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UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. On receivability, UNAT opined that it doubted whether the application was receivable, but due to some uncertainties and because the matter was of general interest, it would decide the case on the merits. On the merits, UNAT held that UNDT erred in law in finding that Ms Haq and Ms Kane had a fundamental right to be fully and accurately informed about their pension entitlements at the time of their appointments. UNAT held that UNDT erred in law in failing to consider that Staff Regulation 4. 1 does not oblige the Secretary-General to transmit...

UNAT found that at the time of his separation from service, the former staff member was not married to his husband; their same-sex relationship did not enjoy similar status to marriage under the law of the US; the Regulations did not afford retrospective recognition of their marriage in 2018; and the Regulations specifically regulated the situation of the former staff member by providing for an annuity under Article 35ter. Therefore, UNAT concluded that under the express terms of Articles 34 and 35, the former staff member’s spouse was not entitled to a survivor’s benefit. Nonetheless, UNAT...

UNAT considered Article 34 of the UNJSPF Regulations which provides that a widow’s benefit will be payable to the surviving spouse of a participant who was entitled to a retirement benefit at the date of his death if she was married to the deceased at the date of his separation from service and remained married to him until his death. In accordance with general principles of private international law, the validity of a marriage must be assessed and determined in accordance with the law of the place where the marriage was celebrated, being the law of the Philippines. The Supreme Court of the...

UNAT held that the Appellant did not contest the decision to separate her from the Organisation, thus the SAB was not seized with her separation and her appeal on that issue was not receivable. UNAT held that the Appellant’s claims for compensation for pain, suffering, and medical expenses were beyond the scope of the case and therefore not receivable. UNAT held that the IMO Secretary-General’s decision to place the Appellant on sick leave was based on sound medical evidence which was not rebutted at the time and that there was no basis to set aside that decision. UNAT held there was no basis...

UNAT held that the Appellant had failed to follow the procedural requirements for an appeal. UNAT noted that the Appellant contested a decision of the Pension Board, which had not been subject to review or appeal, neither by the Staff Pension Committee nor by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Pension Board. UNAT held that it was not allowed to intervene in matters that had not previously been subject to internal reassessment by the Pension Fund. UNAT dismissed the appeal as not receivable.

UNAT noted that the deceased staff member, Mr Pise, could have been under no illusion when he signed the payment instruction forms that he had opted to receive, in addition to a deferred pension, his own contributions plus interest as an immediate withdrawal benefit rather than a prospective survivor’s benefit. UNAT noted that he was informed of that interpretation twice subsequent to his separation and did not challenge those determinations. UNAT held that there was no doubt that Mr Pise received the benefits payable to him in terms of the Fund’s Regulations and there was no basis thereunder...

UNAT held that UNJSPF’s contention that Ms. Larriera had known since 2003 that she was not recognized as a widow by UNJSPF, interpreted as having the meaning that she should have timely filed her request for review and subsequently her appeal to UNAT at that time, was without merit. In the absence of an explicit decision by the Administration denying her the entitlement, UNAT held that Ms Larriera could not and ought not to be expected to presume that such a decision was taken. UNAT held that Ms. Larriera’s request for review was receivable ratione materiae and that Ms. Larriera’s appeal was...

UNAT considered an application by UNJSPB for interpretation of judgment No. 2019-UNAT-912 related to the calculation and payment of interest. UNAT held that there was nothing unclear or ambiguous about the terms of the order and that the application for interpretation was inadmissible on those grounds alone. UNAT opined that, in actuality, the UNJSPB sought to appeal the judgment on the grounds that UNAT erred in making an award of interest, which UNJSPB believed was inconsistent with its Regulations. Noting that judgments of UNAT are final and without appeal, UNAT held that this attempt to...

UNAT considered an application for revision of judgment No. 2019-UNAT-914 from Mr Oglesby. UNAT held that Mr Oglesby failed to establish the required grounds for a revision of judgment, namely the discovery of a decisive fact that was, at the time the judgment was rendered, unknown to UNAT and the party applying for revision. UNAT noted that it had concluded in the impugned judgment that it was unable to apply the UN Charter or the UDHR directly, or strike down clear UNJSPF Regulations. UNAT opined that it was within the combined powers of the UNJSPF, the Secretary-General and the General...

UNAT held that the Appellant did not fall within the exceptional category of participants who exercised their election for a deferred retirement benefit before 1 April 1997 and were therefore entitled to restore their prior contributory service, as the Appellant exercised her election in September 2009. UNAT held that the Appellant was not entitled to restore her prior contributory service. UNAT held that the Appellant’s complaint that she did not have access to the UNJSPF Regulations was unconvincing, given, inter alia, the availability of the UNJSPF Regulations and Rules on the website. UNAT...