Judgment 1425
79th Session, 1995
European Organization for Nuclear Research
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 9
Extract:
The judgment on which the complainant relies, "restored her contractual rights by quashing the unlawful dismissal. But it did not confer on her any rights beyond those she derived from her contract. Since the contract was for a fixed term CERN had no duty either to convert it into a permanent one or to extend it until she was fit to go back to work."
Keywords:
contract; execution of judgment; fixed-term; judgment of the tribunal; organisation's duties; reinstatement; termination of employment;
Judgment 1405
78th Session, 1995
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 6
Extract:
"Disciplinary proceedings, and the safeguards they afford, are relevant in the event of misconduct warranting disciplinary action while an official is under contract, and one possible sanction is termination of the appointment, whatever its duration may be. Disciplinary proceedings do not apply in the event of due expiry of a fixed-term appointment, when the issue is whether in the light ofpast performance the contract should be renewed. An organisation must be allowed full freedom to decide the issue without having to go through the disciplinary procedure."
Keywords:
consequence; contract; disciplinary measure; disciplinary procedure; discretion; fixed-term; misconduct; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest; safeguard;
Consideration 4
Extract:
"Precedent acknowledges an organisation's wide discretion in renewing a fixed-term appointment and its right to refuse renewal for reasons that include misconduct and unsatisfactory performance".
Keywords:
case law; contract; discretion; fixed-term; misconduct; non-renewal of contract; unsatisfactory service;
Consideration 6
Extract:
"Since disciplinary proceedings are irrelevant to non-renewal of a fixed term appointment, the complainant may not properly allege hidden disciplinary action."
Keywords:
contract; disciplinary measure; disciplinary procedure; fixed-term; hidden disciplinary measure; non-renewal of contract;
Judgment 1385
78th Session, 1995
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations 12-13
Extract:
The complainant had his short-term appointment extended after a break during which he had an external collaboration contract. Under Rule 3.5 of the short-term rules whenever the appointment of a short-term official is extended by a period of less than one year so that the total continuous contractual service amounts to one year or more, the terms and conditions of a fixed-term appointment - with certain exceptions - apply. "The interruption of the complainant's appointment by the external collaboration contract was merely a device to deny him the protection of Rule 3.5 without forfeiting the benefit of his services. There being no change in the actual conditions of employment, the real intention was that he should continue to do the same work as before. [...] The external collaboration contract must be treated like any other of his short-term contracts that ensured continuity of service. So his 'total continuous contractual service' [exceeded one year] and he thus became entitled [...] to 'the terms and conditions of a fixed-term appointment'."
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: ILO SHORT-TERM RULE 3.5
Keywords:
contract; duration of appointment; enforcement; extension of contract; external collaborator; fixed-term; intention of parties; interpretation; non-renewal of contract; short-term; staff regulations and rules; successive contracts;
Judgment 1384
78th Session, 1995
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 11
Extract:
The complainant was accused of removing computer equipment from the work place. The organization accordingly decided not to renew his fixed-term appointment. After carrying out an inquiry, the regional director submitted a first report which "showed that there was at most mere suspicion that the complainant might have been involved. There was no basis on which the organization could contend that the charge of theft had been satisfactorily proved. What it did in effect was to reverse the burden of proof by expecting the complainant to show that hisconduct was 'spotless'."
Keywords:
burden of proof; conduct; contract; evidence; fixed-term; inquiry; investigation; lack of evidence; misconduct; non-renewal of contract; presumption of innocence;
Consideration 16
Extract:
The complainant was accused of removing computer equipment from the work place. For that reason the organization decided not to renew his fixed-term appointment. "The decision not to renew the complainant's contract was based on loss of confidence consequent upon the finding of misconduct. That finding was based on an error of law as to the burden of proof; rules of procedure relating to the right of defence were seriously violated; essential facts were not taken into consideration; and clearly mistaken conclusions were drawn from the facts. so the finding cannot stand, and the plea of loss of confidence which the organization based thereon must be rejected."
