Declaration of Judges Forster and Nagendra Singh (as appended immediately after the advisory opinion)

Document Number
057-19730712-ADV-01-02-EN
Parent Document Number
057-19730712-ADV-01-00-EN
Document File
Bilingual Document File

President LA CH^ makes the following declaration:

While 1am in full agreement with the reasoning and conclusions of the

Court, there are two observations which1feelimpelled to make.
1. That it should be possible for judgements of the United Nations
Administrative Tribunal to be examined by a higher judicial organ is a
proposition which commends itself as tending to provide a greater
measure of protection for the rights involved. However, the manner in
which this proposition has been given effect has raised doubts which 1
share. Indeed, 1 would go farther than the Court's observation that it
does not consider the procedure instituted by Article 11of the Tribunal's
Statute as "free from difficulty" (para.40),for neither the procedure
considered as a whole nor certain of itsseparate stages can in my view
be accepted without reserve. Not surprisingly, the legislative history of
the provisions in question reveals that they were adopted against a
background of divided viewsand legal controversy.
There would, perhaps, be little point in adverting to this problem ifthe
sole choice for the future appeared to lie betweenjudicial control of the
kind exemplifiedby the present proceedings andno judicial control at all.
That, however, does not, in my view,have to be the case, for the choice
ought surely to lie between the existing machinery of control and one

which would be free from difficulty and more effective. 1 see no com-
pelling reason, either in fact or in law, why an improved procedure could
not be envisaged.
2. My second observation concerns the discrepancy between the two
systems of review: one established by ArticleXII of the Statute of the
IL0 Administrative Tribunal and the other by Article 11 of that of the
United Nations Administrative Tribunal. Each of them has been accepted
by a number of organizations, mainly specialized agencies; and in the
light of the CO-ordination which should be manifest between these
organizations, belonging as most of them do to the United Nations
family, it is regrettable that divergences should exist in the nature of the
protection afforded to their staff members. There can be little doubt
that, in thenterest of the administrations concerned, the staff members
and the organizations themselves, the proceduresin question should be
uniform.

Judges FORSTE and NAGENDR SINGH make the following declaration:

While voting in favour of the Opinion of the Court, we find that there
are certain considerations which merit being mentioned, and hence,
.availingourselvesof the right conferred byArticle 57of the Statute read
with Article 84 of the Rules of Court, we append hereunder the fol-
lowing declaration: The nature and character of the procedural channel for obtaining the
advisory opinion of the Court videArticle 11of the Statute of the United
Nations Administrative Tribunal, it is said, raises issues concerning the
appropriateness of the Committee on Applications for Review of
Administrative Tribunal Judgements 1whch is a political body but still
authorized by the General Assembly to function as the fountain source
for putting legalquestions to the Court under Article 96(2)ofthe Charter.
That apart, there is also the question of equality of the Parties, namely in
this casethe Secretary-General and the official,inrelation to their capacity
to appear before the Court (Art. 66 of the Statute of the Court and the
oral procedures). It may be relevant to mention here that in spite of the
recommendation contained inparagraph 2of GeneralAssemblyresolution
957(X)of 1955,to the effectthat neither member Statesnor the Secretary-
General should make oral statements before the Court, the applicant

officia1Mr. Fasla made a written request, videhis letter of 15December
1972,to be allowed to make an oral presentation of his case to the Court.
This request was repeated in writing on 29 January 1973.It was, however,
the Court's decision not to hold any public sitting for the purpose of
hearing oral statements which went to establish equality between the
Parties in the present case.
It is the prime concern of anyjudicial tribunal, whether sitting appeal
or in reviewproceedings, and whether giving ajudgment or an advisory
opinion, to seethat al1interested parties are givenfull and equal opportu-
nity to present their respective viewpoints so that the dispensation of
justice is based on al1that information which iS necessary and hence
required for that supreme purpose. It may be that in the circumstances
of the present case the decision to dispense with oral hearings was
warranted since adequate information to enable the Court to administer
justice was forthcoming but that cannot be said of each and every case

that may come up to the Court seekingits advisory opinion under Article
11of the Statute of the United Nations Tribunal. There can be, therefore,
no question of any generalization regarding procedures being always
regular in ail the different circumstances of each and every case that may
crop up under this particular category. It may even be granted that there
is no general principle of law which requires that in review proceedings
the interested parties should necessarily have an opportunity to submit
oral statements to the review tribunal, but surely legal procedures are
prescribed to cover al1eventualities, leaving it to the review tribunal to
exercise its discretion in the different circumstances of each case as to
what is just and necessary. A judicial procedure cannot be held to be
sound in every resped if, as in this case, fetters are placed on the Court
as a reviewtribunal thereby ruling out oral statementsaltogether in order

1 Hereafterfor conveniencecalledthe Coinmittee.

53to maintain equality of the parties, although in the peculiar circumstances
of any particular case oral hearings become necessary and are duly
justified. Some room for improvement in procedures would thus appear

to be indicated to cover al1eventualities.

Moreover, attention has also to be invited to the legislative history of
Article II of the Statute of the Tribunal. The delegates from the United
Kingdom andthe United Stateswho CO-sponsoredtheGeneral Assembly's
resolution 957 (X) left it expressly to the Court to decide if there were
any legal flaws in the procedure concerning review of questions of law
arising from the judgements of the Administrative Tribunal. The hope
was expressed by these delegates that:

"...the Court willnot hesitate to inform us if any important element
of the procedure is contrary to the provisions of the Charter or of
the Statute of the Court itself, or if it does not give the necessary
protection to the parties who might be affected" (General Assembly,
10th Session, 541st Meeting, 8 November 1955, paras. 54-67,
pp. 283-284).

In response to the aforesaid enquiry dating back to 1955 it appears
desirable to make some observation concerning the possible scope for

improvement of procedures established under Article II of the Statute
of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal. For example no reasons
are given by the Committee either forgrantingthe request of the applicant
or for refusing it. The Committee meets in closed session, and does not
draw up summary records of its proceedings concerning applications,
and these proceedings are treated as confidential and not even made
available to the Court. These are some of the non-judicial features of the
Conimitteefunctioning in accordance with the procedures established for
moving the Court to give an advisory opinion. Moreover it cannot be
denied that the decisions of the Committee are indeed vital to the staff
members of the United Nations, since an affirmative decision becomes a
"necessary condition" or a sine qua non for the "opening of the Court's
advisory jurisdiction". This would amount to the Committee becoming
a crucial legal step in the entire procedure for redressing the grievances
of the staff members for the simple reason that without the assent of the
Committee access to the Court's unhampered opinion can never be had.
This may be said in addition to the non-judicial character and composi-
tion of the screening machinery of the Committee wliichmay not invaria-
bly provide the appropriate legal forum for seeking an advisory opinion.

This is an aspect already dealt with in the present Opinion of the Court
with which we agree. We support the view that the Court should comply
with the request for giving its advisory opinion in this case. The régime
set up by Article 11 of the Statute of the Tribunal may not be legally
fiawless. It may even be far from a perfect judicial procedure but itcertainly is not such as to warrant the Court to refuse to answer the two
questions raised in this case for the Court's opinion. It may also be true
that this procedural aspect is certainly not before the Court in 1973and
as such it may not be correct to make any observations directly or even
by way of obiter dictum.Nevertheless, we would consider it not inappro-
priate to draw attention to it in Ourdeclaration and leaveit to the authori-
ties concerned to examine, if they so feel, whether the procedural
machinery centring round the Committee could not be bettered.

Again, while we support the finding that both the questions posed to
the Court should be answered in the negative, there is a certain aspect
and a distinctconsideration whichdeservesto be mentioned in the overall
interests of justice. Weendorse the view that in regard to the procedures
adopted by the Tribunal there has been no fundamental error which
could be said to have occasioned a failure of justice in this case. In fact
due procedures have been throughout observed and there is no difficulty
in answering this particular question in the negative.

As far as failure in the exercise of jurisdiction is concerned, however,
more than one view could be taken, both in regard to what constitutes a
failure in the exerciseofjurisdiction and what arethe limits to the Court's
functions "in review", particularly in the light of the restricted terms of
reference. It is, of course, true that the Court is in no position to retry
the case already decided by the Administrative Tribunal. The Court

should not generally enter intothe substance or merits of the dispute and
particularly not in relation to that which falls outside the reviewable
categories, namely the two specified by the Committee out of the four
enumerated in paragraph 1 of Article 11 of the Statute of the Adminis-
trative Tribunal. There is also no intention here to depart from the
jurisprudence of the Court already established from the days of the
Permanent Courtthat it should remain "within the scope of the question
thus formulated", holding that if there were certain points falling "out-
side the scope of the question as set out above, the Court cannot deal
with them" (P.C.I.J., Series B, No. 16, p. 16). "Therefore the Court
should keep within the bounds of the questions put to it"(1.C.J. Reports
1955, pp. 71, 72).
However, it cannot be said that one is precluded from examining in al1
its aspects the concept of "failure to exercisejurisdiction". These words
are specifically used in the terms of reference to this Court and hence
should not escape scrutiny. "Failure to exercisejurisdiction" would cer-
tainly cover situations where the Tribunal has either deliberately but
erroneously omitted to consider a material issue in the case or has inad-
vertently forgotten to do so.

