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DE RUCNDT #1343/01 1922016
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 112016Z JUL 06
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9568
INFO RUEHXX/GENEVA IO MISSIONS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001343 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AORC KUNR UNGA
SUBJECT: UN REFORM: UN STAFF UNION REPORT CALLS FOR 
OVERHAUL OF ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE SYSTEM 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: The UN Staff Union's Report of the Commission of 
Experts (CE) on Reforming Internal Justice at the United 
Nations concludes that the UN is in breach of the 
international human rights standards, because: it does not 
provide a level playing field for staff involved in 
administrative or disciplinary proceedings; final 
adjudication can take years; internal processes are not open 
to public scrutiny; resolutions by UN Panels are not binding 
on management; and the entire process lacks the requisite 
professional legal scrutiny by accredited judges and 
mediators. The report calls for an overhaul of the current 
"dysfunctional" system and provides various recommendations 
to fix it.  End summary 
 
¶2. On June 12, 2006, the UN Staff Union released its Report 
of the Commission of Experts on Reforming Internal Justice at 
the United Nations, for consideration by the General 
Assembly's recently commissioned Redesign Panel (RP), which 
is set to release its own report in late July 2006 in 
response to GA resolution 59/283. This resolution directed 
the Secretary-General to form a panel of external and 
internal experts to consider redesigning the system of 
administration of justice. 
 
¶3.  The CE report is authored by three internationally 
experienced jurists, Geoffrey Robertson (UK), Roger Clark 
(Rutgers University) (USA) and (Columbia University) 
(Senegal).  They concluded the current internal justice 
system breaches the UN's Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights and is long overdue for reform. 
 
¶4. Current System: According to the report, the current 
system, with its informal and formal mechanisms, is mired 
with inefficiencies.  Informally, the Commission identifies 
both the Informal Dispute Resolution process and Ombudsman's 
office as insufficient mechanisms for dispute resolution.  In 
both instances, these processes lack the capacity and 
decision making authority to successfully mediate disputes. 
Formally, the Commission declares the Administrative Law Unit 
(ALU), Joint Appeals Body (JAB) and Joint Disciplinary 
Committee (JDC) inadequate, while also citing procedural 
overlap.  The report described the ALU as inept when, in 
2000, it received 167 requests for review yet did not issue a 
single response.  JAB was determined by the Commission to be 
more of an advisory body to management than a directing body. 
 The report cites delays in JAB's procedure ranging from 19 
to 37 months.  The Commission noted overlap between JDC and 
JAB as a contributing factor to such delays. 
 
¶5. The Commission concluded that the United Nations 
Administrative Tribunal (UNAT) lacked credibility, as the 
judgments passed by this body are 'non-binding' on the 
Secretary-General.  Furthermore, because the Under 
 
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Secretary-General fo Management (USG) considers the JAB 
 
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reports (which are non-binding) before any appeals can be 
made to the UNAT, the process is innately biased since the 
primary body that makes the original decision on the matter 
is headed by the same official.  As a result, the USG's 
involvement through JAB creates a conflict of interest and 
predetermines (or biases) any recommendation to the 
Secretary-General; this can undermine the entire process and 
 
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damages the integrity of the judicial system. 
 
¶6. Reformed (New) Structure: Informal mechanisms, utilizing 
the Ombudsman Office are strongly encouraged by the 
Commission as an avenue of mediation which may reduce time 
and costs associated with adjudication in formal channels. 
The Commission suggests expansion of outreach activities of 
the Ombudsman Office as a primary informal means of dispute 
resolution.  In addition, the Ombudsman Office should subsume 
the responsibilities of the Panel on Discrimination and Other 
Grievances (PDOG).  In short, this report suggests that the 
JAB, JDC and PDOG should be dissolved while the Ombudsman 
Office should be expanded and refined. 
 
