IXTERSATIOKAL COCKT OF JCSTICE
REPORTS OF JUDGMENTS,
ADVISORY OPINIONS AND ORDEIIS
EFFECT OF AWARDS OF
COMPENSATION MADE BY THE UNITED
NATIONS ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
ADVISORY OPINION OF JULY 13th, 1954
COUR lT\TEKK.~I'IOSXLE DE JUSTICE
IhECCEIL DES AKIIÊSS,
AVIS. CONSULTATIFS ET ORDONS;1NCES
EFFET DE JUGEMENTS DU TRIBUNAL
ilDMINISTRAT1F DES NATIONS UNIES
ACCORDANT INDEMNITÉ
AVIS CONSULTATIF DU 13 JUILLET1954 This Opinion should be cited as follo:s
"E8ect of awards of compelzsatzonmade by tU.N. Administrative
Tribunal, Advisory Opinionof July 13th, I954:
I.C. J. Reports 1954,p.47."
Le présent avis doit être cité comme su:t
(Eget de jugêmerztsdu tribunal administrati! N. U. accordant
indemrlité,dvis consultatif du 13 juillet:I954
C. 1. J. Recueil 1954p. 47.))
"es num". 120 1
No de vente : INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
July513th YEAR 1954
General List:
No. 21
EFFECT OF AWARDS OF
COMPENSATION MADE BY THE UNITED
NATIONS ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
Definition of first question put to the Cour:its limited scope.
Examination of the texts upon wlzich the anszoer depends: Statute
of the Administrative Tribunal, Stnf Regulatimzs and Stag Rules.
-Nature of the Tribunal.-Character and egect of its awards.-
Parties to the contract of service.-Parties bound by the awards.-
Question of pozoer of review.
Exanzination of principalarguments in favour of the view that the
General lissenzbly is entitled to refz~seto give egect to a:provisions
of Charter ;power of the Organization, and in particular of the General
Assembly, to establisk a tribunal to deal with disputes between the
Organization and stag meinbers ; egect of awards of this Tribunal
as regards the General Assembly itself; nature and consequences of the
budgetary powers of the General Assembly ; delimitation by the General
Assembly of tlze respectiveowers of the Secretary-General and of the
Tribunal ; relevance of decision of the League of Nations in 1946.
ADVISORY OPINION
Present : President Sir Arnold MCNAIR ;Vice-PresidentGUERRER O
Judges ALVAREZH , ACKWORTH W, INIARSKIK , LAESTAD,
BADAWI,READ, HSU MO, LEVI CARNEIROA , RMAND-
UGONK , OJEVNIKOV ; Deputy-Registrar GARNIER-COIGNET.48 AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI154)
In the matter of the Effect of Awards of Compensation made
by the United Nations Administrative Tribunal, submitted to the
Court for advisory opinion at the request of the General Assembly
of the United Nations,
THE COURT,
composed as above,
gives the following Adzzisory Opinion :
With a letter of December 16th, 1953, which was filed in the
Registry on December zrst, the Secretary-General of the United
Nations transmitted to the Court a certified true copy of a Reso-
lution of the General Assembly of the United Nations of Decem-
ber gth, 1953, which was in the following terms :
"The GeneralAssembly,
Consideringthe request for a supplementary appropriation of
$179,420, made by the Secretary-General in his report (A/2534)
for the purpose of covering the awards made by the United Nations
Administrative Tribunal in eleven cases numbered 26, and 37 to 46
inclusive,
Consideringthe concurrence in that appropriation by the Advi-
sory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions
contained in its twenty-fourth report to the eighth session of the
General Assembly (A/z580),
Considering,nevertheless, that important legal questions have
been raised in the course of debate in the Fifth Comrnittee with
respect to that appropriation,
Decides
To submit the following legal questions to the International
Court of Justice for an advisory opinion :
(1)Having regard to the'statute of the United Nations Adminis-
trative Tribunal and to any other relevant instruments and
to the relevant records, has the General Assembly the right
on any grounds to refuse to give effect to an award of com-
pensation made by that Tribunal in favour of a staff member
of the United Nations whose contract of service has been
terminated withoiit his assent ?
(2)If the answer given by the Court to question (1)is in the
affirmative, what are the principal grounds upon which the
General Assembly could lawfully exercise such a right ?"
The letter of the Secretary-General of the United Nations with
the annexed Resolution was communicated on December qth,
1953, to al1States entitled to appear before the Court,in accordance
with Article 66, paragraph 1, of the Statute. The Court was not
sitting and the President considered that the States Members of
5 AWARDS OF ADMIK. TRIBITNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI1 54)
49
the United Nations and the International Labour Organisation
were likely to be able to furnish information on the questions
referred to the Court. Accordingly, the Registrar, in conformity
with Article 66, paragraph 2, of the Statute, notified these States
and the International Labour Organisation on January ~qth,
1954, that the Court was prepared to receive written statements
from them within a time-limit fixed by an Order of the same date
at March 15th, 1954.
The following availed themselves of this opportunity to present
written statements : The International Labour Organisation and
the Governments of France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Greece,
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the
United States of America, the Philippines, Mexico, Chile, Iraq,
the Republic of China, Guatemala, Turkey and Ecuador. The
Governments of Canada, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,
Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Egypt, while not submitting
written statements, drew attention to the .iews expressed by their
representatives in the General Assembly when the question which
has given rise to the request for an Advisory Opinion was debated
there.
In accordance with Article 65, paragraph 2, of the Statute, the
Secretary-General of the United Nations transmitted to the Court
the documents likely to throw light upon the question. He also
submitted a written statement.
Public hearings were held on June ~oth, th, 12th and 14th,
1954, for the purpose of hearing oral statements. The following
addresied the Court in the order which was decided by the President
of the Court in consultation with them :
Mr. C. A. Stavropoulos, Principal Director in charge of the Legal
Department of the Secretariat, representing the Secretary-General
of the United Nations ;
The Honorable Herman Phleger, Legal -4dviser of the Depart-
ment of State, representing the Government of the Cnited States
of America ;
M.Paul Reuter, Professor of the Faculty of Law of Paris, Assist-
ant Legal Adviser of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, representing
the Government of the French Republic ;
Professor Jean Spiropoulos, Legal Adviser of the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs, representing the Hellenic Government ;
The Right Honourable Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller,
Q.C., M.P., Solicitor-General, representing the Government of the
Cnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Korthern Ireland ;
M. A. J. P. Tammes, Professor of International Law at the
University of Amsterdam, representing the Government of the
Netherlands.jO AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUKAL (OPINION OF 13 VI1 j4)
The first Question submitted to the Court is as follows :
"Having regard to the Statute of the United Nations Adminis-
trative Tribunal and to any other relevant instruments and to the
relevant records, has the General Assembly the right on any
grounds to refuse to give effectto an awardof compensation made
by that Tribunal in favour of a staff memberofthe United Nations
whose contract of servicehas beenterminated without his assent ?"
This Question is strictly limited in scope. It relates solely to
an award made by the Administrative Tribunal of the United
Nations in favour of a staff member of the United Nations whose
contract of service has been terminated without his assent. Accord-
ing to Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Statute of that Tribunal, it
"shall be competent to hear and pass judgment upon applications
alleging non-observance of contracts of employment of staff
members of the Secretariat of the United Nations or of the terms
of appointment of such staff members". A comparison between
this provision and the terms of the first Question submitted to
the Court shows that an award as defined by that Question must
be considered as falling within the competence of the Tribunal as
defined by Article 2. A claim arising out of the termination of a
contract of service without the assent of the staff member must,
in fact, either fa11within the term "non-observance of contracts
of employment", or relate to "the terms of appointment" of the
staff member. The Question concerns, in other words, only awards
which are made within the limits of the competence of the Tri-
bunal as determined by Article 2. The Court does not therefore
seem to be requested to express its view with regard to awards
which may exceed the scope of that statutory competence.
In the Resolution by which the present Advisory Opinion is
requested, the General Assembly refers to the request for a supple-
mentary appropriation made in a report of the Secretary-General
for the purpoçe of covering the awards made by the Administrative
Tribunal in eleven cases. It also refers to the concurrence in that
appropriation by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and
Budgetary Questions in its report to the General Assembly, and
the first Question refers to the Statute of that Tribunal and "to
any other relevant instruments and to the relevant records". In
none of these reports or relevant records is to be found any sug-
gestion indicating that the Tribunal, when rendering its awards
in those eleven cases, was not legally constituted according to
the provisions of Article 3 of its Statute. In such circumstanceç
the Court understands that the first Question submitted to it
contemplates awards made by a properly constituted Tribunal. It is true that by this Question the Court is requested to Say
whether the General Assembly has the right to refuse to give effect
to an award "on any grounds". But it is difficult to hold that the
General Assembly, by inserting these words, intended to modify
the meaning which naturally follows from the other terms of the
Question and from the above-mentioned considerations contained
in its Resolution. The Court will, however, come back to this
matter later in another connection.
The first Question is further limited to awards which grant
compensation to a staff member, and it relates solely to awards
in favour of a staff member whose contract of service has been
terminated without his assent. It does not include awards in other
disputes arising out of a contract of service. The Court is requested
to Say whether the General Assembly has the right to refuse to
give effect to an award as defined by the Question. The term
"right" must signify legalright. The Court is asked to Say whether
the General Assembly is legally entitled to refuse to give effect to
such awards. The Court is not called upon to express any view
with regard to the particular awards which have .given rise to
the present Advisory Opinion.
This examination of the first Question shows that the Court
is requested to consider the general and abstract question whether
the General Assembly is legally entitled to refuse to give effect
to an award of compensation made by the Administrative Tribunal,
properly constituted and acting within the limits of its statutory
competence. The answer to this question depends on the provisions
of the Statute of the Tribunal as adopted by the General Assembly
on November qth, 1949, and on the Staff Regulations and Rules
as in force on December gth, 1953. But the Court will also take
into account the amendments which were made to the Statute
on the latter date. The Court will first consider whether the
Tribunal is established either as a judicial body, or as an advisory
organ or a mere subordinate cornmittee of the General Assembly.
Article I of the Statute provides :"A Tribunal is established
by the present Statute to be known as the United Nations
Administrative Tribunal." This Tribunal shall, according to
Article 2, paragraph 1,"be competent to hear and pass judgment
upon applications", whereupon the paragraph determines the
limits of the Tribunal's competence as already mentioned above.
Article 2, paragraph 3, prescribes :
"In the event of a dispute as to whether the Tribunal has com-
petence, the matter shall be settled by the decision of the Tri-
bunal."
Article IO contains the following provisions
"2. The judgments shall be final and without appeal."
"3. The judgments shall state the reasons on which they are
based.".
852 -4WARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI1 54)
These provisions and the terminology used are evidence of the
judicial nature of the Tribunal. Such terms as "tribunal", "judg-
ment", competence to "pass judgment upon applications", are
generally used with respect to judicial bodies. The above-mentioned
provisions of Articles 2 and IO are of an essentially judicial character
and conform with rules generally laid down in statutes or laws
issued for courts of justice, such as, for instance, in the Statute
of the International Court of Justice, Article 36, paragraph 6,
Article 56, paragraph 1, Article 60, first sentence. They provide
a striking contrast to Staff Rule 111.1 of the United Nations,
which provides :
"A Joint Appeals Board is established to consider and advise
the Secretary-General regarding appeals filed under the terms of
Staff Regulation 11.1 by staff members serving at Headquarters."