The Tribunal may also be said to have failed to exercisejurisdiction
if it has palpably and manifestly caused injustice,incesuch an exercise ofjurisdiction would tend to amount to a failure of that exercise. This
interpretation would be applicable only if the exercise ofjurisdiction was
so blatantly faulty as to render it invalid.
Again, depending upon the circumstances of each case it rnay also
cover situations where the Tribunal has applied its mind and considered

the exercise of its jurisdictional powers to any particular issue in the
case, but after such consideration has decided to negative it. It rnay be
that in such circumstances the Tribunal rnay be said to have exercised
and not failed to exerciseitsjurisdiction. Inuch casesitwould be essential
to consider whether in coming to itsconclusion the Tribunal has remained
within the margin of reasonable appreciation or what rnay be called a
normal reasonable exercise of discretion in the evaluation of the facts
and issuespresented bythe case.What has to beexamined isa challenge to
the Judgment of the Tribunal on the ground that the Tribunal "failed to
exercisejurisdiction vested in it". It therefore becomes necessary to make
an appraisal ineachcasewhether or not there has been afailure to exercise
jurisdiction within the meaning of Article 11 of the Statute of the
Tribunal.
It is at this stage that considerations relating to the nature and the kind
of failure to exercisejurisdictional powers vested in the Tribunal crop up
for examination. It could not, therefore, be stated as a general rule that
the concept of "failure to exercise jurisdiction" would always exclude
considerations relating to the adequacy of that exercise. It has been said

that when dealing with that aspect the Court has to take care to see that
in discharging its review function it does not trespass on the merits of the
case. However, it is neither clear nor certain to what extent the Court
should be completely guided by the Advisory Opinion of 1956 which
related to the IL0 Tribunal an interpretation of Article XII of its Statute
that is quite different from Article 11of the Statute of the United Nations
Administrative Tribunal. Even if the Court were to be guided by that
ruling, namely that "errors ...on the part of the Administrative Tribunal
in its Judgments on the merits cannot [be corrected by the Court on a
request foran advisory opinion]" (I.C.J. Reports1956, p. 87)there would
still appear to be nothing to prevent the Court from analysing the conclu-
sions reached by the lower tribunal to determine whether or not the basic
interests ofjustice are servedin so far as there is adequate, proportionate
or balanced relationship between the findings of the Tribunal and the
conclusions reached in its Judgement. In this particular case, even though
there rnay not be a miscarrige ofjustice on account of failure to exercise
jurisdiction as such, and hence the answer to the question posed by the
Cornmittee rnay be strictly inthe negative,there would still remain room

for observation if there were to be noticed an imbalance between the
findings arrived at and the remedial conclusions pertaining to relief
reached by the lower court.
This aspect needs to be examined at some length which could best be
done by referring separately to those portions ofthe Judgement'No. 158 of
the Tribunal which relate to (a) the contention of the applicant and thefindings of the Tribunal on the one side, and (b) the conclusions reached

concerning remedial relief on the other:
(a) In Judgement No. 158 the Tribunal sums up the contention of the
applicant in the following words:

'"The Applicant does not, however, claim that, merely by
virtue of being the holder of a fixed-term appointment, he had
the right to have his contract extended beyond 31 December
1969. He [the applicantlfirst requests the Tribunalto orderthe
Respondent to correct and complete his fact sheet and the
required periodicreports and evaluations of his work; he also
requests the Tribunal to order the Respondent to make,further
serious efforts toplace the Applicantinasuitablepost'." (Empha-
sis added.)

As against the aforesaid contentions of the applicant, thejndings of
the Tribunal,expressed in clear and categoric terins, read as follows:

"The Tribunal notes that, at the time when the search for
a new assignment was undertaken, no periodic report had been
made on the Applicant's services from 1 July 1965to 31 May
1966 and from November 1967 to 31 December 1969. The
establislledprocedure.for the rebuttal of periodic reports had not
been observed. Lastly, certain complimentary assessnzentsof the
Applicant's srrilice did not apyear in the $le. The fact sheet
drawn up solely on the basis of the existing reports wastherefore
incomplete. After examining that situation, the Joint Appeals
Board stated 'that, as a result of these facts, the performance
recordof the appellant' was 'incompleteand niisleading'and that
that fact had 'seriouslv afected /lis candidacy ,for a ,fiather
extension of his contract or for employment by other agencies'.

The Tribunal considers that the conmzitment undertaken by
the Respondent ivasnot correctlyfulfilled since the informatioii
concerning the Applicant's service, as it appeared in his fileand
his fact sheet, haderious gaps. The searchfor a newassignment
could /tarebeen made correctlvorilyon the basisof'completeand
impartialinfoimation.1" (Emphasis added.)

(b) Again the Tribunal States in its concl~isioiithe relief side of its
decision which is both vital to the applicant, Mr. Mohamed Fasla,

as well as of importance to the Court in evaluating and assessingthe
just balance between the findings of the Tribunal and the ultimate

See doc. AT/DEC/158 of 28 April 1972; CaseNo. 144,JudgementNo. 158,pp.
14-15.220 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (DECL .ORSTER AND NAGENDRA SINGH)

compensatory reliefgranted to the applicant. The true essenceof the
exerciseofjurisdiction isto bejudged in the light of these paragraphs

of the Tribunal's Judgement. The conclusions of the Tribunal are
accordingly reproduced below :
"The Tribunal must conclude from this that the prejudice
shown by the first reporting oficer towards the Applicant was
in nowa,vcorrectedbythe superior officerrequired to participate

in the drafting of the report which the Respondent had agreed
to prepare, as he was obliged to dounder the Staff Rules.

The Respondent thus allowed a report manifestly motivated
byprejudice,containing no reservation or persona1comment on
the part of the second reporting officer, to be placed in the
Applicant'sfile and used inthefact sheet, as revised in response
to the recommendation of the Joint Appeals Board which had
been accepted by the Respondent.

The Tribunal, having reached the conclusion that the

Respondent didnotperform in a reasonable mannerthe obligation
whichhe had undertaken to seek an assignmentfortheApplicant,
notes that it is not possible to remedy thissituation by rescinding
the contesteddecisionorby orderingperformanceof the obligation
contracted in 1969. In similar cases (Judgements Nos. 68:
Bulsara and 92: H(qgins), the Tribunal heldthat compensation,
in lieu of specijic performance, may constitute suficient and
adequate relie5
Having regard to the findings of the Joint Appeals Board
in its report o3 June 1970(paragraph 45) and to the fact that
UNDP refused to make further eflorts to jînd an assignmentfor
the Applicant after agreeing to correct the,fact sheet by taking

into consideration the periodic reports whicli were previously
missing, the Tribunal considersthat in the circumstances of the
case the award to the Applicant of a sum equal to six months'
net base salary constitutes 'the true measure of compensatiotl
and the reasonable figure of such compensation' (Advisory
Opinion of 23 October 1956, I.C.J. Reports 1956,p. 100)l."
(Emphasis added.)

A scrutiny of the findings of the Tribunal in relation to the conclusions
reached, including the relief granted, would thus appear to reveal a
certain lack of proportion in the exerciseof jurisdictional powers of the
Tribunal.

1 See doc. ATIDECI158 of 28 April 1972; Case No. 144,JudgementNo. 158,p. 18.

58 This relief aspect of the case would not appear to relate to error in pro-
cedure asthat has a limited scope and,as stated earlier, there has also not

been any procedural$aw as such inthis case let alone causing a miscarriage
ofjustice.Again, it could not relate to excessofjurisdiction or con-ipetence
which are the other alternatives for reference to the Court mentioned in
Article II of the Statute of the Tribunal but not specified to us by the
Committee. Sirnilarly the aforesaid imbalance could not refer to the
provisions of the United Nations Charter. It can, therefore, only relate
to the exercise of jurisdiction and it does pertain to the question of
adequacy of that exercise which is fiirther explained below.