Keywords:
breach; burden of proof; conduct; contract; disregard of essential fact; evidence; fixed-term; misconduct; mistaken conclusion; non-renewal of contract; right to reply;
Consideration 17
Extract:
The complainant was charged with removing computer equipment from the work place but no evidence of theft was ever produced. "The decision not to renew his contract, based as it was on a finding of theft, must have seriously harmed his moral and social standing and his prospects of finding other employment."
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; misconduct; moral injury; non-renewal of contract; professional injury;
Consideration 18
Extract:
The complainant was accused of stealing computer equipment but no formal proof of this was ever given. The organization decided not to renew his fixed-term appointment on grounds of theft. The Tribunal holds that the complainant "must be put in the same position as if his contract had never terminated and be reinstated as from the date of termination up to the date of this judgment. Since his performance was good he should be granted any within-grade salary increases he would ordinarily have been entitled to. Although any indemnities or earnings from employment after termination may be deducted from the amounts due, he is entitled to the payment of interest on all arrears of pay at the rate of 8 per cent a year from the dates at which each component sum fell due. [...] He is to be granted an appointment for a period of two years starting at the date of delivery of this judgment."
Keywords:
compensation; contract; date; fixed-term; increment; interest on damages; non-renewal of contract; procedural flaw; professional injury; reckoning; reconstruction of career; reinstatement;
Consideration 15
Extract:
The complainant was accused of removing computer equipment from the work place. For that reason the organization did not renew his fixed-term contract. "There were many flaws in the procedure that the organization followed. It did not allow the complainant to be present when statements were taken from the witnesses or to question them. [...] Not only was he denied access to their statements but even their identity was concealed from him. [...] No verbatim record of the statements by the witnesses was ever produced." He never got to see the results of the investigation carried out into the matter and he was not given an opportunity to put forward any arguments in his favour. "The conclusion is that he was denied his right to defend himself before an adverse decision was taken [...]. The complainant's right of defence was seriously prejudiced."
Keywords:
conduct; contract; due process; fixed-term; flaw; inquiry; investigation; misconduct; non-renewal of contract; procedural flaw; right to reply;
Consideration 9
Extract:
"As the Tribunal has consistently affirmed - more recently, for example, in Judgment 1317 [...], under 24 and 28 - an organisation is required to give a reason for [the] non-renewal [of a fixed-term appointment]".
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 1317
Keywords:
case law; contract; decision; duty to substantiate decision; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract;
Consideration 18
Extract:
The organization accused the complainant of removing computer equipment from the work place. It decided not to renew his fixed-term appointment on the grounds of theft. "The damage to the complainant's career and reputation is so grave that nothing short of reinstatement and the grant of a further contract of employment will suffice."
Keywords:
compensation; contract; fixed-term; moral injury; non-renewal of contract; professional injury; reinstatement;
Judgment 1381
78th Session, 1995
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations 18 and 20
Extract:
During a staff meeting the complainant spoke out on issues of a personal nature. Although he then heeded an order not to raise personal matters at staff meetings, "his subsequent remarks show some defiance, even if they were not intended to threaten; by circulating the text of his statement to the staff he thwarted that ruling; and the language he used in it, and his refusal to withdraw it,only made matters worse. He was thereby guilty of misconduct likely to undermine the authority of his supervisors and to disrupt the functioning of the organization by embroiling other officials in personal disputes. [...] The organization was justified in deciding not to renew the complainant's appointment."
Keywords:
conduct; contract; fixed-term; insubordination; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest; serious misconduct; staff member's duties;
Considerations 19-20
Extract:
"As to his suitability for the international civil service, the flow of documents between him and his supervisors on matters which could easily have been dealt with by discussion and dialogue shows a deterioration in his relationswith others at work, and for that he was at least partly to blame. The many notes for the record also indicate some lack of mutual respect and trust. He got a written reprimand [...] for ignoring normal channels of communication and for threatening to ask [his government] to make an official request to the organization, but even that did not deter him. His conduct fell below the standards expected of an international civil servant. The organization was justified in deciding not to renew the complainant's appointment."