The Statute of the Administrative Tribunal contains no similar
provision attributing an advisory character to its functions, nor
does it in any way limit the independence of its activity. The
independence of its members is ensured by Article 3, paragraph 5,
which provides :
"No member of the Tribunal can be dismissed by the General
Assembly unless the other members are of the unanimous opinion
that he is unsuited for further service."
The original Statute, as adopted on November 24th, 1949,
contained in Article g the following provisions :
"If the Tribunal finds that the application is well founded, it
shall order the rescinding of the decision contested or the specific
performance of the obligation invoked ; but if, in exceptional
circumstances, such rescinding or specific performance is, in the
opinion of the Secretary-General, impossible or inadvisable, the
Tribunal shall within a period of not more than sixty days order
tained. The applicant shallt be entitled to claim compensation in
lieuofrescindingofthe contested decisionorspecificperformance.. .."
These provisions were amended on Decernber gth, 1953. Article g
now provides in paragraph I :
"If the Tribunal finds that the application is well founded, it
shall order the rescinding of the decision contested or the specific
Tribunal shall fix the amount of compensation to be paid to the
applicant for the injury sustained should the Secretary-General,
within thirty days of the notification of the judgment, decide, in
the interest of the United Nations, that the applicant shall be
compensated withaut further action being taken in his case;
provided that such compensation shall not exceed the equivalent
of two years' net base salary of the applicant. The Tribunal may,
however, in exceptional cases, when it considers it justified, order 53 AWARDÇ OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPIKION OF 13 VII54)
the payment of a higher indemnity. A statement of the reasons for
the Tribunal's decision shall accompany each such order."
These provisions prescribe both in the original and in the amended
text that the Tribunal shall, if it finds that the applicationis well
founded, order the rescinding of the decision contested or the
specific performance of the obligation invoked. As the power to
issuesuch orders to the chief administrative officer of the Organi-
zation could hardly have been conferred on an advisory organ or
a subordinate committee, these provisions confirm the judicial
character of the Tribunal. The amended text contains certain
modifications of the Tribunal's powers and procedure, but these
modifications have no bearing upon the judicial nature of its
functions.
This examination of the relevant provisions of theStatute shows
that the Tribunal is established, not as an advisory organ or a
mere subordinate committee of the General Assembly, but as an
independent and truly judicial body pronouncing final judgments
without appeal within the limited field of its functions.
According to a well-established and generally recognized prin-
ciple of law, a judgment rendered by such a judicial body is res
judicata and has binding force between the parties to the dispute.
It must therefore be examined who are to be regarded as parties
bound by an award of compensation made in favour of a staff
member of the United Nations whose contract of service has been
terminated without his assent.
Such a contract of service is concluded between the staff member
concerned and the Secretary-General in his capacity as the chief
administrative officer of the United Nations Organization, acting
on behalf of that Organization as its representative. When the
Secretary-General concludes such a contract of service with a staff
member, he engages the legal responsibility of the Organization,
which is the juridical person on whose behalf he acts. If he termi-
nates the contract of service without the assent of the staff member
and this action results in a dispute whichis referred to the Adminis-
trative Tribunal, the parties to this dispute before the Tribunal are
the staff member concerned and the United Nations Organization,
represented by the Secretary-General, and these parties will become
bound bythe judgment of the Tribunal. This judgment is, according
to Article IO of the Tribunal's Statute, final and without appeal.
The Statute has provided for no kind of review. As this final
judgment has binding force on the United Nations Organization
as the juridical person responsible for the proper observance of
the contract of service, that Organization becomes legally bound
to carry out the judgment and to pay the compensation-awarded to
the staff member. It follows that the General Assembly, as an organ
of the United Nations, must likewise be bound by the judgment. AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI1 54)
54
This view is confirmed by express provisions in the Statute of
the Administrative Tribunal. Article g in the original Statute
of 1949 provided :
"In any case involving compensation, the amount awarded
shall be fixed by the Tribunal and paid by the United Nations or,
as appropriate, by the specialized agency participating under
Article 12."
A similar provision is contained in Article 9, paragraph 3, of
the amended Statute. Both provisions show that the payment of
an amount of compensation awarded by the Tribunal is an obli-
gation of the United Nations as a whole or, as the case may be,
of the specialized agency concerned.
Article 12 is based on the same legal considerations. It provides
that the competence of the Tribunal may be extended to any
specialized agency brought into relationship with the United
Nations upon the terms established by a special agreement to be
madewith each such agency by the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, and it continues :
"Each such special agreement shall provide that the agency
concerned shall be bound by the judgrnents of the Tribunal and be
responsible for the payment of any compensation awarded by the
Tribunal in respect of a staff member of that agency ...."
As mentioned above, the Statute of the AdministrativeTribunal
has not provided for any kind of review of judgments, which
according to Article IO, paragraph 2, shall be final and without
appeal. This rule is similar to the corresponding rule in the Statute
of the Administrative Tribunal of the League of Nations, Arti-
cle VI, paragraph 1,which equally prescribed that "judgments shall
be final and without appeal". The report of the Supervisory
Commission, proposing the Statute of this Tribunal of the League
of Nations, shows that the omission of any provision for a review
of judgments was deliberate. The report stated :
"No provision for the revision of judgments of the Tribunal is
inserted in the statute. It is considered that, in the interests of
finality and of the avoidance of vexatious pr~ceedings, the Tri-
bunal's judgments shouldbe final and without appeal as is provided
in Article VI, paragraph 1."
It is likewise the result of a deliberate decision that no provision
for review of the judgments of the United Nations Administrative
Tribunal was inserted in the Statute of that Tribunal. According
to the officia1 records of the General Assembly, Fifth Committee
meeting on November 15th, 1946, the representative of Belgium
asked the rapporteur of that Committee55 AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VII 54)
"whether the decisions of the administrative tribunal would be
final orwhether they would be subject to a revision by the General
Assembly".
The rapporteur replied
"that according to the draft Statute as prepared by the Advisoi-y
Comrnittee, there could be no appeal from the adrniniçtr t' 3 ive
tribunal. The Advisory Committee feared an adverse effect or,the
morale of the staff if appeal beyond the administrative tribunal
delayed the final decision in a case which had already been heard
before organs within the Secretariat created for that purpore."
The General Assembly could, when it adopted the Statute, have.
provided for means of redress, but it did not do so. Like the Assem-
bly of the League of Nations it refrained from laying down any
exception to the rule conferring on the Tribunal the power to pro--
nounce final judgments without appeal.
This rule contained in Article IO, paragraph 2; cannot however
be considered as excluding the Tribunal from itself revising a judg-
ment in special circumstances when new facts of decisive importance
have been discovered ;and the Tribunal has already exercised this.
power. Such a strictly limited revision by the Tribunal itself cannot
be considered asan "appeal" within the meaning of that Article and
would conform with rules generally provided in statutes or laws.
issued for courts.of justice, such as for instance'in Article 61 of the
Statute of the International Court of Justice.
Tt may be asked whether the General Assembly would in certain
exceptional circumstances be legally entitled to refuse to give effect
to awards of compensation made by the Administrative Tribunal.
The first Question submitted to the Court asks, in fact, whether the
General Assembly has the right to refuse to do so "on any grounds".
When the Court defined the scope of that Question above, it arrived
at the conclusion that the Question refers only to awards of com-
pensation made by the Administrative Tribunal, properly consti-
tuted and acting within the limits of itsstatutory competence, and
the previous observations of the Court are based upon that ground.
If; however, the General Assembly, by inserting the words "on any
grounds", intended also to refer to awards made in excess of the
Tribunal's competence or to any other defect which might vitiate
ail award, there would arise a problem which calls for some general
observations.
This problem would not, as has been suggested, raise the question
of the nullity of arbitral awards made in the ordinary course of
arbitration between States. The present Advisory Opiniondeals with
a different legal sit,uation. It concerns judgments pronounced by a
permanent judicial tribunal established by the General Assembly,
12functioning under a special statute and within the organized legal
system of the United Nations, and dealing exclusively with interna1
disputes between the members of the staff and the United Nations
represented by the Secretary-General. In order that the judgments
pronounced by such a judicial tribunal could be subjected to
review by any body other than the tribunal itself, it would be
necessary, in the opinion of the Court, that the statute of that
tribunal or some other legal instrument governing it should contain
an express provision to that effect. The General Assembly has the
power to amend the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal by
virtue of Article II of that Statute and to provide for means of
redress by another organ. But as no such provisions are inserted
in the present Statute, there is no legal ground upon which the
General Assembly could proceed to review judgments already
pronounced by that Tribunal. Should the General .Assembly con-
template, for dealing with future disputes, the making of some pro-
vision for the review of the awards of the Tribunal, the Court is of
opinion that the General Assembly itself, in view of its composition
and functions, could hardly act as a judicial organ-considering
the arguments of the parties, appraising the evidence produced by
them, establishing the facts and declaring the law applicable to
them-al1 the more so as one party to the disputes is the United
Nations Organization itself.
The Court must now examine the principal contentions which
have been put forward, in the written and in the oral statements,
by the Governments that take the position that there are grounds
which would justify the General Assembly in refusing ta give effect
to awards of the Administrative Tribunal.
The legal power of the General Assembly to establish a tribunal
competent to render judgments binding on the United Nations has
been challenged. Accordingly, it is necessary to consider whether
the General Assembly has been given this power by the Charter.
There is no express provision for the establishment of judicial
bodies or organs and no indication to the contrary. However, in its
Opinion-Reparntion for Injuries su8ered in the Servicofthe United
Nations, Advisory Opinion :I.C.J. Reports 1949, p. 182-the Court
said :
"Under international law, the Organization must be deemed
to have those powers which, though not expressly provided in
the Charter, are conferred upon it by necessary implication as
being essential to the performance of its duties."
The Court must therefore begin by enquiring whether the provi-
sions of the Charter concerning the relations between the staff
members andthe Organization imply for the Organization the power
to establish a judicial tribunal to adjudicate upon disputes arising
out of the contracts of service.
13 AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI154)
57
Under the provisions of Chapter XV of the Charter, the Secreta-
riat, which is one of the principal organs of the United Nations,
comprises the Secretary-General and the staff. The Secretary-
General is appointed by the Ggneral Assembly, upon the recommen-
dation of the Security Council, and he is "the chief administrative
officer of the Organization". The staff members are "appointed by
the Secretary-General under regulations established by the General
Assembly". In the words of Article I~I (3) of the Charter, "The
paramount consideration in the employment of the staff and in the
determination of the conditions of service shall be the necessity of
securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integ-
rity".
The contracts of service between the Organization and the staff
members are contained in letters of appointment. Each appoint-
ment is made subject to terms and conditions provided in the Staff
Regulations and Staff Rules, together with such amendments as may
be made from time to time.
When the Secretariat was organized, a situation arose in which
the relations between the staff members and the Organization
were governed by a complex code of law. This code consisted of
the Staff Regulations established by the General Assembly, defining
the fundamental rights and obligations of the staff, and the Staff
Rules, made by the Secretary-General in order to implement
the Staff Regulations. It was inevitable that there would be
disputes between the Organization and staff members as to their
rights and duties. The Charter contains no provision which author-
izes any of the principal organs of the United Nations to adjudicate
upon these disputes, and Article 105 secures for the United Nations
jurisdictional immunities in national courts. It would, in the
opinion of the Court, hardly be consistent with the expressed aim of
the Charter to promote freedom and justice for individuals and
with the constant preoccupation of the United Nations Organi-
zation to promote this aim that it should afford no judicial or
arbitralremedy to its own staff for the settlement of any disputes
which may arise between it and them.