The Tribunal has accepted the major contentions of the applicant
and has recorded a findirig to the effect that the respondent "failed to
fulfilthe commitment undertaken". It has further stated that th"respon-
dent refused to undertake a searchfor an assignnlerit in a more correct
manner", and "that the obligation assumedin the letter ef 32 May 1969
lzastherefore not beenperfornled" (emphasis added). It cannot therefore

be denied that looking to the case as a whole, the net result of this episode
of the applicant's servicewiththe UNDP has been immediate termination
of employment as an "unwanted official", with little or no hope for the
future, thus involving a serious damage to his professional reputation
and in consequence a clear loss to him in his career prospects. The
Tribunal undoubtedly applied its miiid to this al1 important issue raised
by the applicant and feeling empowered to award damages whenever it
finds that it is not possible to remedy the situation by rescinding the
decision contested, it rightly proceeded to exercise itsjurisdiction and to
grant compensation to the applicant. The object of any tribunal in such
circumstances would be to give proper and meaningful compensation
and not a compensation in mere name. This would also appear to be the
clear intention of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal as can be
gathered from the words used in its Judgement that compensation was
being awarded "in lieu of specificperformance" and s~iclicompensation
had therefore to "constitute sufficientand adequate relief" for the injury

sustained. In short the compensatory relief of six months' net base salary
awarded in this case is meant to cover not merely relieffor non-execution
of the obligation to get a new posting or fiirther assignment for the
applicant but also to cover restitution in the shape of circulation of a
completed and corrected fact-sheet and on the whole, therefore, it is
intended to provide reparation in kind for the entire injury to the appli-
cant's professional reputation including career prospects. In the light
of the aforesaid position coupled with a clear finding of a grave and
serious nature against the respondent and with the Secretariat procedures
coming in for sharp criticism at the hands of the Tribunal, it appears
incongruous that the concluding relief' should be nothing more than six
months' net base salary as against the maximum prescribed by Article 9
(1) of the Statute of the Trib~inalwhich could extend to two years and in
"exceptional cases" could be niore. Evenifthere may not be "obvious unreasonableness" inthe meagreness
of the award which may still be held to bech as would not amount to a
"failure to exercise jurisdiction", there does certainly appear to be an

inadequate or somewhat disproportionate exerciseof jurisdiction which
need not be overlooked in so far as it relates to a mention beingmade of
that aspect in this declaration without, of course, in any way affecting
the Advisory Opinion ofthe Court. We considerthis conclusionwarranted
even though this is not an appeal, becausethe Tribunal required to trans-
late theinjury sustained into monetary terms does possess a wide margin
of discretion within the broad principle that reparation must, as far
as possible, wipe out al1 the consequences of the illegal act and re-
establish the situation which would, in al1probability, have existed if
that act had not been committed. The application of that principle in
relation to the power of the Tribunal to grant compensation though
limited by Article 11 of theStatute of the Tribunal still leaves a clear
margin much wider than six months actually allowed in this case.

While pinpointing, therefore, the shortcoming in the Judgement of the

Tribunal as symbolized by the imbalance between itsfindingsin favourof
the applicant, and the relief granted him, we have no hesitation in
emphasizing that the exact quantum of compensation is not for the
Court to pronounce upon as it relates to the merits of the case. Moreover,
the issue pertaining to compensation has already been the subject of
adjudication by the Tribunal and the Court, confined to answering the
two specificquestions raised "in review",is not in a position to state what
the right relief, or its nature or degree or kind should be toeet the
present circumstances.
Nevertheless, it would not be inappropriate in this declaration to state
that aspect which vitally affects the applicant and also concerns the
overall interests of justice. If the attention of the authorities concerned,
whether the Secretary-General or otherwise, is drawn to this aforesaid
imbalance in the relief side of the case, the administration of justice

would certainly appear to be promoted rather than hindered. This indeed
furnishes the trueaisond'etre of this declaration.

Judges ONYEAMD AI,LLARD and JIMÉNE ZEARÉCHAGaA ppend separate
opinions to the Opinion of the Court.

Vice-President AMMOUN and Judges GROS, DE CASTRO and Mo~ozov
append dissenting opinions to the Opinion ofthe Court.

(Initialled)M.L.

(Initialled) S.A.

Bilingual Content

President LA CH^ makes the following declaration:

While 1am in full agreement with the reasoning and conclusions of the

Court, there are two observations which1feelimpelled to make.
1. That it should be possible for judgements of the United Nations
Administrative Tribunal to be examined by a higher judicial organ is a
proposition which commends itself as tending to provide a greater
measure of protection for the rights involved. However, the manner in
which this proposition has been given effect has raised doubts which 1
share. Indeed, 1 would go farther than the Court's observation that it
does not consider the procedure instituted by Article 11of the Tribunal's
Statute as "free from difficulty" (para.40),for neither the procedure
considered as a whole nor certain of itsseparate stages can in my view
be accepted without reserve. Not surprisingly, the legislative history of
the provisions in question reveals that they were adopted against a
background of divided viewsand legal controversy.
There would, perhaps, be little point in adverting to this problem ifthe
sole choice for the future appeared to lie betweenjudicial control of the
kind exemplifiedby the present proceedings andno judicial control at all.
That, however, does not, in my view,have to be the case, for the choice
ought surely to lie between the existing machinery of control and one

which would be free from difficulty and more effective. 1 see no com-
pelling reason, either in fact or in law, why an improved procedure could
not be envisaged.
2. My second observation concerns the discrepancy between the two
systems of review: one established by ArticleXII of the Statute of the
IL0 Administrative Tribunal and the other by Article 11 of that of the
United Nations Administrative Tribunal. Each of them has been accepted
by a number of organizations, mainly specialized agencies; and in the
light of the CO-ordination which should be manifest between these
organizations, belonging as most of them do to the United Nations
family, it is regrettable that divergences should exist in the nature of the
protection afforded to their staff members. There can be little doubt
that, in thenterest of the administrations concerned, the staff members
and the organizations themselves, the proceduresin question should be
uniform.

Judges FORSTE and NAGENDR SINGH make the following declaration:

While voting in favour of the Opinion of the Court, we find that there
are certain considerations which merit being mentioned, and hence,
.availingourselvesof the right conferred byArticle 57of the Statute read
with Article 84 of the Rules of Court, we append hereunder the fol-
lowing declaration: M. LACHSP ,résident,fait la déclarationsuivante:

Tout en souscrivantcomplètement aux motifs énoncés par la Cour et à
ses conclusions,j'estimedevoirformuler deux observations.
1. Que les jugements du Tribunal administratif des Nations Unies
puissent êtreréexaminéspar une instance judiciaire supérieure est une
possibilitédont il faut se louer car elletendieux assurer la protection
desdroits enjeu. Mais la façon dont ellea étmiseen Œuvreasoulevédes
doutes que je partage. J'irais même plusloin que la Cour quand celle-ci
déclare ne pas considérer la procédureétablie à I'article Il comme
((exemptededifficulté))(paragraphe 40),carà mon sens,on ne saurait ac-
cepter sans réservela procédure dans son ensemble ou certaines de ses
phases. L'historique des dispositions en question montre - et cela n'a
rien d'étonnant- qu'ellesont été adoptéesaprèm s aintes divergences de

vues et controversesjuridiques.

Il n'y aurait guère d'intérêt peut-êtà resignaler ce problème s'il ne
devait y avoirà l'avenir d'autre choix qu'entre un contrôlejudiciaire du
genre de celui qu'offrela présente procédureet une absencetotale de con-
trôle judiciaire. Maisje ne crois pas qu'il doiveforcémenten êtreainsi et
si un choix doit êtreopéréc'est entre la méthode actuellede contrôle et
une méthode plus efficace et exempte de difficulté.Je ne vois aucune
raison impérative, ni en droit ni en fait, pour laquelle l'adoption d'une
meilleure méthodene pourrait êtreenvisagée.
2. Ma seconde observation concerne la différencequi existe entre les
deux procéduresde réformation,celle que prévoit l'article XII du statut
du Tribunal administratif del'OIT et celle qu'établitl'article 11du statut
du Tribunal administratif des Nations Unies. Chacune d'ellesa étéaccep-
téepar un certain nombre d'organisations, pour la plupart des institu-

tions spécialisées; vla coordination qui doit manifestement êtreassurée
entre ces organisations, appartenant presque toutes aux Nations Unies,
il est regrettable qu'ilit des divergencesquant àla nature de la protec-
tion accordée à leurs fonctionnaires. En fin de compte, elles ont pour
effet d'offrir une protection différente selonla catégoriede fonctionnai-
res. 11ne fait guère de doute que, dans l'intérêt des administrationsen
question, des fonctionnaires et des organisations elles-mêmes, les procé-
dures devraient êtreuniformes.

