Judgment 2944
109th Session, 2010
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 45
Extract:
"By not paying the sums owed to creditors for more than ten years and not complying with several court rulings ordering her to meet her obligations, the complainant, an international civil servant, plainly did not show due respect for local laws and institutions and for the public policy of the host State [...]."
Keywords:
debt; domestic law; judgment of the tribunal; member state; misconduct; municipal court; staff member's duties;
Judgment 2657
103rd Session, 2007
European Patent Organisation
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 6
Extract:
The complainant contests the decision not to appoint him to a post as examiner at the European Patent Office on the grounds that he did not meet the physical requirements for the post but the Tribunal considers that persons who have applied for a post in an international organisation and who have not been recruited are barred from access to the Tribunal. The complainant asks that the Organisation be ordered to waive its immunity to enable him to bring proceedings before a German court. "[T]he Tribunal [recalls that it] has no authority to order the EPO to waive its immunity (see Judgment 933, under 6). It notes, however, that the present judgment creates a legal vacuum and considers it highly desirable that the Organisation should seek a solution affording the complainant access to a court, either by waiving its immunity or by submitting the dispute to arbitration."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 933
Keywords:
appointment; arbitration; candidate; claim; competence of tribunal; condition; grounds; handicapped person; judgment of the tribunal; medical examination; medical fitness; municipal court; open competition; organisation; post; refusal; safeguard; waiver of immunity;
Judgment 2540
101st Session, 2006
International Telecommunication Union
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 27
Extract:
"The Tribunal is obliged to note that it is a most serious breach of the rights of international civil servants to take retaliatory action simply because they have pursued an internal appeal. International civil servants - no matter how high their rank is - cannot protect their rights in national tribunals. Their only recourse is through the mechanisms established by the relevant Staff Rules. To punish a person because he or she has had resort to those mechanisms is a gross abuse of power warranting an award of substantial exemplary damages [...]."
Keywords:
abuse of power; amount; disciplinary measure; exemplary damages; hidden disciplinary measure; internal appeal; misuse of authority; municipal court; official; organisation's duties; right; right of appeal;
Judgment 2503
100th Session, 2006
European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 5
Extract:
The complainant was assigned to the Organisation by temporary employment agencies. "The fact that Eurocontrol relied on its immunity from jurisdiction and on the Tribunal's competence to hear disputes between the Agency and its staff in order to challenge the jurisdiction of the conseil de prud'hommes, cannot deprive it of its right to request that the Tribunal decline jurisdiction in accordance with its Statute."
Keywords:
competence of tribunal; iloat statute; municipal court; organisation's duties; privileges and immunities; receivability of the complaint; right;
Judgment 1773
85th Session, 1998
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations 5-6
Extract:
"The [Organization] argues that the Tribunal is not competent to hear [the complaints]. In its submission [the] contract of employment [signed by the complainant] does not vest competence in the Tribunal but expressly provides for arbitration over any dispute. In the circumstances of the case the plea cannot succeed. The [Organization refused the complainant's] request for arbitration. Although there was no express provision vesting competence in the Tribunal to hear the dispute between the Organization and the complainant, it employed him, paid his salary and terminated his appointment. There is therefore no denying the Tribunal's competence by virtue of the general terms of Article II of its Statute. Such denial would mean either that no court at all had jurisdiction or that the case must go to the [national] courts, to whose jurisdiction the [Organization] declines to submit."
Reference(s)
ILOAT reference: ARTICLE II OF THE STATUTE
Keywords:
arbitration; competence of tribunal; contract; declaration of recognition; iloat statute; municipal court; right of appeal;
Judgment 1451
79th Session, 1995
Universal Postal Union
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 28
Extract:
"[Certain] conclusions may be drawn from [...] considerations of comparative law. Jurisdiction is conferred where there are significant connections with a particular forum; recourse to a specific system of law is one such connection; there may be more than one forum which has jurisdiction; the connections are to be assessed against the interests of both parties to the litigation and against the public interest as well; and any conflict of jurisdiction must invariably be so resolved as to allow no judicial void where conflicting jurisdictions decline competence."