In these circumstances, the Court finds that the power to
establish a tribunal, to do justice as between the Organization
and the staff members, was essential to ensure the efficient working
of the Secretariat, and to give effect to the paramount consider-
ation of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence
and integrity. Capacity to do this arises by necessary intendment
out of the Charter.
The existence of this capacity leads to the further enquiry
as to the agency by which it may be exercised. Here, there can
be no room for doubt. AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI1 54)
j8
In Article 7 of the Charter, after naming the six principal organs,
it is provided in paragraph (2):
"Such subsidiary organç as may be found necessary may be
established in accordance with the present Charter."
Article 22 provides :
"The General Assembly may establish such subsidiary organs
as it deems necessary for the performance of its functions."
Further, in Article 101, paragraph 1, the General Assembly is
given power to regulate staff relations :
"The Staff shall be appointed by the Secretary-General under
regulations established by the General Assembly."
Accordingly, the Court finds that the power to establish a
tribunal to do justice between the Organization and the staff
rnembers may be exercised by the General Assembly.
But that does not dispose of the problem before the Court.
Some of the Governments that take the position that there are
grounds which would justify the General Assembly in refusing
to give effect to awards, agree that the powers of the General
Assembly, and particularly its power to establish regulations
under Article 101, imply the power to set up an administrative
tribunal. They agree that the General Assembly would be able
to establish a tribunal competent to hear and decide staff griev-
ances, to prescribe its jurisdiction, and to authorize it to give a
final decision, in the sense that no appeal could be taken as of
right. They nevertheless contend that the implied power does not
enable the General Assembly to establish a tribunal with authority
to make decisions binding on the General Assembly itself.
In the first place, its contended that there was no need to go so
far, and that an implied power can only be exercised to the extent
that the particular measure .under consideration can be regarded as
absolutely essential. There can be nodoubt that the General Assem-
bly in the exercise of its power could have set up a tribunal without
giving finality to its judgments. In fact, however, it decided, after
long deliberation, to invest the Tribunal with power to render judg-
ments which would be "final and without appeal", and which would
be binding on the United Xations. The precise nature and scope of
the measures by which the power of creating a tribunal was to be
exercised, was a matter for determination by the General Assembly
alone. AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VII 54)
59
In the second place, it has been argued that, while an implied
power of the General Assembly to establish an administrative tri-
bunal may be both necessary and essential, nevertheless, an implied
power to impose legal limitations upon the General Assembly's
express Charter powers is not legally admissible.
It has been contended that the General Assembly cannot, by
establishing the Administrative Tribunal, divest itself of the power
conferred by paragraph (1)of Article17of the Charter, which reads:
"The General Assembly shall consider and approve the budget
of the Organization."
This provision confers a power on the General Assembly, for the
exercise of which Article18 requires the vote of a two-thirds major-
ity. Accordingly, the establishment of a tribunal competent to
make an award of compensation to which the General Assembly
was bound to give effect would, it has been argued, contravene the
provisions relating to the budgetary power. The Court is unable to
accept this contention.
The Court notes that Article 17 of the Charter appears in a
section of Chapter IV relating to the General Assembly, which
is entitled "Functions and Powers". This Article deals with a
function of the General Assembly and provides for the consid-
eration and approval by it of the budget of the Organization.
Consideration of the budget is thus an act which must be per-
formed and the same is true of its approval, for without such
approval there can be no budget.
But the function of approving the budget does not mean that
the General Assembly has an absolute power to approve or
disapprove the expenditure proposed to it ; for some part of
that expenditure arises out of obligations already incurred by
the Organization, and to this extent the General Assembly has
no alternative but to honour these engagements. The question,
therefore, to be decided by the Court is whether these obligations
comprise the awards of compensation made by the Administrative
Tribunal in favour of staff members. The reply to this question
must be in the affirmative. The obligatory character of these
awards has been established by the considerations set out above
relating to the authority of res judicata and the binding effect
of the judgments of this Tribunal upon the United Nations
Organization.
The Court therefore considers that the assignment of the budg-
etary function to the General Assembly cannot be regarded as
conferring upon it the right to refuse to give effect to the obligation
arising out of an award of the Administrative Tribunal.60 -4WARDS OF ADMIN .RIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI1 54)
It has also been contended that the implied power of the General
-4ssembly to establish a tribunal cannot be carried so far as to
enable the tribunal to intervene in matters falling within the prov-
ince of the Secretary-General. The Court cannot accept this con-
tention.
The General Assembly could at all times limit or control the
powers of the Secretary-General in staff matters, by virtue of the
provisions of Article 101. Acting under powers conferred by the
Charter, the General Assembly authorized the intervention of the
Tribunal to the extent that such intervention might result from the
exercise of jurisdiction conferred upon the Tribunal by its Statute.
Accordingly, when the Tribunal decides that particular action by
the Secretary-General involves a breach of the contract of service,
it is in no sense intervening in a Charter power of the Secretary-
General, because the Secretary-General's legal powers in staff
matters have already been limited in this respect by the General
.\ssembly.
A similar problem is involved in the contention that the General
Assembly cannot authorize and the Secretary-General cannot enter
into contracts of service which are not in conformity with the
Charter. The Staff Regulations are made a part of the contracts of
service and No. 11.2 reads as follows :
"The United Nations Administrative Tribunal çhall, under
applications from staff membersatalleging non-observancemeof their
terms of appointment, including al1 pertinent regulations and
rules."
It is contended that the incorporation, in the contracts of service,
of the right to rely on the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal
would conflict with the powers conferred on the .General Assembly
and on the Secretary-General by the Charter. In view of the fore-
goingconsiderations, the Court cannot accept this contention. There
can be no doubt that, by virtue of the terms thus incorporated in the
contracts of service, and solong as the Statute of the Administrative
Tribunal inits present form is in force, the staff members are entitled
to resort to the Tribunal and rely on its judgments.
In the third placé, the view has been put fonvard that the
Administrative Tribunal is a subsidiary, subordinate, or secondary
organ ; and that, accordingly, the Tribunal's judgments cannot
bind the General Assembly which established it.
17 61 AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI154)
This view assumes that, in adopting the Statute of the Adminis-
trative Tribunal, the General Assembly was establishing an organ
which it deemed necessary for the performance of its own functions.
But the Court cannot accept this basic assumption. The Charter
does not confer judicial functions on the General Assembly and
the relations between staff and Organization come within the scope
of Chapter XV of the Charter. In the absence of the establishment
of an Administrative Tribunal, the function of resolving disputes
between staff and Organization could be discharged by the Secretary-
General by virtue of the provisions of Articles 97 and 101. Accord-
ingly, in the three years or more preceding the establishment of
the AdministrativeTribunal, the Secretary-General coped with this
problem by means of joint administrative machinery, leading to
ultimate decision by himself. By establishing the Administrative
Tribunal, the General Assembly \vas not delegating the performance
of its own functions :it was exercising a power which it had under
the Charter to regulate staff relations. In regard to the Secretariat,
the General Assembly is given by the Charter a power to make
regulations, but not a power to adjudicate upon, or othenvise deal
with, particular instances.
It has been argued that an authority exercising a power to make
regulations is inherently incapable of creating a subordinate body
competent to make decisions binding its creator. There can be no
doubt that the Administrative Tribunal is subordinate in the
sense that the General Assembly can abolish the Tribunal by
repealing the Statute, that it can amend the Statute and provide
for review of the-future decisions of the Tribunal and that it can
amend the Staff Regulations and make new ones. There is no lack
of power to deal effectively with any problem that may arise.
But the contention that the General Assembly is inherently inca-
pable of creating a tribunal competent to make decisions binding
on itself cannot be accepted. It cannot be justified by analogy to
national laws, for it is common practice in national legislatures
to create courts with the capacity to render decisions legally
binding on the legislatures which brought them into being.
The question cannot be determined on the basis of the description
of the relationship between the General Assembly andthe Tribunal,
that is, by considering whether the Tribunal is to be regarded as
a subsidiary, a subordinate, or a secondary organ, or on the basis
of the fact that it was established by the General Assembly. It
depends on the intention of the General Assembly in establishing
the Tribunal, and on the nature of the functions conferred upon
it by its Statute. An examination of the language of the Statute
of the Administrative Tribunal has shown that the General Assem-
bly intended to establish a judicial body ; moreover, it had the
legal capacity under the Charter to do so.62 AWXRDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI1 54)
The view has been advanced that the Court should follow
what has been called the precedent established by the League
of Nations in 1946. On that occasion, the Assembly of the League
rejected certain awards of its Administrative Tribunal. It is
unnecessary to consider the question whether the Assembly,
which in very special circumstances was winding up the League,
was justified in rejectingthose awards. The cases adjudicated upon
by the Tribunal of the League, andthe circumstances in which they
arose, are different from those which led to the request for this
Opinion. Moreover, the cases arose under the Statute of the
Administrative Tribunal of the League, and not under the Statute
of the Administrative Tribunal of the United Nations, and the
Assembly was acting under the Covenant and not under the
Charter.
In view of the complete lack of identity between the two
situations, and of the conclusions already drawn by the Court
from the Charter and the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal
of the United Nations and other relevant instruments and records,
the Court cannot regard the action of the Assembly of the League
in 1946 as an applicable precedent or as an indication of the
intention of the General Assembly when the Statute of the Admin-
istrative Tribunal was adopted in 1949.
The Court has accordingly arrived at the conclusion that the
first Question submitted to it must be answered in the negative.
The second Question does not therefore cal1 for consideration.
For these reasons,
having regard to the Statute of the United Nations Admin-
istrative Tribunal and to any other relevant instruments and to
the relevant records,
by nine votes to three,
that the General Assembly has not the right on any grounds to
refuse to give effect to an award of compensation made by the
Administrative Tribunal of the United Nations in favour of a i
staff member of the U ited Nations whose contract of service
has been terminated wi fhout his assent. AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI154)
63
Done in English and French, the English text being authoritative,
at the Peace Palace, The Hague, this thirteenth day of July,
one thousand nine hundred and fifty-four, in two copies, one of
which will be placed in the archives of the Court and the other
transmitted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
(Signed) Arnold D. MCNAIR,
President.
(Signed) GARNIER-COIGNET,
Deputy-Registrar.
Jvdge WINIARSKIw , hile voting in favour of the Opinion of the
Court, avails himself of the right conferred on him by Articles7
and 68 of the Statute to append a statement of his separate opinion.
Jiidges ALVAREZ, HACKWORTH and LEVICARNEIRO declare that
they do not share the Court's Opinion and, availing themselves
of the right conferred on them by Articl57 and 68 of the Statute,
append thereto statements of their dissenting opinioris.
(Initialled)A. D. McN.
(Initialled) G.-C.
IXTERSATIOKAL COCKT OF JCSTICE
REPORTS OF JUDGMENTS,
ADVISORY OPINIONS AND ORDEIIS
EFFECT OF AWARDS OF
COMPENSATION MADE BY THE UNITED
NATIONS ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
ADVISORY OPINION OF JULY 13th, 1954
COUR lT\TEKK.~I'IOSXLE DE JUSTICE
IhECCEIL DES AKIIÊSS,
AVIS. CONSULTATIFS ET ORDONS;1NCES
EFFET DE JUGEMENTS DU TRIBUNAL
ilDMINISTRAT1F DES NATIONS UNIES
ACCORDANT INDEMNITÉ
AVIS CONSULTATIF DU 13 JUILLET1954 This Opinion should be cited as follo:s
"E8ect of awards of compelzsatzonmade by tU.N. Administrative
Tribunal, Advisory Opinionof July 13th, I954:
I.C. J. Reports 1954,p.47."