Keywords:
censure; conduct; contract; disciplinary measure; fitness for international civil service; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; serious misconduct; working relations;
Judgment 1362
77th Session, 1994
World Intellectual Property Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 6
Extract:
"[S]ince the dispute arose out of the decision not to renew [the complainant's] two-year appointment, the organization is right as a matter of principle to refuse his claim to damages for loss of a full career. The two consecutive awards of one year's salary afford sufficient redress to someone who had a rightful expectation of renewal for no more than two years. His claims under this head fail."
Keywords:
amount; application for execution; career; compensation; contract; fixed-term; injury; legitimate expectation; non-renewal of contract;
Judgment 1351
77th Session, 1994
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 13
Extract:
"A decision not to renew a fixed-term contract does not interfere with any contractual right but merely disappoints expectation of further employment. The complainant is not entitled to the exceptional relief of reinstatement but only to an award of damages".
Keywords:
compensation; contract; damages; decision; exception; fixed-term; legitimate expectation; non-renewal of contract; reinstatement;
Judgment 1350
77th Session, 1994
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 10
Extract:
"A decision as important as termination before expiry of a fixed-term appointment on other than disciplinary grounds must scrupulously observe due process and the safeguards that an appointment with an international organisation affords, whether under the contract or under the rules. In this case the procedure was flawed and the safeguards were not observed. The impugned decision to terminate the complainant's appointment therefore cannot stand, and UNESCO must pay him damages in an amount equivalent to the pay he would have been entitled to had his appointment expired" on the date it was due to run out.
Keywords:
contract; due process; fixed-term; procedural flaw; safeguard; staff regulations and rules; termination of employment;
Judgment 1349
77th Session, 1994
European Southern Observatory
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 11
Extract:
"An organisation enjoys wide discretion in deciding whether or not to renew a fixed-term appointment and a fortiori whether to convert it into an indefinite one. The exercise of such discretion is subject to review, but only to limited review, the Tribunal respecting the organisation's freedom to determine its own requirements and the career prospects of staff."
Keywords:
amendment to the rules; contract; discretion; duration of appointment; fixed-term; judicial review; limits; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest; permanent appointment;
Consideration 14
Extract:
"Professional shortcomings are a typical justification for straightforward separation on expiry of a temporary appointment".
Keywords:
cause; contract; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest; unsatisfactory service;
Judgment 1342
77th Session, 1994
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 14
Extract:
The Organization decided not to extend the complainant's appointment. It submits that the project to which it assigned him was one of limited duration and that there was accordingly no need to apply the reduction-in-force procedure. "Here the project was not one of limited duration. First, the WHO has not produced any document which established the complainant's post or prescribed its duration. Moreover, even assuming that it might have begun as a post of limited duration, the several extensions of it show that it had become one of indefinite duration and the complainant was therefore entitled on the abolition of it to have the reduction-in-force procedure applied."
Keywords:
abolition of post; amendment to the rules; creation of post; due process; fixed-term; legitimate expectation; moral injury; permanent appointment; post; post held by the complainant; procedure before the tribunal; staff reduction;
Judgment 1335
76th Session, 1994
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 3
Extract:
"Decisions to renew or extend fixed-term appointments are at the discretion of the executive head, on the understanding, however, that he shall exercise it for the good of the organisation and in its interests."
Keywords:
contract; decision; discretion; executive head; extension of contract; fixed-term; limits; organisation's interest;
Judgment 1317
76th Session, 1994
International Telecommunication Union
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 28
Extract:
The organisation says that the non-renewal of the complainant's appointment was warranted by restructuring operations in its regional offices. "The duty to state the reasons for a decision forms part of any due administrative process. The Tribunal is not questioning that there was an objective need for the reforms the Union brought in [but] the Union ought to have explained to him why the reforms warranted removing him. It did not. The ITU ignored a long line of precedents on non-renewal procedure."