Keywords:
applicable law; competence; domestic law; general principle; municipal court;
Consideration 30
Extract:
"The reinstatement of the status quo by the quashing of the decision [to amend the rules of the provident fund so as to confer sole jurisdiction on a national tribunal] restores a situation which is quite consistent with the requirement of rational division of jurisdiction in the international context. Each of the jurisdictions that may be competent - the [national] tribunal and this Tribunal - will be able to determine its own competence according to the material rules on conflict. That was what the Tribunal held in Judgment 1258 on a case in which there was similar conflict of jurisdiction: it said under 4 that it was for each court to rule on its own competence."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 1258
Keywords:
applicable law; case law; competence; competence of tribunal; domestic law; general principle; municipal court;
Consideration 20
Extract:
"The [amendment in question] strikes out of the terms of employment ipso facto the safeguard of international judicial review and vests jurisdiction in municipal courts instead. The amendment brings about an immediate and almost irreversible change in the system of appeal. So [...] every staff member has an actual and present interest in having light shed on the matter. The Tribunal affords guarantees of a system of international law within the bounds of its competence: see Judgments 1265, under 24, and 1328, under 13. It would therefore be wrong to deny the staff the right of appeal on the grounds that the impugned decision is general in purport."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 1265, 1328
Keywords:
amendment to the rules; case law; cause of action; competence of tribunal; complaint; general decision; internal appeal; municipal court; receivability of the complaint; right of appeal; safeguard; staff regulations and rules; tribunal;
Consideration 27
Extract:
"In this case there are close enough connections with both municipal and international law to warrant recognition of both jurisdictions, each for different issues. A staff member may therefore go to whatever tribunal he deems competent, and any tribunal with which suit is filed will determine whether the material issues of the particular case make it the most suitable jurisdiction. Such is the universally acknowledged doctrine of the forum conveniens".
Keywords:
competence; competence of tribunal; municipal court; tribunal;
Judgment 1312
76th Session, 1994
International Atomic Energy Agency
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 14
Extract:
The complainant started divorce proceedings and was charged with acting against "law and morals" in his home country and was held there against his will. He was unable to return to his duty station at the end of his home leave and the Agency decided not to renew his appointment. "Circumstances relating to an official's private life - even though they may prompt civil or penal proceedings - are relevant in the area of administration only insofar as they may affect his performance of official duties."
Keywords:
conduct; contract; fitness for international civil service; fixed-term; municipal court; non-renewal of contract; outside activity; staff member's duties;
Judgment 1266
75th Session, 1993
International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations 26 and 29
Extract:
Vide Judgment 1265, considerations 26 and 29.
Keywords:
adjustment; case law; criteria; discretion; icsc decision; judicial review; limits; municipal court; reckoning; salary; scale;
Judgment 1265
75th Session, 1993
World Intellectual Property Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations 26 and 29
Extract:
The organization, a member of the "common system" administered by the ICSC, revised the salaries of staff in the general service category in keeping with a scale drawn up by the ICSC for organisations whose headquarters are in Geneva. The complainants submit that the ICSC's decisions are invalid. "The Tribunal may not interfere in the exercise of [the organization's] discretion or in the drafting of the salary policy it is based on. But it does have a power of review in this area which is clearly defined [...] the Tribunal has, like other international and national administrative tribunals, set criteria for what may be termed 'external' or 'marginal' review of discretionary decisions, and [...] they were set out in detail in Judgment 1000, under 12."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 1000
Keywords:
adjustment; case law; compensation; criteria; discretion; general service category; icsc decision; judicial review; limits; municipal court; reckoning; salary; scale;
Judgment 1258
75th Session, 1993
European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
EMBL submits that only if the complainant withdraws a suit she filed with a national court will her complaint be receivable and that only the withdrawal of that suit will show that she acknowledges the Tribunal's competence. "The Tribunal is competent to entertain her claims under paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article II of its Statute; she has observed the time limits; and her complaint is receivable. It is for the [national] labour court [...] to rule on its own competence."
Reference(s)
ILOAT reference: ARTICLE II(5) AND (6) OF THE STATUTE
Keywords:
competence of tribunal; complaint; iloat statute; municipal court; receivability of the complaint;
Judgment 1257
75th Session, 1993
European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
Vide Judgment 1258, consideration 4.
Reference(s)
ILOAT reference: ARTICLE II(5) AND (6) OF THE STATUTE
Keywords:
competence of tribunal; complaint; iloat statute; municipal court; receivability of the complaint;
Judgment 1070
70th Session, 1991
International Telecommunication Union
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 7
Extract:
The complainant was dismissed for having got the ILO/ITU Health Fund to reimburse medical costs incurred by his former wife when another health scheme had already met them. "It is irrelevant to his plea of good faith that he has instigated criminal proceedings against her in the French courts on the grounds of fraud, though he might cite her conviction, if she were found guilty of the charges, as a new fact warranting review."