Le présent avis doit être cité comme su:t
(Eget de jugêmerztsdu tribunal administrati! N. U. accordant
indemrlité,dvis consultatif du 13 juillet:I954
C. 1. J. Recueil 1954p. 47.))
"es num". 120 1
No de vente : INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
July513th YEAR 1954
General List:
No. 21
EFFECT OF AWARDS OF
COMPENSATION MADE BY THE UNITED
NATIONS ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
Definition of first question put to the Cour:its limited scope.
Examination of the texts upon wlzich the anszoer depends: Statute
of the Administrative Tribunal, Stnf Regulatimzs and Stag Rules.
-Nature of the Tribunal.-Character and egect of its awards.-
Parties to the contract of service.-Parties bound by the awards.-
Question of pozoer of review.
Exanzination of principalarguments in favour of the view that the
General lissenzbly is entitled to refz~seto give egect to a:provisions
of Charter ;power of the Organization, and in particular of the General
Assembly, to establisk a tribunal to deal with disputes between the
Organization and stag meinbers ; egect of awards of this Tribunal
as regards the General Assembly itself; nature and consequences of the
budgetary powers of the General Assembly ; delimitation by the General
Assembly of tlze respectiveowers of the Secretary-General and of the
Tribunal ; relevance of decision of the League of Nations in 1946.
ADVISORY OPINION
Present : President Sir Arnold MCNAIR ;Vice-PresidentGUERRER O
Judges ALVAREZH , ACKWORTH W, INIARSKIK , LAESTAD,
BADAWI,READ, HSU MO, LEVI CARNEIROA , RMAND-
UGONK , OJEVNIKOV ; Deputy-Registrar GARNIER-COIGNET. COUR INTERNATIONALE DE JUSTICE
1934
Le 13 juil!et
R6le général
1-3juillet 1954 no 21
EFFET DE JUGEMENTS DU TRIBUNAL
ADMINISTRATIF DES NATIONS UNIES
ACCORDANT INDEMNITÉ
Définition de la première question posée à la Cour: sa portée
limitée.
Examen des textes dont dépend la réponse: Statut du tribunal
administratif,statut et règlements du personnel.- Nature du tri-
bunal. - Caractère et effet de ses jugement-. Parties au contrat
d'engagemen.. - Parties Liées Far les jugements.- Question du
pouvoir de revision.
Examen des principaux arguments à l'appui de la thèse selon
laquelle l'Assemblée généraleaurait le droit de refuser d'exécuter certains
jugements : dispositionsde la Charte; pouvoir de l'Organisation,et
en particulier de l'Assembléegénérale, decunetribunal pour connaître
des différends entre l'Organisation et les fonctionneffet des juge-
ments de ce tribunal à l'égardde l'Assembléegénéraleelle-même;caractère
et conséquences des pouvoirs budgétaires de l'Assemblée générale;
détermination par l'Assemblée généralede la compétence respective du
Secrétaire généralet du tribunal; pertinence de la décision de la Société
des Nations en 1946.
AVIS CONSULTATIF
Présents : Sir Arnold MCNAIR,Président ; M. GUERREROV ,ice-
Pvésident ; MM. ALVAREZ,HACKWORTH W, INIARSKI,
KLAESTADB , ADAWIR , EAD,HSU MO, LEVI CARNEIRO,
ARMAND-UGON K,OJEVNIKOV,Juges; M. GARNIER-
COIGNET,Grefier adjoint.
448 AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI154)
In the matter of the Effect of Awards of Compensation made
by the United Nations Administrative Tribunal, submitted to the
Court for advisory opinion at the request of the General Assembly
of the United Nations,
THE COURT,
composed as above,
gives the following Adzzisory Opinion :
With a letter of December 16th, 1953, which was filed in the
Registry on December zrst, the Secretary-General of the United
Nations transmitted to the Court a certified true copy of a Reso-
lution of the General Assembly of the United Nations of Decem-
ber gth, 1953, which was in the following terms :
"The GeneralAssembly,
Consideringthe request for a supplementary appropriation of
$179,420, made by the Secretary-General in his report (A/2534)
for the purpose of covering the awards made by the United Nations
Administrative Tribunal in eleven cases numbered 26, and 37 to 46
inclusive,
Consideringthe concurrence in that appropriation by the Advi-
sory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions
contained in its twenty-fourth report to the eighth session of the
General Assembly (A/z580),
Considering,nevertheless, that important legal questions have
been raised in the course of debate in the Fifth Comrnittee with
respect to that appropriation,
Decides
To submit the following legal questions to the International
Court of Justice for an advisory opinion :
(1)Having regard to the'statute of the United Nations Adminis-
trative Tribunal and to any other relevant instruments and
to the relevant records, has the General Assembly the right
on any grounds to refuse to give effect to an award of com-
pensation made by that Tribunal in favour of a staff member
of the United Nations whose contract of service has been
terminated withoiit his assent ?
(2)If the answer given by the Court to question (1)is in the
affirmative, what are the principal grounds upon which the
General Assembly could lawfully exercise such a right ?"
The letter of the Secretary-General of the United Nations with
the annexed Resolution was communicated on December qth,
1953, to al1States entitled to appear before the Court,in accordance
with Article 66, paragraph 1, of the Statute. The Court was not
sitting and the President considered that the States Members of
5 JUGEMENTS DU TRIB. ADR.IINISTRATIF (AVIS DU 13VIIj4) 48
En l'affaire relative à l'effet de jugements du tribunal admi-
nistratif des Nations Unies accordant indemnité, soumise à la
Cour pour avis consultatif à la demande de l'Assemblée générale
des Nations Unies,
ainsi composée,
donne l'avis consultatif suivant :
Par une lettre du 16 décembre 1953, enregistrée au Greffe le
21 décembre, le Secrétaire général des Nations Unies a transmis
à la Cour copie certifiée conforme d'une résoIution de 1'Assemblée
générale des Nations Unies du g décembre 1953, ainsi conçue :
(L'Assembléegénérale,
Considérantque dans son rapport (A/2534)le Secrétaire général
a demandé l'ouverture d'un crédit supplémentairede 179.420 dol-
lars pour le versement des indemnités accordées par le tribunal
administratif des Nations Unies dans onze affaires (affaire no 26
et affaires nos 37à 46),
Considérantque, dans son vingt-quatrième rapport àl'Assemblée
générale (huitièmesession) (A/z580), le Comité consultatif pour les
questions administratives et budgétaires a donnéson assentiment
à l'ouverture de ce crédit,
Considérantcependant qu'au cours du débat que la Cinquième
Commission a consacré à cette ouverture de crédit, d'importantes
questions juridiques ont étésoulevées,
Décide
De soumettre à la Cour internationale de Justice, pour avis
consultatif, les questions juridiques ci-ap:ès
I) Vu le Statut du tribunal administratif des Nations Unies
et tous autres instruments et textepertinents, l'Assemblée
générale a-t-ellele droit, pour une raison quelconque, de
refuser d'exécuter un jugement du tribunal accordant une
indemnité à un fonctionnaire des Nations Unies à l'engage-
ment duquel il a étémis fin sansl'assentiment de l'intére?sé
2) Si la Cour répond par l'affirmativeà Ia question 1), quels
sont les principaux motifs sur lesquels l'Assembléegénérale
peut se fonder pour exercer légitimement ce droit ?))
Conformément à l'article 66, paragraphe 1,du Statut, la lettre
du Secrétaire général des Nations Unies, avec la r$soliition y
annexée, a éténotifiée le 24 décembre 1953 à tous les Etats admis
à ester en justice devant la Cour. Le Président de la Cour, celle-
ci ne siégeant pas, ayant jugé que les États Membres des Nations AWARDS OF ADMIK. TRIBITNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI1 54)
49
the United Nations and the International Labour Organisation
were likely to be able to furnish information on the questions
referred to the Court. Accordingly, the Registrar, in conformity
with Article 66, paragraph 2, of the Statute, notified these States
and the International Labour Organisation on January ~qth,
1954, that the Court was prepared to receive written statements
from them within a time-limit fixed by an Order of the same date
at March 15th, 1954.
The following availed themselves of this opportunity to present
written statements : The International Labour Organisation and
the Governments of France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Greece,
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the
United States of America, the Philippines, Mexico, Chile, Iraq,
the Republic of China, Guatemala, Turkey and Ecuador. The
Governments of Canada, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,
Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Egypt, while not submitting
written statements, drew attention to the .iews expressed by their
representatives in the General Assembly when the question which
has given rise to the request for an Advisory Opinion was debated
there.
In accordance with Article 65, paragraph 2, of the Statute, the
Secretary-General of the United Nations transmitted to the Court
the documents likely to throw light upon the question. He also
submitted a written statement.
Public hearings were held on June ~oth, th, 12th and 14th,
1954, for the purpose of hearing oral statements. The following
addresied the Court in the order which was decided by the President
of the Court in consultation with them :
Mr. C. A. Stavropoulos, Principal Director in charge of the Legal
Department of the Secretariat, representing the Secretary-General
of the United Nations ;
The Honorable Herman Phleger, Legal -4dviser of the Depart-
ment of State, representing the Government of the Cnited States
of America ;
M.Paul Reuter, Professor of the Faculty of Law of Paris, Assist-
ant Legal Adviser of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, representing
the Government of the French Republic ;
Professor Jean Spiropoulos, Legal Adviser of the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs, representing the Hellenic Government ;
The Right Honourable Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller,
Q.C., M.P., Solicitor-General, representing the Government of the
Cnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Korthern Ireland ;
M. A. J. P. Tammes, Professor of International Law at the
University of Amsterdam, representing the Government of the
Netherlands. JUGEMENTS DU TRIB. ADMINISTRATIF (AVIS DU 13 VI1 54)
49
Unies et l'organisation internationale du Travail étaient sus-
ceptibles de fournir des renseignements sur les questions soumises
à la Cour, le Greffier, conformément à l'article 66, paragraphe2, du
Statut, a fait connaître le 14 janvier 1954 à ces Etats età cette
organisation que la Cour était disposée à recevoir d'eux des
exposés écrits dans un délai dont, par ordonnance du mêmejour,
la date d'expiration a étéfixéeau 15 mars 1954.
Ont fait usage de cette faculté : l'organisation internationale
du Travail ainsi que les Gouvernements de la France, de la Suède,
des Pays-Bas, de la Grèce,,du Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne
et d'Irlande du Nord, des Etats-Unis d'*Amériqued , es Philippines,
du Mexique, du Chili, de l'Irak, de, la République de la Chine,
du Guatemala, de la Turquie et de 1'Equateur. Les Gouvernements
du Canada, de l'Union des Républiques socialisfes soviétiques,
de la Yougoslavie, de la Tchécoslovaquie et de l'Egypte, tout en
ne présentant pas d'exposés écrits, ont attiré l'attention sur les
vues exprimées à l'Assemblée généralepar leurs représentants,
lorsque la question qui a donné lieu à la demande d'avis y a été
débattue.
Conformément à l'article65, paragraphe 2, du Statut, le secré-
taire général desNations Unies a transmis à la Cour les docu-
ments pouvant servir à éluciderla question. Il a égalementprésenté
un exposé écrit.