Keywords:
case law; contract; discretion; duty to substantiate decision; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; organisation's interest; reorganisation;
Consideration 38
Extract:
"A fixed-term appointment will automatically cease to have effect upon expiry. But according to the case law a contract of service, even if for a fixed term, creates in law a relationship of employment; that relationship exists in an administrative context and is subject to a set of staff regulations; and there may therefore be requirements or consequences that go beyond the bounds of the contract as such."
Keywords:
case law; consequence; contract; effect; fixed-term; law of contract;
Considerations 20-21
Extract:
The ITU alleges that as a member of project personnel the complainant could not expect his appointment to be renewed after a restructuring exercise, unlike headquarters officials whose appointments were extended. "It is clear from the Staff Regulations and the relevant rules that the provisions on fixed-term appointments are in substance the same for both [headquarters and project personnel]. [...] The Union is mistaken in relying on [a rule] to rebut the complainant's charge of discrimination in favour of other staff".
Keywords:
contract; equal treatment; fixed-term; headquarters official; legitimate expectation; non-renewal of contract; project personnel; reorganisation; staff regulations and rules; status of complainant;
Consideration 23
Extract:
"Consistent precedent has it that even where an organisation's Staff Regulations say that a fixed-term contract is ipso facto extinguished on expiry non-renewal is to be treated as a distinct and challengeable administrative decision." After referring to Judgments 17 and 1040, the Tribunal observes that "that requirement is an indispensable safeguard of security of employment in the international civil service, which indeed, unlike many national civil services and some regional organisations, commonly grants fixed-term appointments."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 17, 1040
Keywords:
case law; contract; decision; domestic law; fixed-term; international civil service principles; non-renewal of contract; notice; right of appeal; safeguard; staff regulations and rules;
Consideration 24
Extract:
Several recent rulings [...] sharply define the ambit of such review in line with the case law affirmed from the outset: see Judgments 956 [...] under 2 and 3; 1262 [...] under 4; and 1273 [...] under 8.
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 956, 1262, 1273
Keywords:
abuse of power; case law; contract; decision; discretion; due process; duty to substantiate decision; fixed-term; flaw; formal flaw; judicial review; mistake of fact; misuse of authority; non-renewal of contract; notice; organisation's interest; procedural flaw; right to reply;
Considerations 22-23
Extract:
The ITU, relying on material provisions in the Staff Regulations and Rules, argues that the complainant's fixed-term appointment automatically expired when his contract ran out and that it had no need to take a decision on non-renewal. The Tribunal, having made clear that those provisions "have counterparts in the Staff Regulations and Staff Rules of several other international organisations", holds that its ruling on this case "must be in line with what proves to be an important feature of the common law of international organisations, or at least of those that define contracts by category in determining relations with their employees. [...] Consistent precedent has it that [...] a fixed-term contract", even a temporary one, "is to be treated as a distinct and challengeable administrative decision."
Keywords:
case law; contract; coordinated organisations; decision; fixed-term; law of contract; non-renewal of contract; notice; rule of another organisation; staff regulations and rules;
Considerations 37-39
Extract:
The complainant seeks reinstatement in a post he held under a fixed-term appointment. "Reinstatement is a form of restitutio in integrum that will afford proper redress when the holder of an indefinite appointment has been wrongfully dismissed. [...] The Tribunal may consider ordering the reinstatement even of someone who held a fixed-term appointment provided that the circumstances are exceptional". Having referred to the relevant case law on exceptions, the Tribunal observes that there is nothing exceptional in the present case and dismisses his main claim "since reinstating him would in the circumstances be tantamount to direct interference by the Tribunal in the structuring of the ITU's secretariat".