¶7. In the cases of formal mechanisms, the Committee suggests 
that an 'Employment Tribunal' be erected, taking over some 
responsibilities from JAB/JDC which were not assumed by the 
Ombudsman Office.  The report perceives the complete 
separation of UNAT from Office of Legal Affairs as the most 
effective way to reinsert procedural integrity. As part of 
this plan, the report suggests two changes: the increased 
openness and accessibility of appeal hearings, and the 
utilization of modern communications technology. 
Incorporation of these changes would improve the functional 
side of the process. 
 
¶8. Besides addressing formal and informal mechanism reform, 
the Commission also commented on other contentious issues. 
First, it notes the current system of using volunteer staff 
members through the Panel of Counsel to provide advice to 
staff members in early stages of a dispute has failed to 
 
 
provide sufficient and effective counsel. The CE states the 
POC can only fulfill its public defender role through the 
recruitment of licensed attorneys to defend staff that cannot 
afford outside counsel. Second, it notes the failures in 
abiding by specified time-limits for formal appeals 
processes. Third, the report refers to the 
institutionalization of peer review as an effective and 
acceptable mechanism for administration of justice, yet the 
current system has several drawbacks that need to be 
addressed if peer review is retained.  Lastly, the report 
underscores the importance of the establishment of an Ethics 
Office and the development of a Whistle blower Protection 
Policy.  The report then notes that the Ombudsman position 
should be upgraded from a D-2 position (within the Department 
of Management) to an Assistant Secretary-General (reporting 
to a newly formed independent review board suggested by the 
CE). 
 
¶9. Recommendations: CE proposes the following major 
recommendations: 
 
(a) Establish an Internal Justice Council (IJC). 
-- Five expert person body to supervise the overhauled UN 
internal justice system, appointing professional judges and 
arbitrators, not assigning individuals nominated by member 
states, to newly formed Employment Panel and Appeals Tribunal. 
 
(b) Restructure UN Appeals Tribunal (UNAT). 
-- Full-time President and 6 part-time judges, meeting 4 
times per year. 
-- Separate UNAT completely from the Office of Legal Affairs. 
-- Empower UNAT to issue decision binding judgments. 
 
(c) Establish an Employment Tribunal (ET) to decide 
employment disputes 
-- Replace JAB/JDC with ET 
-- Staffed ET with professional judges 
 
(d) Request for Administrative Review. 
-- Rescind Staff Rule 112.2 abolishing review as a 
precondition for appealing an administrative decision. 
-- Empower Ombudsman to conduct reviews and make 
recommendations to SG, as an alternative to voluntary 
mediation. 
 
(e) Restructure and Upgrade the Ombudsman's Office 
-- Appointed by IJC. 
-- Comprised of external and internal mediators. 
-- Take over abolished PDOG functions. 
-- Ombudsman or OIOS should assume protection of whistle 
blowers from Ethics Office 
 
(f) Miscellaneous 
 
-- Provide legal counsel to staff 
-- Maintain peer review for disciplinary matters 
-- Ethics Office Chief should be upgraded to ASG level. 
 
¶10.  COMMENTS:  The Commission's critical report, not 
surprisingly, is biased in the Staff Union's favor.  More 
importantly, the many weaknesses identified by the CE have 
also come to the attention of the Redesign Panel. In a recent 
informal preliminary briefing by the Redesign Panel to WEOG 
mission members, given before the CE report's release, the RP 
reached similar conclusions and their final report may be 
more expansive. For instance, the RP's report will also be 
focused on justice issues at UN field operations, where the 
panel believes there are thousands of UN employees whose 
contract status precludes them from receiving the same 
standards of justice as their full time international staff 
colleagues. The RP report is scheduled for release in late 
July 2006 and the Secretary-General's accompanying report is 
due to be issued in the first resumed session of the 61st 
UNGA, March 2007. 
 
¶11. Mission notes that both expert bodies call for overhaul 
of the UN administration of justice system to introduce 
institutional use of external legal professionals, shift 
decision-making from management to an independent legal 
entity and make decisions binding on management. 
Administration of Justice issues will be a prominent feature 
in the General Assembly's 61st session. 
BOLTON