Keywords:
dependant; evidence; good faith; health insurance; judgment of the tribunal; medical expenses; misconduct; municipal court; request by a party; termination of employment;
Judgment 872
63rd Session, 1987
European Southern Observatory
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 5
Extract:
"A decision by a national court cannot be binding on the Tribunal, which is the body of final instance competent to interpret the Staff Rules as an issue of law."
Keywords:
competence of tribunal; consequence; iloat; interpretation; judgment of the tribunal; last instance; municipal court; staff regulations and rules;
Judgment 727
58th Session, 1986
European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
"The complainant is mistaken in his contention that the filing of a suit with the municipal courts can have any effect on the receivability of a complaint lodged with the Tribunal. Suing Eurocontrol before the Sittard court did not have the effect of suspending the time limit for filing this complaint."
Keywords:
complaint; effect; inquiry; investigation; municipal court; new time limit; receivability of the complaint; time bar; time limit;
Judgment 507
48th Session, 1982
European Southern Observatory
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
"The decisions of the Supreme Court are not of course binding on the Tribunal, but this does not mean that they cannot be used as an aid to interpretation. When a court or tribunal has to interpret a clause it is always permissible for it to consider how the same clause has been interpreted by other courts and tribunals who can speak with authority."
Keywords:
interpretation; judgment of the tribunal; municipal court; tribunal;
Consideration 4
Extract:
"Having regard to the fact that the clause [which reproduces an article of the Chilean Labour Code] is in Spanish, a language with which the Tribunal is not familiar, and has to be applied to conditions in Chile with which likewise the Tribunal is not familiar, the Tribunal would be foolish if it did not attach great weight to the observations of a supreme court which is familiar with both. Moreover, the basic idea of the Supreme Court's interpretation [...] appears to the Tribunal to accord very well with the object of the clause."
Keywords:
acceptance; domestic law; interpretation; municipal court; tribunal;
Judgment 500
48th Session, 1982
European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 1
Extract:
Article 92 of Eurocontrol's General Conditions of Employment establishes the jurisdiction of the Tribunal "in the absence of a competent national jurisdiction. But [...] the Constitutional Court of the Federal Republic of Germany held that the West German courts were not competent in this case. Nor may any other national jurisdiction be invoked."
Keywords:
competence; competence of tribunal; municipal court; subsidiary;
Judgment 298
38th Session, 1977
European Southern Observatory
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations
Extract:
"[E]ven if recourse to a national court, which does not have jurisdiction, might be regarded as postponing the time limit for appeal to the Tribunal, which does have jurisdiction, such an appeal may properly be lodged in accordance with the Tribunal's Statute only within ninety days after notification of the national court's decision that it is not competent [...]." [In the instant case that time limit was not observed.]
Keywords:
complaint; municipal court; new time limit; start of time limit; time bar;
Considerations
Extract:
"It appears from the dossier that the [alleged] decision [...] is a decision taken on the matter [...] by the Labour Court of Hamburg [...] but the Administrative Tribunal of the ILO is an international tribunal and is not competent to hear an appeal against a decision by a national court."
Keywords:
competence of tribunal; judgment of the tribunal; municipal court;
Judgment 187
28th Session, 1972
International Atomic Energy Agency
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations
Extract:
"The complaint under consideration, which is expressly directed against the decision of the Labour Court of the city of Vienna [...] is lodged with a tribunal which is not competent to hear it because it does not impugn a decision of the Director-General." [The Austrian Court had declared its incompetence; the case concerned matters relating to pension rights].
Keywords:
competence of tribunal; judgment of the tribunal; municipal court;
Judgment 15
4th Session, 1954
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations
Extract:
The Director-General ordered an official to appear before the judicial authorities of the country of which he was a national "this order obviously does not concern the actual service of the international organisation [...]. The latter must enjoy the full sovereignty of its authority and must not be to any extent subject to external influence emanating from one of its states members; [...] in this respect most strict and clear provisions guarantee its complete independence and that of its officials."
Keywords:
independence; member state; municipal court; official; organisation;