Des audiences publiques ont été tenuesles IO, II, 12 et 14 juin
1954 pour entendre les exposés oraux. Ont pris la parole, dans
l'ordre que le Président de la Cour a fixéaprès les avoir consultés :
M. C. A. Stavropoulos,directeur principal chargé du département
juridique du Secrétariat, représentant le Secrétaire général des
Nations Unies ;
L'honorable Herman Phleger, conseiller juridique dv départe-
ment d'État, représentant le Gouvernement des Etats-Unis
d'Amérique ;
M. Paul Reuter, professeur à la faculté de droit de Paris, juris-
consulte adjoint du ministère des Affaires étrangères,représentant
le Gouvernement de la République française ;
M. Jean Spiropoulos, professeur, conseillerjuridique du ministère
des Affaires étrangères,représentant le Gouvernement hellénique ;
Le très honorable sir Reginald Manningham-Buller, Q. C., M.P.,
Solicitor-General, représentant le Gouvernement du Royaume-Uni
de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande du Nord ;
M. A. J. P. Tammes, professeur de droit international à l'Uni-
versité d'Amsterdam, représentant le Gouvernement des Pays-Bas.jO AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUKAL (OPINION OF 13 VI1 j4)
The first Question submitted to the Court is as follows :
"Having regard to the Statute of the United Nations Adminis-
trative Tribunal and to any other relevant instruments and to the
relevant records, has the General Assembly the right on any
grounds to refuse to give effectto an awardof compensation made
by that Tribunal in favour of a staff memberofthe United Nations
whose contract of servicehas beenterminated without his assent ?"
This Question is strictly limited in scope. It relates solely to
an award made by the Administrative Tribunal of the United
Nations in favour of a staff member of the United Nations whose
contract of service has been terminated without his assent. Accord-
ing to Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Statute of that Tribunal, it
"shall be competent to hear and pass judgment upon applications
alleging non-observance of contracts of employment of staff
members of the Secretariat of the United Nations or of the terms
of appointment of such staff members". A comparison between
this provision and the terms of the first Question submitted to
the Court shows that an award as defined by that Question must
be considered as falling within the competence of the Tribunal as
defined by Article 2. A claim arising out of the termination of a
contract of service without the assent of the staff member must,
in fact, either fa11within the term "non-observance of contracts
of employment", or relate to "the terms of appointment" of the
staff member. The Question concerns, in other words, only awards
which are made within the limits of the competence of the Tri-
bunal as determined by Article 2. The Court does not therefore
seem to be requested to express its view with regard to awards
which may exceed the scope of that statutory competence.
In the Resolution by which the present Advisory Opinion is
requested, the General Assembly refers to the request for a supple-
mentary appropriation made in a report of the Secretary-General
for the purpoçe of covering the awards made by the Administrative
Tribunal in eleven cases. It also refers to the concurrence in that
appropriation by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and
Budgetary Questions in its report to the General Assembly, and
the first Question refers to the Statute of that Tribunal and "to
any other relevant instruments and to the relevant records". In
none of these reports or relevant records is to be found any sug-
gestion indicating that the Tribunal, when rendering its awards
in those eleven cases, was not legally constituted according to
the provisions of Article 3 of its Statute. In such circumstanceç
the Court understands that the first Question submitted to it
contemplates awards made by a properly constituted Tribunal. JUGEMENTS DU TRIB. ADMINISTRATIF (AVIS DU 13 VI154)
50
La première question posée à la Cour est la suivante:
«Vu le statut du tribunal administratif des Nations Unies et
tous autres instruments et textes pertinents, l'Assembléegénérale
a-t-elle le droit, pour une raison quelconque, de refuserd'exécuter
un jugement du tribunal accordant une indemnité à un fonction-
naire des Nations Uniesà l'engagementduquel il a étémis fin sans
l'assentiment de l'intéressé1)
La portée de cette question est étroitement limitée. Elle se
réfèreuniquement à un jugement rendu par le tribunal adminis-
tratif des Nations Unies en faveur d'un fonctionnaire des Nations
Unies à l'engagement duquel il a étémis fin sans l'assentiment
de l'intéressé.D'après l'article2, paragraphe 1,de son statut, «le
tribunal est compétent pour connaître des requêtes invoquant
l'inobservation du contrat d'engagement des fonctionnaires du
Secrétariat des Nations Unies, ou des conditions d'emploi de ces
fonctionnaires, et pour statuer sur lesdites requêtes ».La compa-
raison entre cette disposition et les termes de la première question
soumise à la Cour montre qu'un jugement, tel qu'il est définipar
cette question, doit êtreconsidéré commerentrant dans la compé-
tence du tribunal, telle qu'elle est définie par l'article 2. Une
réclamation élevéeau sujet de la résiliation d'un contrat d'enga-
gement sans l'assentiment du fonctionnaire doit, en fait, ou bien
rentrer dans les termes «inobsemation du contrat d'engagement »,
ou bien se rapporter aux (conditions d'emploi » du fonctionnaire.
En d'autres mots, la question se réfèreseulement à des jugements
rendus par le tribunaldans les limites de la compétence du tribunal
telles qu'elles ont étéfixéespar l'article2. La Cour ne paraît donc
pas invitée à exprimer ses vues au sujet de jugements qui pour-
raient dépasser les limites de cette compétence statutaire.
Dans la résolution énon~ant la demande d'avis consultatif,
l'Assemblée générale se réfère à la demande d'ouverture d'un
crédit supplémentaire présentée dans un rapport du Secrétaire
généralpour le versement des indemnités accordéespar le tribunal
administratif dans onze affaires. Elie se réfère également à l'assen-
timent que, dans son rapport à l'Assemblée générale,le comité
consultatif pour les questions administratives et budgétaires a
donné à I'ouVerture de ce crédit, et la première question vise le
statut du tribunal administratif et ctous autres instruments et
textes pertinents ». Dans aucun de ces rapports ou textes perti-
nents on ne trouve de suggestion qui donnerait à penser que le
tribunal, lorsqu'il a rendu ses jugements dans les onze affaires,
n'était pas légalement constitué conformément aux dispositions
de l'article3 de son statut. Dans ces conditions, la Cour entend
la première question à elle soumise comme ayant en vue des juge-
ments rendus par un tribunal régulièrement constitué. It is true that by this Question the Court is requested to Say
whether the General Assembly has the right to refuse to give effect
to an award "on any grounds". But it is difficult to hold that the
General Assembly, by inserting these words, intended to modify
the meaning which naturally follows from the other terms of the
Question and from the above-mentioned considerations contained
in its Resolution. The Court will, however, come back to this
matter later in another connection.
The first Question is further limited to awards which grant
compensation to a staff member, and it relates solely to awards
in favour of a staff member whose contract of service has been
terminated without his assent. It does not include awards in other
disputes arising out of a contract of service. The Court is requested
to Say whether the General Assembly has the right to refuse to
give effect to an award as defined by the Question. The term
"right" must signify legalright. The Court is asked to Say whether
the General Assembly is legally entitled to refuse to give effect to
such awards. The Court is not called upon to express any view
with regard to the particular awards which have .given rise to
the present Advisory Opinion.
This examination of the first Question shows that the Court
is requested to consider the general and abstract question whether
the General Assembly is legally entitled to refuse to give effect
to an award of compensation made by the Administrative Tribunal,
properly constituted and acting within the limits of its statutory
competence. The answer to this question depends on the provisions
of the Statute of the Tribunal as adopted by the General Assembly
on November qth, 1949, and on the Staff Regulations and Rules
as in force on December gth, 1953. But the Court will also take
into account the amendments which were made to the Statute
on the latter date. The Court will first consider whether the
Tribunal is established either as a judicial body, or as an advisory
organ or a mere subordinate cornmittee of the General Assembly.
Article I of the Statute provides :"A Tribunal is established
by the present Statute to be known as the United Nations
Administrative Tribunal." This Tribunal shall, according to
Article 2, paragraph 1,"be competent to hear and pass judgment
upon applications", whereupon the paragraph determines the
limits of the Tribunal's competence as already mentioned above.
Article 2, paragraph 3, prescribes :
"In the event of a dispute as to whether the Tribunal has com-
petence, the matter shall be settled by the decision of the Tri-
bunal."
Article IO contains the following provisions
"2. The judgments shall be final and without appeal."
"3. The judgments shall state the reasons on which they are
based.".
8 JUGEMENTS DU TRIB. ADMINISTRATIF (AVIS DU 13 VI1 54) 51
Il est vrai que cette question invite la Cour à dire si l'Assemblée
généralea le droit de refuser d'exécuter un jugement «pour une
raison quelconque ». Mais il serait difficile de considérer que
l'Assembléegénérale, eninsérant ces mots, ait voulu modifier le
sens qui découle naturellement des autres termes de la question
ainsi que des considérations contenues dans sa résolution et qui
sont rappelées plus haut. La Cour reviendra cependant plus loin
sur ce point, à un autre propos.
La première questionest en outre limitéeaux jugements accordant
une indemnité à un fonctionnaire, et elle vise uniquement les
jugements en faveur d'un fonctionnaire à l'engagement duquel il a
étémis fin sans son assentiment. Elle ne s'étend pas aux jugements
rendus sur d'autres différends nés d'un contrat d'engagement.
La Cour est invitée à dire si l'Assemblée généralea le droit de
refuser de donner effet à un jugement tel que le définitla question.
Le terme « droit» doit signifier (droit légal ».La Cour est appelée
à dire si l'Assemblée généraleest juridiquement fondée à refuser
de donner effet à ces jugements. La Cour n'est pas appelée à
exprimer une opinion quelconque au sujet des jugements qui ont
étél'occasion du présent avis consultatif.
Cet examen de la première question montre que la Cour est
invitée à examiner la question généraleet abstraite de savoir si
l'Assemblée généraleest fondée en droit à refuser d'exécuter un
jugement accordant indemnité, rendu par le tribunal administratif
régulièrementconstitué et agissant dans les limitesde sa compétence
statutaire. La réponse à cette question dépend des dispositions du
statut du tribunal telles que l'Assembléegénérale lesa adoptées
le 24 novembre 1949 et de celles du statut et du règlement du
personnel en vigueur le 9 décembre 1953. Mais la Cour prendra
aussi en cons?dération les amendements apportés au statut du
tribunal à cette dernière date. Elle examinera d'abord si le tribunal
est institué soit comme un corps judiciaire, soit comme un organe
consultatif ou comme un simple comité subordonné à l'Assemblée
générale.
L'article premier du statiit dispose : «Le présent statut créeun
tribunal qui portera lenont %letribunal administratif des Nations
Unies. » Le tribunal, seluii1 article2, paragraphe 1, «est compétent
pour connaître des requêtes ....et pour statuer sur lesdites requêtes»,
après quoi ce paragraphe détermine les limites de la compétence
du tribunal, comme il a étéprécédemment énoncé.
L'article. 2, paragraphe 3, dispose :
«En cas de contestation touchant sa compétence, le tribunal
décide.))
L'article IO contient les dispositions suivantes :
« 2.Les jugements sont définitifset sans appel. ))
« 3. Les jugements sont motivés. ))52 -4WARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI1 54)
These provisions and the terminology used are evidence of the
judicial nature of the Tribunal. Such terms as "tribunal", "judg-
ment", competence to "pass judgment upon applications", are
generally used with respect to judicial bodies. The above-mentioned
provisions of Articles 2 and IO are of an essentially judicial character
and conform with rules generally laid down in statutes or laws
issued for courts of justice, such as, for instance, in the Statute
of the International Court of Justice, Article 36, paragraph 6,
Article 56, paragraph 1, Article 60, first sentence. They provide
a striking contrast to Staff Rule 111.1 of the United Nations,
which provides :
"A Joint Appeals Board is established to consider and advise
the Secretary-General regarding appeals filed under the terms of
Staff Regulation 11.1 by staff members serving at Headquarters."
The Statute of the Administrative Tribunal contains no similar
provision attributing an advisory character to its functions, nor
does it in any way limit the independence of its activity. The
independence of its members is ensured by Article 3, paragraph 5,
which provides :
"No member of the Tribunal can be dismissed by the General
Assembly unless the other members are of the unanimous opinion
that he is unsuited for further service."