MM, FORSTE et NAGENDR SINGHj,uges, fontla déclarationsuivante:

Bien que nous ayons votépour l'avisde la Cour, certains aspects nous
paraissent mériter d'êtrementionnés; aussi, nous prévalant des droits

conféréspar l'article 57 du Statut auquel s'ajoute l'article du Règle-
ment, joignons-nous àl'avisla déclaration suivante: The nature and character of the procedural channel for obtaining the
advisory opinion of the Court videArticle 11of the Statute of the United
Nations Administrative Tribunal, it is said, raises issues concerning the
appropriateness of the Committee on Applications for Review of
Administrative Tribunal Judgements 1whch is a political body but still
authorized by the General Assembly to function as the fountain source
for putting legalquestions to the Court under Article 96(2)ofthe Charter.
That apart, there is also the question of equality of the Parties, namely in
this casethe Secretary-General and the official,inrelation to their capacity
to appear before the Court (Art. 66 of the Statute of the Court and the
oral procedures). It may be relevant to mention here that in spite of the
recommendation contained inparagraph 2of GeneralAssemblyresolution
957(X)of 1955,to the effectthat neither member Statesnor the Secretary-
General should make oral statements before the Court, the applicant

officia1Mr. Fasla made a written request, videhis letter of 15December
1972,to be allowed to make an oral presentation of his case to the Court.
This request was repeated in writing on 29 January 1973.It was, however,
the Court's decision not to hold any public sitting for the purpose of
hearing oral statements which went to establish equality between the
Parties in the present case.
It is the prime concern of anyjudicial tribunal, whether sitting appeal
or in reviewproceedings, and whether giving ajudgment or an advisory
opinion, to seethat al1interested parties are givenfull and equal opportu-
nity to present their respective viewpoints so that the dispensation of
justice is based on al1that information which iS necessary and hence
required for that supreme purpose. It may be that in the circumstances
of the present case the decision to dispense with oral hearings was
warranted since adequate information to enable the Court to administer
justice was forthcoming but that cannot be said of each and every case

that may come up to the Court seekingits advisory opinion under Article
11of the Statute of the United Nations Tribunal. There can be, therefore,
no question of any generalization regarding procedures being always
regular in ail the different circumstances of each and every case that may
crop up under this particular category. It may even be granted that there
is no general principle of law which requires that in review proceedings
the interested parties should necessarily have an opportunity to submit
oral statements to the review tribunal, but surely legal procedures are
prescribed to cover al1eventualities, leaving it to the review tribunal to
exercise its discretion in the different circumstances of each case as to
what is just and necessary. A judicial procedure cannot be held to be
sound in every resped if, as in this case, fetters are placed on the Court
as a reviewtribunal thereby ruling out oral statementsaltogether in order

1 Hereafterfor conveniencecalledthe Coinmittee.

53 On a dit qu'étantdonnéla nature et le caractèrede la voie procédurale
par laquelle l'avis consultatif de la Cour est sollicitéconformément à
l'article 11 du statut du Tribunal administratif des Nations Unies, il
parait douteux que le Comité des demandesde réformationdejugements
du Tribunal administratif 1,organe politique, mais néanmoins autorisé
par l'Assemblée générale à prendre l'initiativede soumettre des questions
juridiques à la Cour en vertu de I'article96, paragraphe 2, de la Charte,
soit bien apte àjouer ce rôle. S'ajouteà cela le problèmede I'égalitédes
parties - en l'espècele Secrétairegénéraelt le fonctionnaire intéress-

en ce qui concerne le droit de se présenter devantla Cour (article 66 du
Statut).Il n'est passans intérêdte relever que, malgréle paragraphe 2 de
la résolution957 (X) adoptéeen 1955par l'Assemblée générale, recom-
mandant aux Etats Membres et au Secrétairegénéralde s'abstenir de
présenter des exposés oraux à la Cour, le fonctionnaire requérant,
M.Fasla, a demandé,par lettre du 15décembre1972, àêtreautorisé à sou-
mettre des observations orales. Cette requête aété renouveléepar écrit le
29janvier 1973.C'est la décisionde la Cour de ne pas tenir d'audience
publique pour entendre des exposésoraux qui a placé lesparties sur un
pied d'égalité enla présenteespèce.

Le premier soucide tout organe judiciaire, qu'ilsiègeen appel ou dans
une procédure de réformation, et qu'il rende un jugement ou un avis

consultatif, est de s'assurer que toutes les parties intéressées se voient
accorder, dans des conditions d'égalitél,a possibilitéde présenter sans
entraves leurs vues respectives de manièreque justice soit rendue sur la
base de tous les renseignements nécessaires àcette fin suprême. Ilse peut
que dans les circonstances de la présenteespèce,la décisionde ne pas
tenir d'audiences sesoitjustifiéepuisque la Cour disposaitd'informations
adéquatespour pouvoir rendre lajustice, maiscette considérationne vaut
pas pourtoutes lesaffaires qui pourraient êtresoumises à la Cour par voie
de requêtepour avis consultatif en vertu de l'article 11 du statut du
Tribunal administratif desNations Unies. Il ne saurait doncêtrequestion
de généraliseret d'affirmer une foispour toutes que la procédure serait
nécessairement régulièrd eans les différentescirconstances de tous les cas

d'espècequi pourraient se présenterau titre de cette catégorieparticulière
d'affaires.Admettons même qu'in l'existepas de principe généradle droit
exigeant que, dans une procédurede réformation, la possibilitésoit néces-
sairement donnée aux parties d'exposer oralement leur cause devant le
tribunal compétent; il n'est cependant pas douteux que les procédures
judiciaires visentà parer à toutes les éventualitéset qu'elles laissentau
tribunal de réformation la facultédiscrétionnaire d'apprécier,selon les
circonstances, ce qui est juste et nécessaire.Une procédure judiciaire ne

1 Quel'on appellera ci-aprés, pour pludse commodité, le Comité.to maintain equality of the parties, although in the peculiar circumstances
of any particular case oral hearings become necessary and are duly
justified. Some room for improvement in procedures would thus appear

to be indicated to cover al1eventualities.

Moreover, attention has also to be invited to the legislative history of
Article II of the Statute of the Tribunal. The delegates from the United
Kingdom andthe United Stateswho CO-sponsoredtheGeneral Assembly's
resolution 957 (X) left it expressly to the Court to decide if there were
any legal flaws in the procedure concerning review of questions of law
arising from the judgements of the Administrative Tribunal. The hope
was expressed by these delegates that:

"...the Court willnot hesitate to inform us if any important element
of the procedure is contrary to the provisions of the Charter or of
the Statute of the Court itself, or if it does not give the necessary
protection to the parties who might be affected" (General Assembly,
10th Session, 541st Meeting, 8 November 1955, paras. 54-67,
pp. 283-284).

In response to the aforesaid enquiry dating back to 1955 it appears
desirable to make some observation concerning the possible scope for

improvement of procedures established under Article II of the Statute
of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal. For example no reasons
are given by the Committee either forgrantingthe request of the applicant
or for refusing it. The Committee meets in closed session, and does not
draw up summary records of its proceedings concerning applications,
and these proceedings are treated as confidential and not even made
available to the Court. These are some of the non-judicial features of the
Conimitteefunctioning in accordance with the procedures established for
moving the Court to give an advisory opinion. Moreover it cannot be
denied that the decisions of the Committee are indeed vital to the staff
members of the United Nations, since an affirmative decision becomes a
"necessary condition" or a sine qua non for the "opening of the Court's
advisory jurisdiction". This would amount to the Committee becoming
a crucial legal step in the entire procedure for redressing the grievances
of the staff members for the simple reason that without the assent of the
Committee access to the Court's unhampered opinion can never be had.
This may be said in addition to the non-judicial character and composi-
tion of the screening machinery of the Committee wliichmay not invaria-
bly provide the appropriate legal forum for seeking an advisory opinion.

This is an aspect already dealt with in the present Opinion of the Court
with which we agree. We support the view that the Court should comply
with the request for giving its advisory opinion in this case. The régime
set up by Article 11 of the Statute of the Tribunal may not be legally
fiawless. It may even be far from a perfect judicial procedure but it DEMANDE DE REFORMAT (DIECNLFORSTER ETNAGENDRA SINGH) 216

saurait échapperà toute critique si, comme en l'espèce, ellelie les mains
de la Cour, comme tribunal de réformation et, par souci de préserver
l'égalitdes parties, exclut toute possibilité d'exoraux même si,dans
un cas particulier, des audiences apparaissent nécessaires et justifiées.
Certaines améliorations semblent donc indiquéespour pouvoir faire face
à toutes les situations.
Il convient en outre de rappeler l'historique de l'élaborationde I'article
11 du statut du Tribunal. Les déléguéd su Royaume-Uni et des Etats-
Unis d'Amérique, pays qui étaient parmi les coauteurs de la résolution
957 (X) de l'Assemblée générale o,nt spécifqu'ils laissaieàtla Cour le
soin de décider si la procédure prévuepour réformer les jugements du
Tribunal administratif sur des points de droit présentait des failles juri-
diques. Ces déléguéosnt exprimél'espoir que

«la Cour, si elle estime qu'un élémentimportant de la procédure est
contraire aux dispositions de la Charte ou de son propre Statut, ou
encore ne donne pas aux parties en cause des garanties suffisantes,
n'hésitera pasà nous le faire savoir)) (Nations Unies, Documents
oflciels de l'Assembléegénérale,ixième session, 541eséance,8 no-
vembre 1955,par. 54-67,p. 314-315).