Keywords:
case law; contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; permanent appointment; reinstatement; termination of employment;
Judgment 1312
76th Session, 1994
International Atomic Energy Agency
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 14
Extract:
The complainant was held against his will in his home country and could not return to his duty station at the end of his home leave. He seeks the quashing of the decision not to renew his appointment. Whether or not the Agency was competent to settle the issue which led the authorities of his country to keep him from returning to his duty station, it "had and still has the duty to safeguard its employee's right to work in full independence for his employer".
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; independence; non-renewal of contract; official; organisation's duties;
Consideration 12
Extract:
See Judgment 1317, consideration 24.
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 1317
Keywords:
case law; contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; mistake of fact; non-renewal of contract;
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 1298
75th Session, 1993
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 6
Extract:
Vide Judgment 1154, consideration 4.
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 1154
Keywords:
case law; contract; decision; discretion; duty to inform; duty to substantiate decision; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties;
Judgment 1290
75th Session, 1993
European Organization for Nuclear Research
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
"The Director-General enjoys wide discretion in the matter of renewal of a fixed-term appointment and the Tribunal will exercise only a limited power of review. It will, moreover, show special restraint when a decision not to renew rests on appraisal by the staff member's own supervisors: because of their technical qualifications and familiarity with his work and personal attributes they are, after all, best fitted to advise the Director-General."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 1184
Keywords:
contract; discretion; executive head; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract; supervisor; work appraisal;
Judgment 1278
75th Session, 1993
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 14
Extract:
"The WHO may not absolve itself from liability for keeping a promise by pointing to the provision that there shall be no expectation of renewal."
Keywords:
contract; extension of contract; fixed-term; organisation's duties; promise; right; staff regulations and rules;
Judgment 1262
75th Session, 1993
European Southern Observatory
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
"The case law has made it consistently plain 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, or was based on a mistake of fact or of law, or if some essential fact was overlooked, or if clearly mistaken conclusions were drawn from the facts, or if there was abuse of authority. Moreover, when the reason given for non-renewal is unsatisfactory performance, the Tribunal will not replace the organisation's assessment of the complainant's fitness for his duties with its own."
Keywords:
abuse of power; case law; contract; decision; discretion; disregard of essential fact; fixed-term; flaw; formal flaw; grounds; judicial review; mistake of fact; mistaken conclusion; misuse of authority; non-renewal of contract; procedural flaw; qualifications; unsatisfactory service;
Considerations 6-7
Extract:
"The complainant argues that the ESO drew mistaken conclusions from the facts in that it was not free to have him perform tasks other than those provided for under the terms of his contract [...]. A description of the complainant's post [...] that he himself signed included what were called 'background activities', and they went beyond the tasks that had originally been required of him. The Tribunal is satisfied that by confining himself to [certain tasks] he displayed a lack of commitment which properly put at issue the question as to whether the observatory should extend his contract." The ESO did not draw plainly mistaken conclusions about his performance.
Keywords:
contract; decision; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; mistaken conclusion; non-renewal of contract; post description; unsatisfactory service; work appraisal;
Considerations 11-12
Extract:
The complainant objects to a decision not to extend his appointment. "The complainant was involved in the layout and design of the staff magazine, which, he says, was at times critical of the ESO. [...] The charge of victimisation, which is easy enough to make, has to be supported by serious evidence. The complainant has failed to discharge the burden that lies on him to prove the charge against the Observatory. For one thing, he was not even an official of the Staff Association. For another, his allegation that he was victimised merely because he helped with the publication of the magazine is unsupported by a shred of evidence."
Keywords:
burden of proof; contract; decision; evidence; fixed-term; freedom of speech; harassment; hidden disciplinary measure; non-renewal of contract; staff representative;
Judgment 1249
74th Session, 1993
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 6
Extract:
"The impugned decision [not to renew the complainant's appointment] was warranted neither by the WHO's concern for the purported interests of the country of the complainant's nationality nor by its desire to keep on good terms and work effectively with its membership. Relations with a member state may be good without the Organization's allowing any of its Member States the right to interfere in the area of personnel management."