The original Statute, as adopted on November 24th, 1949,
contained in Article g the following provisions :
"If the Tribunal finds that the application is well founded, it
shall order the rescinding of the decision contested or the specific
performance of the obligation invoked ; but if, in exceptional
circumstances, such rescinding or specific performance is, in the
opinion of the Secretary-General, impossible or inadvisable, the
Tribunal shall within a period of not more than sixty days order
tained. The applicant shallt be entitled to claim compensation in
lieuofrescindingofthe contested decisionorspecificperformance.. .."
These provisions were amended on Decernber gth, 1953. Article g
now provides in paragraph I :
"If the Tribunal finds that the application is well founded, it
shall order the rescinding of the decision contested or the specific
Tribunal shall fix the amount of compensation to be paid to the
applicant for the injury sustained should the Secretary-General,
within thirty days of the notification of the judgment, decide, in
the interest of the United Nations, that the applicant shall be
compensated withaut further action being taken in his case;
provided that such compensation shall not exceed the equivalent
of two years' net base salary of the applicant. The Tribunal may,
however, in exceptional cases, when it considers it justified, order Ces dispositions et la terminologie employée démontrent la
nature judiciaire du tribunal. Des termes tels que «tribunal »,
a jugement )),compétence pour cstatuer sur lesdites requêtes »
sont généralement employés pour des corps judiciaires. Les dispo-
sitions ci-dessus citées des articles 2 et IO sont de caractère essen-
tiellement judiciaire et sont conformes aux règles généralement
posées dans les statuts ou les lois concernant les cours de justice,
comme, par exemple, le Statut de la Cour internationale de Justice,
article 36, paragraphe 6, article 56, paragraphe 1, et article 60,
première phrase. Elles sont en contraste frappant avec la disposition
111.1 du règlement du personnel des Nations Unies, lequel dispose :
Il est crééune commission paritaire de recours, qui est chargée
d'examiner les recours que les fonctionnaires employés au siège
formeraient conformément à l'article11.1 du statut du personnel
et de donner au Secrétaire général desavis à leur sujet.»
Le statut du tribunal administratif ne contient pas de disposition
semblable conférant un caractère consultatif à ses fonctions ; il
ne limite en aucune manièrel'indépendance de l'activité du tribunal.
L'indépendance de ses membres est assurée par l'article 3, para-
graphe 5, qui dispose :
((Un membre du tribunal ne peut êtrerelevé de ses fonctions
par l'Assembléegénérale quesi les autres membres estiment à
l'unanimité qu'il n'est plu qualifiépour les exercer. »
Le texte primitif du statut, adopté le 24 novembre 1949, conte-
nait dans son article g les dispositions suivantes :
((S'il reconnaît le bien-fondéde la requête,le tribunal ordonne
l'annulation de la décisioncontestée ou l'exécutionde l'obligation
invoquée ; mais, si, dans des circonstances exceptionnelles, le
Secrétaire général estime quecette annulation ou exécution n'est
pas possible ou n'est pas opportune, le tribunal alloue à l'intéressé,
dans les soixante jours, une indemnité pour le préjudice subi. Le
requérant peut réclamerune indemnité en lieu et place de l'annula-
tion de la décision contestée ou de l'exécution de l'obligation
invoquée ...»
Ces dispositïons ont étéamendées le g décembre 1953. L'arti-
cle g dispose maintenant, dans son paragraphe I :
S'il reconnaît le bien-fondé de la requête,le tribunal ordonne
l'annulation de la décisioncontestée, ou l'exécution de l'obligation
invoquée. En mêmetemps, le tribunal fixe le montant de l'indem-
nité qui sera verséeau requérant pour le préjudice subi si, dans
un délai detrente jours à compter de la notification du jugement, le
Secrétaire général décide,dans l'intérêtde l'organisation des
Nations Unies, de verser une indemnité au requérant, sans qu'une
nouvelle procédure soit nécessaire ; toutefois, cette indemnité ne
peut êtresupérieure au montant net du traitement de base du
requérant pour une période de deux ans. Cependant, le tribunal
peut, dans des cas exceptionnels, lorsqu'il juge qu'il y a lieu de
9 53 AWARDÇ OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPIKION OF 13 VII54)
the payment of a higher indemnity. A statement of the reasons for
the Tribunal's decision shall accompany each such order."
These provisions prescribe both in the original and in the amended
text that the Tribunal shall, if it finds that the applicationis well
founded, order the rescinding of the decision contested or the
specific performance of the obligation invoked. As the power to
issuesuch orders to the chief administrative officer of the Organi-
zation could hardly have been conferred on an advisory organ or
a subordinate committee, these provisions confirm the judicial
character of the Tribunal. The amended text contains certain
modifications of the Tribunal's powers and procedure, but these
modifications have no bearing upon the judicial nature of its
functions.
This examination of the relevant provisions of theStatute shows
that the Tribunal is established, not as an advisory organ or a
mere subordinate committee of the General Assembly, but as an
independent and truly judicial body pronouncing final judgments
without appeal within the limited field of its functions.
According to a well-established and generally recognized prin-
ciple of law, a judgment rendered by such a judicial body is res
judicata and has binding force between the parties to the dispute.
It must therefore be examined who are to be regarded as parties
bound by an award of compensation made in favour of a staff
member of the United Nations whose contract of service has been
terminated without his assent.
Such a contract of service is concluded between the staff member
concerned and the Secretary-General in his capacity as the chief
administrative officer of the United Nations Organization, acting
on behalf of that Organization as its representative. When the
Secretary-General concludes such a contract of service with a staff
member, he engages the legal responsibility of the Organization,
which is the juridical person on whose behalf he acts. If he termi-
nates the contract of service without the assent of the staff member
and this action results in a dispute whichis referred to the Adminis-
trative Tribunal, the parties to this dispute before the Tribunal are
the staff member concerned and the United Nations Organization,
represented by the Secretary-General, and these parties will become
bound bythe judgment of the Tribunal. This judgment is, according
to Article IO of the Tribunal's Statute, final and without appeal.
The Statute has provided for no kind of review. As this final
judgment has binding force on the United Nations Organization
as the juridical person responsible for the proper observance of
the contract of service, that Organization becomes legally bound
to carry out the judgment and to pay the compensation-awarded to
the staff member. It follows that the General Assembly, as an organ
of the United Nations, must likewise be bound by the judgment. JUGEMENTS DU TRIB. ADMINISTRATIF (AVIS DU 13 VI1 54) 53
le faire, ordonner le versement d'une indemnité plus élevée. Un
exposé desmotifs accompagne chaque décision dece genre prise
par le tribunal))
Ces dispositions prescrivent, tant dans le texte primitif que
dans le texte amendé, que le tribunal, s'il reconnaît le bien-fondé
de la requête, ordonnera l'annulation ,de la décision contestée ou
l'exécution de l'obligation invoquée. Etant donné que le pouvoir
de donner pareils ordres au plus haut fonctionnaire de l'organi-
sation pourrait difficilement avoir étéconféré à un organe consul-
tatif ou à un comité subordonné, ces dispositions confirment le
caractère judiciaire du tribunal. Le texte amendé modifie dans
une certaine mesure les pouvoirs et la procédure du tribunal,
mais ces modifications ne touchent pas à la nature judiciaire
de ses fonctions.
Cet examen des dispositions pertinentes du statut montre que
le tribunal est institué, non comme un organe consultatif ou
comme un simple comité subordonné de l'Assemblée générale,
mais comme un corps indépendant et véritablement judiciaire,
prononçant des jugements définitifs et sans appel dans le cadre
limité de ses fonctions.
Suivant un principe de droit bien établi et généralement re-
connu, un jugement rendu par un pareil corps judiciaire est chose
jugée, et a force obligatoire entre les parties au différend. Il
faut donc examiner qui l'on doit considérer comme parties liées
par un jugement accordant indemnité en faveur d'un fonctionnaire
des Nations Unies à l'engagement duquel il a étémis fin sans
l'assentiment de l'intéressé.
Cet engagement est fait par contrat conclu entre le fonction-
naire intéresséet le Secrétaire généralen sa qualité de plus haut
fonctionnaire de l'organisation des Nations Vnies et agissant pour
le compte de celle-ci comme son représentant. Lorsque le Secrétaire
généralconclut un tel contrat d'engagement avec un fonctionnaire,
il engage la responsabilité juridique de l'organisation, qui est la
personne juridique pour le compte de laquelle il agit. S'il met fin
au contrat d'engagement sans l'assentiment du fonctionnaire, et
si cette mesure conduit à un différend soumis au tribunal admi-
nistratif, les parties au différend devant le tribunal sont le fonc-
tionnaire intéressé et l'organisation des Nations Unies, repré-
sentée par le Secrétaire général ;et ces parties seront liées par le
jugement du tribunal. Ce jugement, conformément à l'articleIO
du statut du tribunal, est définitif et sans appel. Le statut ne
prévoit aucune forme de revision. Ce jugement définitif ayant
force obligatoire pour l'organisation des Nations Unies, comme
étant la personne juridique responsable de l'exécution régulière
du contrat d'engagement, l'organisation est tenue en droit d'exé-
cuter le jugement et de verser l'indemnité accordée au fonction-
naire. Il s'ensuit que l'Assemblée générale,l'un des organes des
Nations Unies, doit de même être liée par le jugement. AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI1 54)
54
This view is confirmed by express provisions in the Statute of
the Administrative Tribunal. Article g in the original Statute
of 1949 provided :
"In any case involving compensation, the amount awarded
shall be fixed by the Tribunal and paid by the United Nations or,
as appropriate, by the specialized agency participating under
Article 12."
A similar provision is contained in Article 9, paragraph 3, of
the amended Statute. Both provisions show that the payment of
an amount of compensation awarded by the Tribunal is an obli-
gation of the United Nations as a whole or, as the case may be,
of the specialized agency concerned.
Article 12 is based on the same legal considerations. It provides
that the competence of the Tribunal may be extended to any
specialized agency brought into relationship with the United
Nations upon the terms established by a special agreement to be
madewith each such agency by the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, and it continues :
"Each such special agreement shall provide that the agency
concerned shall be bound by the judgrnents of the Tribunal and be
responsible for the payment of any compensation awarded by the
Tribunal in respect of a staff member of that agency ...."
As mentioned above, the Statute of the AdministrativeTribunal
has not provided for any kind of review of judgments, which
according to Article IO, paragraph 2, shall be final and without
appeal. This rule is similar to the corresponding rule in the Statute
of the Administrative Tribunal of the League of Nations, Arti-
cle VI, paragraph 1,which equally prescribed that "judgments shall
be final and without appeal". The report of the Supervisory
Commission, proposing the Statute of this Tribunal of the League
of Nations, shows that the omission of any provision for a review
of judgments was deliberate. The report stated :
"No provision for the revision of judgments of the Tribunal is
inserted in the statute. It is considered that, in the interests of
finality and of the avoidance of vexatious pr~ceedings, the Tri-
bunal's judgments shouldbe final and without appeal as is provided
in Article VI, paragraph 1."