Pour répondre aux objections évoquéesplus haut, qui remontent à
1955, il paraît opportun de dire un mot des possibilitésd'amélioration
des procédures établies en vertu de l'article11 du statut du Tribunal
administratif des Nations Unies. On peut relever par exemple que le
Comiténe donne aucun motif, soit pour accueillir les demandes,soit pour
les rejeter. LeComité se réunit à huis clos et n'établitpas de comptes

rendus analytiques de ses délibérations,qui sont considéréescomme con-
fidentielles, mêmepour la Cour. Voilà l'un des aspects non judiciaires de
la manière dont le Comité applique la procédure établie pour saisir la
Cour d'une requêtepour avisconsultatif. De plus, on ne peut pas nier que
les décisiondu Comité ont une importance vitale pour les fonctionnaires
de l'ONU, une décision positiveétant une ((condition nécessaire)),ou
un sine qua non de ((l'exercicede la juridiction consultative de la Cour)).
Ainsi, l'intervention du Comité devient une étapejuridique cruciale de
toute la procédure établie pour l'examen des griefs des fonctionnaires,
puisque sans son assentiment il n'est pas possible d'obtenir que la Cour
énonce librement sa propre opinion. On a évoqué aussile caractère non
judiciaire et la composition du mécanisme de filtrage que constitue le
Comité,lequel n'est sans doute pas toujours l'organe juridique qui con-
viendrait pour consulter la Cour c'estun aspect quiest traitédans l'avis,

et nous approuvons ce qui est ditàce sujet. Nous pensons nous aussi que
la Cour doit donner suiteàla requêtepour avisconsultatif en l'espèce.Le
régimeinstituépar l'article 11 du statut du Tribunal n'est peut-être pas
juridiquement impeccable. II peut mêmeêtreéloignéde la perfection en
tant que procédurejudiciaire, mais certainement pas au point de justifier
la Cour à refuser de répondre aux deux questions sur lesquelles son avis

54certainly is not such as to warrant the Court to refuse to answer the two
questions raised in this case for the Court's opinion. It may also be true
that this procedural aspect is certainly not before the Court in 1973and
as such it may not be correct to make any observations directly or even
by way of obiter dictum.Nevertheless, we would consider it not inappro-
priate to draw attention to it in Ourdeclaration and leaveit to the authori-
ties concerned to examine, if they so feel, whether the procedural
machinery centring round the Committee could not be bettered.

Again, while we support the finding that both the questions posed to
the Court should be answered in the negative, there is a certain aspect
and a distinctconsideration whichdeservesto be mentioned in the overall
interests of justice. Weendorse the view that in regard to the procedures
adopted by the Tribunal there has been no fundamental error which
could be said to have occasioned a failure of justice in this case. In fact
due procedures have been throughout observed and there is no difficulty
in answering this particular question in the negative.

As far as failure in the exercise of jurisdiction is concerned, however,
more than one view could be taken, both in regard to what constitutes a
failure in the exerciseofjurisdiction and what arethe limits to the Court's
functions "in review", particularly in the light of the restricted terms of
reference. It is, of course, true that the Court is in no position to retry
the case already decided by the Administrative Tribunal. The Court

should not generally enter intothe substance or merits of the dispute and
particularly not in relation to that which falls outside the reviewable
categories, namely the two specified by the Committee out of the four
enumerated in paragraph 1 of Article 11 of the Statute of the Adminis-
trative Tribunal. There is also no intention here to depart from the
jurisprudence of the Court already established from the days of the
Permanent Courtthat it should remain "within the scope of the question
thus formulated", holding that if there were certain points falling "out-
side the scope of the question as set out above, the Court cannot deal
with them" (P.C.I.J., Series B, No. 16, p. 16). "Therefore the Court
should keep within the bounds of the questions put to it"(1.C.J. Reports
1955, pp. 71, 72).
However, it cannot be said that one is precluded from examining in al1
its aspects the concept of "failure to exercisejurisdiction". These words
are specifically used in the terms of reference to this Court and hence
should not escape scrutiny. "Failure to exercisejurisdiction" would cer-
tainly cover situations where the Tribunal has either deliberately but
erroneously omitted to consider a material issue in the case or has inad-
vertently forgotten to do so.

The Tribunal may also be said to have failed to exercisejurisdiction
if it has palpably and manifestly caused injustice,incesuch an exercise of DEMANDE DE RÉFORMATION (DÉCL. FORSTERET NAGENDRA SINGH) 217

est demandé. Il est sans doute vrai aussi que la Cour n'est pas saisie de
cet aspect en 1973et qu'en conséquenceil ne serait peut-être pascorrect
de formuler des observations à ce propos, soit directement, soit même à
titre d'obitedictlim.Il ne nous paraît cependant pas déplacéde le signa-
ler dans la présente déclarationet de laisser aux autorités intéresséesle
soin d'examiner, si elles le jugent à propos, s'il ne serait pas possible
d'améliorerla procéduredont le Comitéconstitue le rouagecentral.

Nous souscrivons aussi à la conclusion suivant laquelle les deux ques-
tions posées à la Cour appellent une réponse négative, mais il existe
néanmoins un aspect particulier et une considération distincte qui mé-
ritent d'être mentionnéd sans l'intérêt généd rella justice. Nous approu-
vons sans réserve l'idéeque, sur le plan de la procédure suivie par le
Tribunal, iln'y a eu aucune erreur essentielle dont on puisse dire qu'elle
aurait provoqué un mal-jugéen l'espèce.Les formes régulièresont été
observéeset nous n'éprouvonspas de difficulté à répondre àla question
correspondante par la négative.
Toutefois, pour ce qui est du non-exercice de la juridiction, bien des

opinions sont permises, tant à propos de ce qui constitue ce non-exercice
que des limites de la fonction de réformation de la Cour, compte tenu
notamment des restrictions que lui impose ici son mandat. Il est naturel-
lement vrai que la Cour n'est pas à mêmede refaire le procès à l'issue
duquel le Tribunal administratif a statué.La Cour ne doit pas, de façon
générale,aborder l'examen des questions de fond et en particulier de
celles qui n'appartiennent pas aux catégories«réformables», c'est-à-dire
qui ne concernent pas les deux points retenus par le Comité parmi les
quatre énumérés au paragraphe I de l'article 11du statut du Tribunal ad-
ministratif. L'intention n'est pasici de s'écarterde la jurisprudence déjà
consacrée à l'époquede laCour permanente, suivant laquelle la Cour doit
se teniradans le cadre de ...la demande d'avis qui lui a été présentée))

attendu que, au cas où certains points débattus((dépasseraientle cadre de
la question ...la Cour ne saurait s'en occuper)) (C.P.J.?. sérieB nc 16,
p. 16).La Cour doit donc rester «dans les limites)) des questions qui lui
sont soumises (cf.C.J.J. Recueil1955,p. 72).

Toutefois il n'est pas interdit d'examiner sous tous ses aspects la no-
tion de l'«omission d'exercer lajuridiction)). Ces termes figurent dans la
requêteadressée à la Cour et ne doivent donc pas échapper à notre atten-
tion. 11 y a assurément ((non-exercice de la juridiction)) quand le Tri-
bunal a, sciemment mais à tort, omis de prendre en considération un
point important, ou ne l'a pas fait par inadvertance.

