further sick leave or continue to bear his medical expenses." The organisation was bound by no provision nor any general principle of law to grant the complainant monetary compensation.
Keywords:
contract; extension of contract; fixed-term; health insurance; illness; medical expenses; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; project personnel; service-incurred; sick leave;
Judgment 155
24th Session, 1970
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 1
Extract:
"[T]he Director-General's refusal to renew an official's contract on its expiry is not a disciplinary measure in the terms of the Staff Rules. It falls within his full discretion."
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract;
Consideration 1
Extract:
Following home leave granted to the complainant at his own request, "the Director-General was obliged to regularise his position. He did so by granting [the complainant] special leave with pay [...] to [...] the date of expiry of his contract. In law this decision is beyond reproach."
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; home leave; non-renewal of contract; special leave;
Judgment 136
22nd Session, 1969
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
If the organization does not renew the appointment, it shall pay complainant such compensation as is equitable. If the sums offered to the complainant "are not such as he considers equitable, he may submit a claim in respect thereof to the Tribunal, giving all the information necessary to its assessment and stating in particular : a) the amount of his remuneration when employed by the organization; and b) the nature and periods of any employment obtained by him since [he left the organization] and the amounts earned thereby."
Keywords:
amount; contract; criteria; fixed-term; material damages; non-renewal of contract; reinstatement; subsidiary; suspension;
Consideration 2
Extract:
The complainant made accusations which led to an inquiry. When the decision not to renew his contract was taken, the results of the inquiry were not yet known. The accuser was judged before the accusations themselves. The decision is tainted by error and must be rescinded; "the organization must either renew the contract on equitable terms or pay to the complainant such compensation as is equitable".
Keywords:
complainant; contract; fixed-term; flaw; inquiry; investigation; misconduct; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties;
Consideration 3
Extract:
The suspension of the complainant was followed by an improper decision not to renew his contract. Having received his full salary, the complainant "has suffered no material damage, but he has suffered moral damage. He is entitled to equitable compensation for the distress caused by the manner of his treatment and for the injury done thereby to his reputation and to his prospects of obtaining other employment. The organization must therefore pay to the complainant equitable compensation in respect of the illegality of his suspension from duty".
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; flaw; injury; moral injury; non-renewal of contract; professional injury; suspension;
Consideration 2
Extract:
"The organization seeks to justify the decision [not to renew contract] on the ground that the complainant, by making grave accusations against a colleague, had created a situation which made the smooth working of the [regional office] impossible [...]. The error which the Director-General made - an error which in the opinion of the Tribunal vitiates his decision not to renew the complainant's contract - is that he judged and condemned the accuser before the accusations had themselves been judged".
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; flaw; non-renewal of contract; working relations;