It is likewise the result of a deliberate decision that no provision
for review of the judgments of the United Nations Administrative
Tribunal was inserted in the Statute of that Tribunal. According
to the officia1 records of the General Assembly, Fifth Committee
meeting on November 15th, 1946, the representative of Belgium
asked the rapporteur of that Committee JUGEMENT5 DU TRIB. ADMINISTRATIF (- VISDU 13 VI1 j4) 54
Cette opinion est confirmée par des dispositions expresses du
statut du tribunal administratif. L'article 9 du texte primitif de
1949 disposait :
(Lorsqu'il y a lieu à indemnité,celle-ciest fixéepar le tribunal
et verséepar l'organisation des Nations Unies, ou, le cas échéant,
par l'institution spécialiséeà laquelle la compétence du tribunal
s'étendaux termes de l'article 12. »
Une disposition semblable figure dans l'article 9, paragraphe 3;
du statut amendé. Les deux dispositions montrent que le verse-
ment du montant de l'indemnité accordée par le tribunal est
une obligation des Nations Unies dans leur ensemble, ou, le cas
échéant, de l'institution spécialiséeintéressée.
L'article 12 se fonde sur les mêmes considérations juridiques ;
il dispose que la compétence du tribunal peut être étendue à
toute institution spécialisée reliée à l'organisation des Nations
Unies dans des conditions à fixer par un accord que le Secrétaire
général des Nations Unies conclura avec elle à cet effet, et il
ajoute :
(Pareil accord prévoira expressément quecette institution sera
liéepar les décisionsdu tribunal et qu'elle sera chargéedu paiement
de toute indemnité allouée à un de ses fonctionnaires par le tri-
bunal...»
Comme il a déjà étédit, le statut du tribunal administratif
n'a prévu aucune sorte de revision des jugements, qui, aux termes
de l'article IO, paragraphe 2, sont définitifs et sans appel. Cette
règle est semblable à la,règle correspondante du statut du tribunal
administratif de la Sociétédes Nations, article VI, paragraphe 1,
qui énonçait également que ((ses jugements sont définitifs et sans
appel ».Le rapport de la commission de contrôle, proposant le
statut de ce tribunal de la Société des Nations, montre que
l'omission de toute disposition relative à la revision des jugements
était volontaire. Le rapport disait :
((Aucune disposition n'est inséréedans le statut au sujet de la
revision des jugements du tribunal. On estime que, pour assurer
le caractère définitifdes décisionset pour éviter des procédures
vexatoires, les jugements du tribunal devraient être « définitifs
et sans appel i)ainsi qu'il est prévu à l'article VI, alinéa I»
De même,c'est de propos délibéréqu'aucune disposition pour
la revision des jugements du tribunal administratif des Nations
Unies n'a étéinséréedans le statut de ce tribunal. D'après les
procès-verbaux de l'Assemblée générale, VmeCommission, séance
du 15 novembre 1946, le représentant de la Belgique demanda
au rapporteur de cette commission55 AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VII 54)
"whether the decisions of the administrative tribunal would be
final orwhether they would be subject to a revision by the General
Assembly".
The rapporteur replied
"that according to the draft Statute as prepared by the Advisoi-y
Comrnittee, there could be no appeal from the adrniniçtr t' 3 ive
tribunal. The Advisory Committee feared an adverse effect or,the
morale of the staff if appeal beyond the administrative tribunal
delayed the final decision in a case which had already been heard
before organs within the Secretariat created for that purpore."
The General Assembly could, when it adopted the Statute, have.
provided for means of redress, but it did not do so. Like the Assem-
bly of the League of Nations it refrained from laying down any
exception to the rule conferring on the Tribunal the power to pro--
nounce final judgments without appeal.
This rule contained in Article IO, paragraph 2; cannot however
be considered as excluding the Tribunal from itself revising a judg-
ment in special circumstances when new facts of decisive importance
have been discovered ;and the Tribunal has already exercised this.
power. Such a strictly limited revision by the Tribunal itself cannot
be considered asan "appeal" within the meaning of that Article and
would conform with rules generally provided in statutes or laws.
issued for courts.of justice, such as for instance'in Article 61 of the
Statute of the International Court of Justice.
Tt may be asked whether the General Assembly would in certain
exceptional circumstances be legally entitled to refuse to give effect
to awards of compensation made by the Administrative Tribunal.
The first Question submitted to the Court asks, in fact, whether the
General Assembly has the right to refuse to do so "on any grounds".
When the Court defined the scope of that Question above, it arrived
at the conclusion that the Question refers only to awards of com-
pensation made by the Administrative Tribunal, properly consti-
tuted and acting within the limits of itsstatutory competence, and
the previous observations of the Court are based upon that ground.
If; however, the General Assembly, by inserting the words "on any
grounds", intended also to refer to awards made in excess of the
Tribunal's competence or to any other defect which might vitiate
ail award, there would arise a problem which calls for some general
observations.
This problem would not, as has been suggested, raise the question
of the nullity of arbitral awards made in the ordinary course of
arbitration between States. The present Advisory Opiniondeals with
a different legal sit,uation. It concerns judgments pronounced by a
permanent judicial tribunal established by the General Assembly,
12 csi les jugements du tribunal administratif seraient sans appel
ou si, au contraire, ils seraient susceptibles de révocation par
l'Assembléegénérale 1).
Le rapporteur répondit
«que, suivant le projet de statut préparé parle Comité consul-
tatif, les décisions dutribunal administratif seraient sans appel.
Appeler à une compétencesupérieuredes jugements du tribunal
administratif, ce serait retarder le règlement définitif des affaires
d'ores et déjà examinéespar des organismes créés à cette fin au
sein du Secrétariat :ce retard, dans l'esprit du Comité,affecterait
défavorablement le moral du personnel. ))
L'Assemblée générale,quand elle a adopté le statut, aurait pu
prévoir des voies de recours, mais elle ne l'a pas fait. Comme
-'-ssembléede la Sociétédes Nations. elle s'est abstenue de rév voir
une exception quelconque à la règle conférant au tribunal le
pouvoir de prononcer des jugements définitifs et sans appel.
Cette règle, qui figure à l'article IO, paragraphe 2, ne peut
toutefois êtreconsidérée commeinterdisant au tribunal de reviser
lui-même un jugement, dans des circonstances particulières, lors-
que des faits nouveaux d'importance décisiveont étédécouverts ;
et le tribunal a déjà exercéce pouvoir. Pareille revision strictement
limitée, faite par le tribunal lui-même, ne peut êtreconsidérée
comme un (appel )au sens de cet article, et serait conforme aux
règles généralement posées dans les statuts ou les lois concernant
les cours de justice, comme, par exemple, l'article 61 du Statut
de la Cour internationale de Justice.
On peut se demander si, dans certaines circonstances exception-
nelles, l'Assemblée généraleserait fondée en droit à refuser d'exé-
cuter les jugements du tribunal administratif accordant indemnité.
La première question posée à la Cour demande, en fait, si l'As-
semblée a le droit, «pour une raison quelconque », de refuser
de le faire. Lorsque la Cour a défini plus haut la portée de cette
question, elle est arrivée à la conclusion que la question a trait
uniquement à des jugements accordant indemnité rendus par le
tribunal administratif régulièrement constitué et agissant dans
les limites de sa compétence statutaire, et les considérations
énoncées ci-dessuspar la Cour reposent sur cette base. Si, cepen-
dant, en insérant les mots c(pour une raison quelconque D,l'As-
semblée généraleavait entendu se référer aussi à des jugements
dépassant la compétence du tribunal ou à quelque autre vice
pouvant affecter un jugement, un problème se poserait qui appelle
quelques observations générales.
Ce problème ne poserait pas, comme on l'a prétendu, la ques-
tion de la nullité d'une sentence arbitrale rendue au cours d'un
arbitrage ordinaire entre Etats. Le présent avis consultatif traite
d'une situation juridique différente. Il se rapporte aux jugements
prononcés par un tribunal permanent établi par l'Assembléefunctioning under a special statute and within the organized legal
system of the United Nations, and dealing exclusively with interna1
disputes between the members of the staff and the United Nations
represented by the Secretary-General. In order that the judgments
pronounced by such a judicial tribunal could be subjected to
review by any body other than the tribunal itself, it would be
necessary, in the opinion of the Court, that the statute of that
tribunal or some other legal instrument governing it should contain
an express provision to that effect. The General Assembly has the
power to amend the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal by
virtue of Article II of that Statute and to provide for means of
redress by another organ. But as no such provisions are inserted
in the present Statute, there is no legal ground upon which the
General Assembly could proceed to review judgments already
pronounced by that Tribunal. Should the General .Assembly con-
template, for dealing with future disputes, the making of some pro-
vision for the review of the awards of the Tribunal, the Court is of
opinion that the General Assembly itself, in view of its composition
and functions, could hardly act as a judicial organ-considering
the arguments of the parties, appraising the evidence produced by
them, establishing the facts and declaring the law applicable to
them-al1 the more so as one party to the disputes is the United
Nations Organization itself.
The Court must now examine the principal contentions which
have been put forward, in the written and in the oral statements,
by the Governments that take the position that there are grounds
which would justify the General Assembly in refusing ta give effect
to awards of the Administrative Tribunal.
The legal power of the General Assembly to establish a tribunal
competent to render judgments binding on the United Nations has
been challenged. Accordingly, it is necessary to consider whether
the General Assembly has been given this power by the Charter.
There is no express provision for the establishment of judicial
bodies or organs and no indication to the contrary. However, in its
Opinion-Reparntion for Injuries su8ered in the Servicofthe United
Nations, Advisory Opinion :I.C.J. Reports 1949, p. 182-the Court
said :
"Under international law, the Organization must be deemed
to have those powers which, though not expressly provided in
the Charter, are conferred upon it by necessary implication as
being essential to the performance of its duties."
The Court must therefore begin by enquiring whether the provi-
sions of the Charter concerning the relations between the staff
members andthe Organization imply for the Organization the power
to establish a judicial tribunal to adjudicate upon disputes arising
out of the contracts of service.
13générale,fonctionnant en vertu d'un statut spécial et dans le
cadre du système juridique organisé des Nations Unies, et traitant
exclusivement de différends internes entre les fonctionnaires et les
Nations Unies représentées par le Secrétaire général.Pour que les
jugements prononcés par un tel tribunal pussent être revisés par
un corps autre que ce tribunal lui-même,il faudrait, del'avis de la
Cour, que le statut de ce tribunal ou les autres instruments juri-
diques qui le régissent, continssent des dispositions expresses à
cet effet. L'Assemblée générale ale pouvoir d'amender le statut
du tribunal administratif, en vertu de l'article II de ce statut,
et de prévoir des voies de recours devan-t un autre organe. Mais
comme le statut actuel ne contient aucune disposition de ce genre,
il n'y a pas de motifs de droit sur lesquels l'Assemblée générale
puisse se fonder pour reviser les jugements déjà prononcés par
ce tribunal. Si l'Assemblée généraleenvisageait d'instituer, pour
les différends à venir, des dispositions prévoyant la revision des
jugements du tribunal, la Cour estime que l'Assemblée générale
elle-même,étant donné sa composition et ses fonctions, ne pour-
rait guère agir comme un organe judiciaire examinant les argu-
ments des parties, appréciant les preuves produites par elles,
établissant les faits, et disant le droit qui s'y applique - alors
surtout que l'une des parties aux différends est l'organisation des
Nations Unies elle-même.
La Cour doit examiner maintenant les principaux arguments
invoqués dans les exposés écrits et oraux par les Gouvernements
qui soutiennent qu'il existe des raisons pour lesquelles l'Assemblée
générale serait fondée à refuser d'exécuter des jugements du
tribunal administratif.
On a contesté que l'Assemblée généraleeût le pouvoir, en droit,
de créer un tribunal compétent pour rendre des jugements qui
lieraient les Nations Unies. Il faut donc examiner si l'Assemblée
générale a reçu ce pouvoir de la Charte.