On peut dire aussi que le Tribunal n'a pas exercésa juridiction s'il a
causé une injustice tangible, manifeste, vu qu'exercer sajuridiction dejurisdiction would tend to amount to a failure of that exercise. This
interpretation would be applicable only if the exercise ofjurisdiction was
so blatantly faulty as to render it invalid.
Again, depending upon the circumstances of each case it rnay also
cover situations where the Tribunal has applied its mind and considered

the exercise of its jurisdictional powers to any particular issue in the
case, but after such consideration has decided to negative it. It rnay be
that in such circumstances the Tribunal rnay be said to have exercised
and not failed to exerciseitsjurisdiction. Inuch casesitwould be essential
to consider whether in coming to itsconclusion the Tribunal has remained
within the margin of reasonable appreciation or what rnay be called a
normal reasonable exercise of discretion in the evaluation of the facts
and issuespresented bythe case.What has to beexamined isa challenge to
the Judgment of the Tribunal on the ground that the Tribunal "failed to
exercisejurisdiction vested in it". It therefore becomes necessary to make
an appraisal ineachcasewhether or not there has been afailure to exercise
jurisdiction within the meaning of Article 11 of the Statute of the
Tribunal.
It is at this stage that considerations relating to the nature and the kind
of failure to exercisejurisdictional powers vested in the Tribunal crop up
for examination. It could not, therefore, be stated as a general rule that
the concept of "failure to exercise jurisdiction" would always exclude
considerations relating to the adequacy of that exercise. It has been said

that when dealing with that aspect the Court has to take care to see that
in discharging its review function it does not trespass on the merits of the
case. However, it is neither clear nor certain to what extent the Court
should be completely guided by the Advisory Opinion of 1956 which
related to the IL0 Tribunal an interpretation of Article XII of its Statute
that is quite different from Article 11of the Statute of the United Nations
Administrative Tribunal. Even if the Court were to be guided by that
ruling, namely that "errors ...on the part of the Administrative Tribunal
in its Judgments on the merits cannot [be corrected by the Court on a
request foran advisory opinion]" (I.C.J. Reports1956, p. 87)there would
still appear to be nothing to prevent the Court from analysing the conclu-
sions reached by the lower tribunal to determine whether or not the basic
interests ofjustice are servedin so far as there is adequate, proportionate
or balanced relationship between the findings of the Tribunal and the
conclusions reached in its Judgement. In this particular case, even though
there rnay not be a miscarrige ofjustice on account of failure to exercise
jurisdiction as such, and hence the answer to the question posed by the
Cornmittee rnay be strictly inthe negative,there would still remain room

for observation if there were to be noticed an imbalance between the
findings arrived at and the remedial conclusions pertaining to relief
reached by the lower court.
This aspect needs to be examined at some length which could best be
done by referring separately to those portions ofthe Judgement'No. 158 of
the Tribunal which relate to (a) the contention of the applicant and thecette manière revient a ne pas l'exercer. Cette interprétation ne vaut bien

sûr que sile défautd'exercicede lajuridiction est siflagrant qu'ilemporte
la nullité.
De même,suivant les espèces,il peut y avoir non-exercice de lajuridic-
tion dans des cas oiileTribunal s'estdemandés'ildevaitfaire usagede ses
pouvoirsjuridictionnels relativement à une question particulière, mais a
résolule problème par la négative.En pareille circonstance le Tribunal
pourra certes êtreconsidéré commeayant effectivementexercésa juridic-
tion. Mais il faudrait alors se demander si, pour parvenir sa conclusion,
leTribunal n'est pas sorti d'une marged'appréciation raisonnable etde ce
qu'on pourrait appeler une évaluation normale des faits de la cause. Ce
qu'il appartient a la Cour d'examiner, c'est une contestation du juge-
ment du Tribunal au motif que celui-ci «a omis d'exercer sa juri-
diction)). La Cour doit donc apprécierdans chaque cas s'il y a eu non-
exercicede lajuridiction au sens de l'article II dustatutdu Tribunal.

C'est ici qu'interviennent certaines considérations relativàsla nature
et aux circonstances particulières du non-exercice des pouvoirs juridic-

tionnels du Tribunal.On ne saurait dire, de façon généraleq , uela notion
de «non-exercice de la juridiction)) interdise toujours d'examiner si la
juridiction a été exercée-defaçonconvenable. On a affirméque la Cour,
dans safonction de réformation, doitveiller à ne pas empiétersur le fond.
II est cependant permis de se demander jusqu'à quel point la Cour doit
s'inspirer de l'avis consultatif de 1956 qui concernait le Tribunal de
l'OIT et l'article XII de son statut, lequel est trèsdifférentde l'article 11
du statut du Tribunal administratif des Nations Unies. Même sila Cour
se laissait guider par cette décisionoù il est dit ques erreurs de fait ou
de droit quecommettrait le Tribunal administratif dans sesjugements sur
le fond ne peuvent pas [êtreredresséespar la Cour sur demande d'avis]»
(C.I.J. Recueil1956, p. 87),il semble que rien ne l'empêcheraitd'analyser
les conclusions du tribunal inférieurpour déterminer siles intérêtfonda-
mentaux de lajustice ont été respectésen ce sens qu'ily auraitun rapport
adéquat, proportionnel ou équilibréentre les constatations du Tribunal
et lesconclusions expriméesdans sonjugement. En l'espèce, bien qu'il n'y
ait peut-être pas eumal-jugéau sens où la juridiction en tant que telle
n'aurait pas ét6exercéedu tout, et qu'on puisse donc répondre stricte-
ment par la négative à la question du Comité,certaines observations se
justifieraient si l'on relevait un déséquilibreentre les constatations de la

juridiction inférieure et ses conclusions quant aux réparationà accorder.

11convient d'examiner assez longuement cet aspect, et pour cela le
mieux est de mentionner séparémentles passages du jugement no 158du
Tribunal qui ont trait: a) à la thèse du requérant et aux constatations
56findings of the Tribunal on the one side, and (b) the conclusions reached

concerning remedial relief on the other:
(a) In Judgement No. 158 the Tribunal sums up the contention of the
applicant in the following words:

'"The Applicant does not, however, claim that, merely by
virtue of being the holder of a fixed-term appointment, he had
the right to have his contract extended beyond 31 December
1969. He [the applicantlfirst requests the Tribunalto orderthe
Respondent to correct and complete his fact sheet and the
required periodicreports and evaluations of his work; he also
requests the Tribunal to order the Respondent to make,further
serious efforts toplace the Applicantinasuitablepost'." (Empha-
sis added.)

As against the aforesaid contentions of the applicant, thejndings of
the Tribunal,expressed in clear and categoric terins, read as follows:

"The Tribunal notes that, at the time when the search for
a new assignment was undertaken, no periodic report had been
made on the Applicant's services from 1 July 1965to 31 May
1966 and from November 1967 to 31 December 1969. The
establislledprocedure.for the rebuttal of periodic reports had not
been observed. Lastly, certain complimentary assessnzentsof the
Applicant's srrilice did not apyear in the $le. The fact sheet
drawn up solely on the basis of the existing reports wastherefore
incomplete. After examining that situation, the Joint Appeals
Board stated 'that, as a result of these facts, the performance
recordof the appellant' was 'incompleteand niisleading'and that
that fact had 'seriouslv afected /lis candidacy ,for a ,fiather
extension of his contract or for employment by other agencies'.

The Tribunal considers that the conmzitment undertaken by
the Respondent ivasnot correctlyfulfilled since the informatioii
concerning the Applicant's service, as it appeared in his fileand
his fact sheet, haderious gaps. The searchfor a newassignment
could /tarebeen made correctlvorilyon the basisof'completeand
impartialinfoimation.1" (Emphasis added.)

(b) Again the Tribunal States in its concl~isioiithe relief side of its
decision which is both vital to the applicant, Mr. Mohamed Fasla,

as well as of importance to the Court in evaluating and assessingthe
just balance between the findings of the Tribunal and the ultimate

See doc. AT/DEC/158 of 28 April 1972; CaseNo. 144,JudgementNo. 158,pp.
14-15. DEMAND EE RÉFORMATLON (DÉCL. FORSTER ET NAGENDRA SINGH) 219

du Tribunal et b) aux conclusions auxquelles le Tribunal est parvenu
quant aux réparations à accorder:

a) Dans lejugement no 158,leTribunal résumela thèsedzrrequérantdans
les termes suivants

((Cependant, le requérantne prétendpas que le seul fait d'avoir
étéengagépour une duréedéterminéeluidonne droit à la prolon-
gation de son contrat au-delà du 31 décembre 1969. Il demande
tourd'abord au Tribunald'ordonner au défendeur de rectifîer et
complétersa fiche analytique irîdividttelleet les rapports périodi-
ques réglementaires,ainsi que les appréciations portées sur son
travail; il lui demande par ailleurs d'ordonner au défendeur de
continuer des recherchessérieuseesn vued'affecterlerequérant àun
poste correspondant àses aptitudes1))(Lesitaliques sont de nous.)

Par comparaison avec cette thèse du requérant, les constatations du
Tribunal, exprimées de façon claire et catégorique, sont ainsi con-
çues:

«Le Tribunal constate qu'au moment où la recherche d'un
nouveau poste a étéentreprise,aucun rapport périodique n'avait
été établsiur les services du requérant du lerjuillet 1965 au 31
mai 1966et de novembre 1967au 31décembre 1969.La pratique
établieconcernantla contestation des rapports pkriodiquesn'avait
pas étéobservée.Enfin, certaines appréciations élogieuses concer-

nant les services du requérantne jîguraient pas au dossier.La
fiche analytique individuelle établiesur la base des seuls rapports
existants étaitdonc incomplète. Après avoir examinécette situa-
tion, la Commission paritaire de recours a déclaré ((qu'en
raison de ces faits, le dossierdu requérant))était((incomplet et
trompeur))et que cela avait ((gravementcompromis ses chances
d'obtenir une prolongation deson contrat ou de faire accepter sa
candidature àun poste dans d'autres organisations)).