Keywords:
complainant; contract; decision; fixed-term; independence; international civil service principles; member state; nationality; non-renewal of contract; organisation; place of origin;
Consideration 7
Extract:
The organization decided not to extend the complainant's appointment on the grounds that the authorities of his country were unwilling to release him any longer. "The organization makes out that, having derived from his status as a 'seconded' official the privilege of being relieved of going through the usual competitive process, the complainant may not, according to the doctrine of estoppel, 'take advantage of a special situation in his favour and then later deny the validity of this in order to obtain some further advantage'. The simple answer to that is that the organization bypassed the usual procedure because of an understanding it had with [a Member State]. So it may not properly expect the complainant to suffer for its own failure to follow the usual procedure as laid down in its rules."
Keywords:
appointment; breach; competition; complainant; contract; decision; enforcement; fixed-term; general principle; good faith; non-renewal of contract; procedure before the tribunal; secondment; staff regulations and rules;
Consideration 4
Extract:
WHO put an end to the complainant's appointment on the grounds that the authorities of his country were unwilling to release him any longer. "The Director-General took himself to be bound by the attitude of the government of the Soviet Union. In doing so, he mistook the limits of his own discretion. As was held in Judgment 15 [...] among others, he must in exercising that discretion observe the general principles that govern the international civil service and safeguard the independence of organisation and official alike. The Director-General has committed a mistake of law."
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 15
Keywords:
case law; complainant; contract; decision; discretion; executive head; extension of contract; fixed-term; independence; international civil service principles; limits; member state; nationality; non-renewal of contract; official; organisation; secondment;
Consideration 5
Extract:
The organization failed to renew the complainant's appointment on the grounds that the authorities of his country were unwilling to release him any longer. the director-general has "committed a mistake of fact by wrongly taking the complainant to be on secondment [...] the organization actually concedes the point in its surrejoinder: his appointment 'could not [...] be described as a true secondment'".
Keywords:
complainant; contract; decision; fixed-term; mistake of fact; non-renewal of contract; secondment;
Judgment 1232
74th Session, 1993
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 5
Extract:
The complainant, a civil servant of the organization who had been sentenced in his country of origin, was released from prison but was not allowed to leave the country. Under duress he wrote a letter applying for early retirement which was forwarded to the organization by his government. The organization accepted the request and rejected the complainant's internal appeal against that decision. The Tribunal quashes the decision. "On the evidence he was a good employee and he had his appointment constantly renewed from the start of his imprisonment until the date of consent to his early retirement. He might therefore have reasonably expected renewal of appointment up to the age of retirement."
Keywords:
condition; contract; extension of contract; fixed-term; legitimate expectation; satisfactory service; work appraisal;
Judgment 1230
74th Session, 1993
International Atomic Energy Agency
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 4
Extract:
The impugned decision - the non-renewal of the complainant's contract until his retirement- was made on the basis of mistake of fact, an erroneous interpretation of certain statements made by the complainant regarding his availability. It was also established that the Agency must have known that the government of the complainant's country of origin wanted him to return home. The Agency, in this context "ought to have paid especial heed, for the sake of the independence of the international civil service, and his own in particular, to finding out just what he really intended and conveying it accurately to the competent committee."
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; independence; intention of parties; international civil service principles; member state; non-renewal of contract; official; organisation; organisation's duties;
Consideration 4
Extract:
The Agency granted the complainant only a short contract renewal, refusing to renew the contract until the date of his retirement. According to the defendant, this decision was based on information in its files which indicated that the complainant wasn't available after a certain date. Now it has been established that the complainant said he would be available as long as the Agency wished. "A decision by an international organization to grant only a short extension of appointment or none at all, though it is discretionary, must still be based on correct findings of fact."
Keywords:
contract; discretion; fixed-term; judicial review; mistake of fact; mistaken conclusion; non-renewal of contract; organisation;