Le Tribunal estime que l'engagementpris par le défendeur n'a
pas été exécutréégulièrement puisque les informations concernant
les services du requérant, telles qu'elles figuraient dans son dos-
sier et dans sa fiche analytique individuelle, comportaient de
graves lacunes. Les recherches n'auraientpu êtremenéesrégulière-
ment que sur la base d'informations complètes etimpartiales2.))
(Les italiques sont de nous.)

b) Le Tribunal se prononce dans sa conclusionsur la réparation accor-
.dée,qui est d'une importance primordiale pour le requérant, M. Mo-
hamed Fasla, mais qui doit aussi permettre à la Cour d'apprécier
s'ilexiste un juste équilibre une proportion exacte entre les consta-

1 Voir document AT/DEC/158 du 28 avril 1972; affaireno 144,jugementno 158,
p. 17-18.
2 lbid.

57220 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (DECL .ORSTER AND NAGENDRA SINGH)

compensatory reliefgranted to the applicant. The true essenceof the
exerciseofjurisdiction isto bejudged in the light of these paragraphs

of the Tribunal's Judgement. The conclusions of the Tribunal are
accordingly reproduced below :
"The Tribunal must conclude from this that the prejudice
shown by the first reporting oficer towards the Applicant was
in nowa,vcorrectedbythe superior officerrequired to participate

in the drafting of the report which the Respondent had agreed
to prepare, as he was obliged to dounder the Staff Rules.

The Respondent thus allowed a report manifestly motivated
byprejudice,containing no reservation or persona1comment on
the part of the second reporting officer, to be placed in the
Applicant'sfile and used inthefact sheet, as revised in response
to the recommendation of the Joint Appeals Board which had
been accepted by the Respondent.

The Tribunal, having reached the conclusion that the

Respondent didnotperform in a reasonable mannerthe obligation
whichhe had undertaken to seek an assignmentfortheApplicant,
notes that it is not possible to remedy thissituation by rescinding
the contesteddecisionorby orderingperformanceof the obligation
contracted in 1969. In similar cases (Judgements Nos. 68:
Bulsara and 92: H(qgins), the Tribunal heldthat compensation,
in lieu of specijic performance, may constitute suficient and
adequate relie5
Having regard to the findings of the Joint Appeals Board
in its report o3 June 1970(paragraph 45) and to the fact that
UNDP refused to make further eflorts to jînd an assignmentfor
the Applicant after agreeing to correct the,fact sheet by taking

into consideration the periodic reports whicli were previously
missing, the Tribunal considersthat in the circumstances of the
case the award to the Applicant of a sum equal to six months'
net base salary constitutes 'the true measure of compensatiotl
and the reasonable figure of such compensation' (Advisory
Opinion of 23 October 1956, I.C.J. Reports 1956,p. 100)l."
(Emphasis added.)

A scrutiny of the findings of the Tribunal in relation to the conclusions
reached, including the relief granted, would thus appear to reveal a
certain lack of proportion in the exerciseof jurisdictional powers of the
Tribunal.

1 See doc. ATIDECI158 of 28 April 1972; Case No. 144,JudgementNo. 158,p. 18.

58 tations du Tribunal et les satisfactions données en définitiveau re-
quérant.C'estdans cesderniers paragraphes dujugement du Tribunal

que l'on peut appréciercomment il a essentiellement exercésajuridic-
tion. Nous reproduisons donc ci-après les conclusionsdu Tribunal :
«Le Tribunal doit en conclure que leparti pris dontlepremier
notateur témoignaità l'égarddu requérantn'a étéen aucune ma-
nière redresséar le fonctionnaire supérieur appeléà participerà

la rédaction du rapport que le défendeur avait acceptéde faire
établir, commeil en avait l'obligation aux termes du règlement
du personnel.
Ainsi le défendeura toléré qu'un rappor tanifestement inspiré
par le parti pris, ne contenant aucune réserveou observation
personnelle de la part du deuxièmenotateur, soit placé dans le
dossierdu requérantet utilisé dansla$che analytique individuelle
reviséeà la suite de la recommandation de la Commission pari-
taire de recours acceptéepar le défendeur.

Etant arrivé à la conclusion que le défendeurn'apas exécuté
dans des conditions raisonnables I'obligation qu'il avait assuéee

procéder à la recherched'un poste pour le requérant, le Tribunal
constate qu'il n'est paspossible de porter remède cette situation
par l'annulationde la décision contestéoeu en ordonnantI'exécu-
tion del'obligationcontractéeen 1969.Le Tribunal ajugédans des
afaires analogues('jugementsno 68: Bulsara et 92: Higgins) que
l'octroi d'une mdemnité au lieu etplace del'exécutionde I'obliga-
tionpeut constituer une réparationufisante et adéquate.
Prenant en considérationles constatations de la Commission
paritaire de recours dans son rapport du 3juin 1970(paragraphe
45) ainsi que lefait quelePNUD a refusé de chercherà nouveau un
poste au requérantaprèsavoir accepté de corriger la$che analy-
tique individuelle en tenantcompte des rapports périodiquesqui

manquaient jusqu'alors, le Tribunal considèrequ'en l'occurrence
l'octroi d'unesommeégaleau montant net du traitement de basedu
requérantpour une périodede six mois constitue «lajuste mesure
de la réparation,le chiffre raisonnable de celle-ci)) (avis consul-
tatif du23 octobre 1956,C.I.J. Recueil 1956,p. 100) 1.))(Les ita-
liques sont de nous.)

Si l'on rapproche les constatations du Tribunal des conclusions aux-
quelles il est parvenu, notamment en ce qui concerne la réparation, il
semble donc qu'une certaine disproportion se manifeste dans la façon
dont leTribunal a exercé sespouvoirsjuridictionnels.

1 Voir documentAT/DEC/I58 du 28 avril 1972; affaino144, jugementno 158,
p. 22.

58 This relief aspect of the case would not appear to relate to error in pro-
cedure asthat has a limited scope and,as stated earlier, there has also not

been any procedural$aw as such inthis case let alone causing a miscarriage
ofjustice.Again, it could not relate to excessofjurisdiction or con-ipetence
which are the other alternatives for reference to the Court mentioned in
Article II of the Statute of the Tribunal but not specified to us by the
Committee. Sirnilarly the aforesaid imbalance could not refer to the
provisions of the United Nations Charter. It can, therefore, only relate
to the exercise of jurisdiction and it does pertain to the question of
adequacy of that exercise which is fiirther explained below.

The Tribunal has accepted the major contentions of the applicant
and has recorded a findirig to the effect that the respondent "failed to
fulfilthe commitment undertaken". It has further stated that th"respon-
dent refused to undertake a searchfor an assignnlerit in a more correct
manner", and "that the obligation assumedin the letter ef 32 May 1969
lzastherefore not beenperfornled" (emphasis added). It cannot therefore

be denied that looking to the case as a whole, the net result of this episode
of the applicant's servicewiththe UNDP has been immediate termination
of employment as an "unwanted official", with little or no hope for the
future, thus involving a serious damage to his professional reputation
and in consequence a clear loss to him in his career prospects. The
Tribunal undoubtedly applied its miiid to this al1 important issue raised
by the applicant and feeling empowered to award damages whenever it
finds that it is not possible to remedy the situation by rescinding the
decision contested, it rightly proceeded to exercise itsjurisdiction and to
grant compensation to the applicant. The object of any tribunal in such
circumstances would be to give proper and meaningful compensation
and not a compensation in mere name. This would also appear to be the
clear intention of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal as can be
gathered from the words used in its Judgement that compensation was
being awarded "in lieu of specificperformance" and s~iclicompensation
had therefore to "constitute sufficientand adequate relief" for the injury

sustained. In short the compensatory relief of six months' net base salary
awarded in this case is meant to cover not merely relieffor non-execution
of the obligation to get a new posting or fiirther assignment for the
applicant but also to cover restitution in the shape of circulation of a
completed and corrected fact-sheet and on the whole, therefore, it is
intended to provide reparation in kind for the entire injury to the appli-
cant's professional reputation including career prospects. In the light
of the aforesaid position coupled with a clear finding of a grave and
serious nature against the respondent and with the Secretariat procedures
coming in for sharp criticism at the hands of the Tribunal, it appears
incongruous that the concluding relief' should be nothing more than six
months' net base salary as against the maximum prescribed by Article 9
(1) of the Statute of the Trib~inalwhich could extend to two years and in
"exceptional cases" could be niore. Cet aspect de l'affaire, celui de la réparation accordée, ne semble pas
concerner une erreurde procédure, cette notion ayant une portée restrein-
te et, comme on l'a vu plus haut. iln'y a pas eu non plus de vice de
procédureen tant que, tel en l'espèce, etencore moins un mal-jugé. IIne

s'agit pas non plus d'excès de juridiction ou de compétence, autre pos-
sibilitéde saisine de la Cour envisagéeà l'article11 du statut du Tribunal,
mais que le Comitén'a pas invoquéeen l'espèce.De même,le déséquilibre
signalé ne met pas en cause les dispositions de la Charte des Nations
Unies. 11 ne peut donc s'agir que de l'exercice de la juridiction et plus
particulièrenient de la question de savoir si cet exercice a étéadéquat,
ainsi qu'il est expliqué ci-après.

Le Tribunal a fait siennes toutes les thèses ma-jeuresdu requérant et ila
conclu que le défendeur «n'a pas exécutél'obligation qu'il avait assu-
mée». 11a relevéen outre que le défendeur «déclare expressémentqu'ilne
fera rien pour cnrreprendre une rrcl~erchede poste dans des conditions plus
r&ulières». «Pour ce motif; le Tribunal considère.que l'obligation assumée
duifs lu lottr~dl27 t~ui 1969 /l'apus 616r'rc'cl~té»r.(Les italiques sont de
nous.) On ne saurait donc nier que, si I'on examine I'affaire dans son

ensemble, le résultat net de cet épisode des services du requérant au
PNUD a été qu'ila perdu son emploi comme s'il étaitun ((fonctionnaire
indésirable)), sans espoir ou sans grand espoir pour l'avenir, ce qui a
constitué une grave atteinte à sa réputation professionnelle et nettement
compromis ses perspectives de carrikre. Le Tribunal a incontestablement
traitéde ce problème primordial soulevé parle requérant et, sejugeant en
droit d'allouer une indemnité quand à son avis iln'est pas possible de

rétablir la situation en annulant la décision contestée, ila, à juste titre,
exercé sajuridiction, et accordé une réparation au requérant. En pareille
circonstance, n'importe quel tribunal s'attacherait à prévoir une répara-
tion appropriée et non pas à allouer une indemnité qui n'aurait de répa-
ration que le nom. IIsemble que cela ait été égalementl'intention du
Tribunal administratif des Nations Unies. comme on weut le déduire des
termes utilisésdans le jugement, suivant 'lesquels la riparation était ac-

cordée «au lieu et place de l'exécution» et devait donc constituer une
réparation suffisante et adéquate du préjudice subi. En somme I'indem-
nitécorrespondant A six mois de traitement de base net accordée en I'es-
pice visait il réparer non seulement l'inexécutionde l'obligation de cher-
cher un nouvel emploi ou une ~iouvelle affectation au requérant, mais
aussi celle de l'obligation de diffuser une fiche analytique complétéeet
corrigée; il s'agissait donc de réparer la totalité du préjudice causéà la

réputation professionnelle du requérant, y compris ses perspectives de
carrière. Cela étant, et vu en outre la constatation formelle, d'un carac-
tère grave, formulée contre le défendeur et les critiques sévères exprimées
par le Tribunal au sujet des méthodes du Secrétariat, il paraît assez in-
congru que l'indemnité accordée en conclusion ne représente que six
mois de traitement de base net, si I'on songe au maximum de deux ans
fixépar l'article 9, paragraphe 1, du statut du Tribunal, qui peut être

dépassédans des ((casexceptioniiels~). Evenifthere may not be "obvious unreasonableness" inthe meagreness
of the award which may still be held to bech as would not amount to a
"failure to exercise jurisdiction", there does certainly appear to be an

inadequate or somewhat disproportionate exerciseof jurisdiction which
need not be overlooked in so far as it relates to a mention beingmade of
that aspect in this declaration without, of course, in any way affecting
the Advisory Opinion ofthe Court. We considerthis conclusionwarranted
even though this is not an appeal, becausethe Tribunal required to trans-
late theinjury sustained into monetary terms does possess a wide margin
of discretion within the broad principle that reparation must, as far
as possible, wipe out al1 the consequences of the illegal act and re-
establish the situation which would, in al1probability, have existed if
that act had not been committed. The application of that principle in
relation to the power of the Tribunal to grant compensation though
limited by Article 11 of theStatute of the Tribunal still leaves a clear
margin much wider than six months actually allowed in this case.

While pinpointing, therefore, the shortcoming in the Judgement of the

Tribunal as symbolized by the imbalance between itsfindingsin favourof
the applicant, and the relief granted him, we have no hesitation in
emphasizing that the exact quantum of compensation is not for the
Court to pronounce upon as it relates to the merits of the case. Moreover,
the issue pertaining to compensation has already been the subject of
adjudication by the Tribunal and the Court, confined to answering the
two specificquestions raised "in review",is not in a position to state what
the right relief, or its nature or degree or kind should be toeet the
present circumstances.
Nevertheless, it would not be inappropriate in this declaration to state
that aspect which vitally affects the applicant and also concerns the
overall interests of justice. If the attention of the authorities concerned,
whether the Secretary-General or otherwise, is drawn to this aforesaid
imbalance in the relief side of the case, the administration of justice

would certainly appear to be promoted rather than hindered. This indeed
furnishes the trueaisond'etre of this declaration.

Judges ONYEAMD AI,LLARD and JIMÉNE ZEARÉCHAGaA ppend separate
opinions to the Opinion of the Court.

Vice-President AMMOUN and Judges GROS, DE CASTRO and Mo~ozov
append dissenting opinions to the Opinion ofthe Court.

(Initialled)M.L.

(Initialled) S.A. Mêmes'iln'ya rien de manifestement déraisonnabledans cette indem-
nisation parcimonieuse, qui autoriseraity voir un ((non-exercice de la
juridiction)), il reste que la juridiction parait avoirrcéede façon
inappropriée ou disproportionnée et que ce fait, déjà évoqué dans la
présente déclaration,n'a pas êtrepassésous silence,sans, bien entendu,
porter le moins du monde atteinte à l'avis consultatif de la Cour. Cette
conclusion nous paraît justifiée bienqu'il ne s'agissepas ici d'une procé-
dure d'appel, parce que le Tribunal qui doit traduire en termes pécu-
niaireslepréjudicesubijouit d'une grandemarged'appréciationdiscrétion-
naire pour appliquer le principe générluivant lequel la réparation doit,
autant que possible, effacer toutes les conséquencesde l'acte illiciteet
rétablirl'étatqui aurait vraisemblablement existé si leditacte n'avait pas
étécommis. L'applicationde ce principe, en ce qui concerne le pouvoir du

Tribunal d'accorder une réparation, malgré leslimites imposées par
l'article1 du statut du Tribunal, laisse nettement subsister une marge
quipermettrait d'aller bienau-delà des sixmois effectivementaccordésen
l'espèce.
Ainsi, tout en signalant les insuffisancesdu jugement du Tribunal, qui
ressortent du déséquilibreentre ses constatations en faveur du requérant
et la réparation qu'il luia accordée,nous n'hésitonspas affirmer qu'il
n'appartient pas à la Cour de se prononcer sur la quotité exacte de la
réparation, car c'est un sujet qui intéressele fond. De plus, le Tribunal a
statuélà-dessus et la Cour, qui ne peut que répondreaux deux questions
expressément posées, n'est paesn mesure de dire quelle serait en la cir-
constance la réparationappropriée,sanature, son degré ou sonespèce.

Néanmoins,il ne paraît pas hors de propos, dansla présente déclara-

tion, d'évoquerun aspect qui est d'une importance vitale pour le requé-
rant et qui concerne aussi l'intérêt générella justice. En attirant l'at-
tention des autoritésintéressées, qu'isl'agissedu Secrétairegénl u de
toute autre personne ou organe, sur le caractère disproportionné de la
réparation accordée, on sert, semble-t-il, plutôt qu'on ne compromet,
l'administration de lajustice. C'esttoute la raison d'êtrede la présente
déclaration.

MM. ONYEAMA D,ILLARDet JIMÉNEZ DE ARÉCHAGA ju,ges, joigneàt
l'avisconsultatif les exposésde leur opinion individuelle.

M. AMMOUN V,ice-Président,et MM. GROS, DE CASTRO et MOROZOV,
juges, joignenà l'avisconsultatif lesexposésde leur opinion dissidente.

(Paraphé)M.L.
(Paraphé)S.A.

Document file FR
Document Long Title

Declaration of Judges Forster and Nagendra Singh (as appended immediately after the advisory opinion)

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