Il n'y a aucune disposition expresse en vue de la création de
corps ou d'organes judiciaires, ni d'indication contraire. Toute-
fois, dans son avis sur la Réparationdes dommages subisau service
des Nations Unies (avis consultatif, C. 1. J. Recueil 1949, p. 182)
la Cour a dit :
Selon le droit international, l'Organisation doit être considérée
comme possédant ces pouvoirs qui, s'ils ne sont pas énoncésdans
la Charte, sont, par une conséquencenécessaire,conférés à l'Orga-
nisation en tant qu'essentielsàl'exercicedes fonctions de celle-c))
La Cour doit donc rechercher tout d'abord si les dispositions
de la Charte concernant les rapports entre les fonctionnaires et
l'organisation impliquent pour celle-ci le pouvoir d'établir un
organe judiciaire pour statuer sur les différends nés des contrats
d'engagement. AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI154)
57
Under the provisions of Chapter XV of the Charter, the Secreta-
riat, which is one of the principal organs of the United Nations,
comprises the Secretary-General and the staff. The Secretary-
General is appointed by the Ggneral Assembly, upon the recommen-
dation of the Security Council, and he is "the chief administrative
officer of the Organization". The staff members are "appointed by
the Secretary-General under regulations established by the General
Assembly". In the words of Article I~I (3) of the Charter, "The
paramount consideration in the employment of the staff and in the
determination of the conditions of service shall be the necessity of
securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integ-
rity".
The contracts of service between the Organization and the staff
members are contained in letters of appointment. Each appoint-
ment is made subject to terms and conditions provided in the Staff
Regulations and Staff Rules, together with such amendments as may
be made from time to time.
When the Secretariat was organized, a situation arose in which
the relations between the staff members and the Organization
were governed by a complex code of law. This code consisted of
the Staff Regulations established by the General Assembly, defining
the fundamental rights and obligations of the staff, and the Staff
Rules, made by the Secretary-General in order to implement
the Staff Regulations. It was inevitable that there would be
disputes between the Organization and staff members as to their
rights and duties. The Charter contains no provision which author-
izes any of the principal organs of the United Nations to adjudicate
upon these disputes, and Article 105 secures for the United Nations
jurisdictional immunities in national courts. It would, in the
opinion of the Court, hardly be consistent with the expressed aim of
the Charter to promote freedom and justice for individuals and
with the constant preoccupation of the United Nations Organi-
zation to promote this aim that it should afford no judicial or
arbitralremedy to its own staff for the settlement of any disputes
which may arise between it and them.
In these circumstances, the Court finds that the power to
establish a tribunal, to do justice as between the Organization
and the staff members, was essential to ensure the efficient working
of the Secretariat, and to give effect to the paramount consider-
ation of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence
and integrity. Capacity to do this arises by necessary intendment
out of the Charter.
The existence of this capacity leads to the further enquiry
as to the agency by which it may be exercised. Here, there can
be no room for doubt. JUGEnlENTS DU TRIB. ADMINISTRATIF (AVIS DU 13 VI1 54) 57
Aux termes des dispositions du chapitre XV de la Charte,
le Secrétariat, qui est l'un des organes principaux des Nations
Unies, comprend le Secrétaire généralet le personnel. Le Secrétaire
généralest nommé par l'Assemblée généralesur recommandation
du Conseil de Sécurité et il est «le plus haut fonctionnaire de
l'organisation D.Les membres du personnel sont ccnommés par le
Secrétaire général conformémentaux règles fixéespar l'Assemblée
générale ». Aux termes du paragraphe 3 de l'article IOI de la
Charte, cLa considération dominante dans le recrutement et la
fixation des conditions d'emploi du personnel doit êtrela nécessité
d'assurer à l'organisation les services de personnes possédant les
plus hautes qualités de travail, de compétence et d'intégrité n.
Les contrats d'engagement entre l'Organisation et les fonction-
naires sont incorporés dans des lettres de nomination. Chaque
nomination est faite sous réserve des dispositions pertinentes du
statut et du règlement du personnel, ainsi que de toutes modifi-
cations ultérieures de ces textes.
Lorsque le Secrétariat a étéorganisé, une situation s'est yré-
sentée dans laquelle les rapports entre les fonctionnaires et l'Orga-
nisation ont étérégis par un ensemble complexe de règles. Cet
ensemble comprenait le statut du personnel, établi par l'Assemblée
généralepour définir les droits et obligations fondamentaux du
personnel, et le règlement du personnel, établi par le Secrétaire
généralpour donner effet au statut du personnel. Il était inévitable
que des différends surgissent entre l'organisation et les fonction-
naires au sujet de leurs droits et de leurs devoirs. La Charte ne
contient aucune disposition permettant àl'un des organes princi-
paux des Nations Unies de statuersur cesdifférends, et l'article IO5
assure à l'organisation des Nations Unies des immunités de
juridiction à l'égard des tribunaux nationaux. De l'avis de la
Cour, si l'organisation des Nations Unies laissait ses propres
fonctionnaires sans protection judiciaire ou arbitrale pour le
règlement des différends qui pourraient surgir entre elle et eux,
ce ne serait guère compatible avec les fins explicites de la Charte,
qui sont de favoriser la liberté et la justice pour les êtreshumains,
ou avec le souci constant de l'Organisation des Nations Unies,
qui est de promouvoir ces fins.
Dans ces conditions, la Cour estime que le pouvoir de créer
un tribunal chargé de faire justice entre l'organisation et les
fonctionnaires était essentiel pour assurer le bon fonctionnement
du Secrétariat et pour donner effet à cette considération dominante
qu'est la nécessitéd'assurer les plus hautes qualités de travail,
de compétence et d'intégrité. La capacité de ce faire est néces-
sairement impliquée par la Charte.
L'existence de cette capacité conduit à rechercher maintenant
l'organe par lequel elle peut être exercée. Ici, il ne peut y avoir
place au doute. AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI1 54)
j8
In Article 7 of the Charter, after naming the six principal organs,
it is provided in paragraph (2):
"Such subsidiary organç as may be found necessary may be
established in accordance with the present Charter."
Article 22 provides :
"The General Assembly may establish such subsidiary organs
as it deems necessary for the performance of its functions."
Further, in Article 101, paragraph 1, the General Assembly is
given power to regulate staff relations :
"The Staff shall be appointed by the Secretary-General under
regulations established by the General Assembly."
Accordingly, the Court finds that the power to establish a
tribunal to do justice between the Organization and the staff
rnembers may be exercised by the General Assembly.
But that does not dispose of the problem before the Court.
Some of the Governments that take the position that there are
grounds which would justify the General Assembly in refusing
to give effect to awards, agree that the powers of the General
Assembly, and particularly its power to establish regulations
under Article 101, imply the power to set up an administrative
tribunal. They agree that the General Assembly would be able
to establish a tribunal competent to hear and decide staff griev-
ances, to prescribe its jurisdiction, and to authorize it to give a
final decision, in the sense that no appeal could be taken as of
right. They nevertheless contend that the implied power does not
enable the General Assembly to establish a tribunal with authority
to make decisions binding on the General Assembly itself.
In the first place, its contended that there was no need to go so
far, and that an implied power can only be exercised to the extent
that the particular measure .under consideration can be regarded as
absolutely essential. There can be nodoubt that the General Assem-
bly in the exercise of its power could have set up a tribunal without
giving finality to its judgments. In fact, however, it decided, after
long deliberation, to invest the Tribunal with power to render judg-
ments which would be "final and without appeal", and which would
be binding on the United Xations. The precise nature and scope of
the measures by which the power of creating a tribunal was to be
exercised, was a matter for determination by the General Assembly
alone. JUGEMENTS DU TRIB. ADMINISTRL4TIF (AVIS DU 13 VI1 54) 58
La Charte, après avoir énuméréles six organes principaux,
dit, au paragraphe 2 de son article 7 :
((Les organes subsidiairesqui se révéleraienn t écessairespourront
êtrecréés conformément à la présente Charte. ))
L'article 22 énonce :
((L'Assemblée générale peut créerles organes subsidiaires qu'elle
juge nécessaires à l'exercicede ses fonctions. ))
Enfin, l'article 101, paragraphe 1, donne à l'Assemblée générale
le pouvoir de fixer des règles pour ce qui est des rapports du
personnel :
((Le personnel est nommépar le Secrétaire généralc ,onformé-
ment aux règlesfixéespar l'Assembléegénérale. ))
En conséquence, la Cour estinr que l'Assemblée généralepeut
exercer le pouvoir d'instituer un tribunal pour faire justice entre
l'Organisation et les fonctionnaires.
' Cela n'épuise cependant pas le problème soumis à la Cour.
Certains des Gouvernements pour lesquels il est des raisons qui
pourraient justifier un refus de l'Assemblée généraled'exécuter
des jugements admettent que les pouvoirs de l'Assemblée générale,
et en particulier son pouvoir de fixer des règles par application
de l'article 101, impliquent le pouvoir d'instituer un tribunal
administratif. Ils admettent que l'Assembléegénéralea le pouvoir
d'instituer un tribunal compétent pour connaître des réclamations
du personnel et statuer sur elles, d'en fixer la compétence et de
l'autoriser à rendre une décision finale en ce sens que celle-ci ne
serait pas, en droit, susceptible d'appel. Ils soutiennent néanmoins
que ce pouvoir implicite ne permet pas à l'Assemblée générale
d'instituer un tribunal qualifié pour rendre des décisions obliga-
toires pour I'Assembléegénérale elle-même.
En premier lieu, on a soutenu qu'il n'était pas nécessaire d'aller
si loin et qu'un pouvoir implicite peut être exercé seulement dans
la limite où la mesure particulière envisagée peut être regardée
comme absolument essentielle. Il n'est pas douteux que, agissant
dans l'exercice de son pouvoir, l'Assemblée généraleeût pu insti-
tuer un tribunal sans donner aux jugements de celui-ci le carac-
tère définitif. En fait, toutefois, après une longue délibération,
elle a décidéd'investir le tribunal du pouvoir de rendre des juge-
ments ((définitifs et sans appel », obligatoires pour les Nations
Unies. II appartenait à l'Assemblée générale seulede déterminer
la nature et la portéeprécises des mesures par lesquelles son pouvoir
de créer un tribunal serait exercé. AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VII 54)
59
In the second place, it has been argued that, while an implied
power of the General Assembly to establish an administrative tri-
bunal may be both necessary and essential, nevertheless, an implied
power to impose legal limitations upon the General Assembly's
express Charter powers is not legally admissible.
It has been contended that the General Assembly cannot, by
establishing the Administrative Tribunal, divest itself of the power
conferred by paragraph (1)of Article17of the Charter, which reads:
"The General Assembly shall consider and approve the budget
of the Organization."
This provision confers a power on the General Assembly, for the
exercise of which Article18 requires the vote of a two-thirds major-
ity. Accordingly, the establishment of a tribunal competent to
make an award of compensation to which the General Assembly
was bound to give effect would, it has been argued, contravene the
provisions relating to the budgetary power. The Court is unable to
accept this contention.
The Court notes that Article 17 of the Charter appears in a
section of Chapter IV relating to the General Assembly, which
is entitled "Functions and Powers". This Article deals with a
function of the General Assembly and provides for the consid-
eration and approval by it of the budget of the Organization.
Consideration of the budget is thus an act which must be per-
formed and the same is true of its approval, for without such
approval there can be no budget.
But the function of approving the budget does not mean that
the General Assembly has an absolute power to approve or
disapprove the expenditure proposed to it ; for some part of
that expenditure arises out of obligations already incurred by
the Organization, and to this extent the General Assembly has
no alternative but to honour these engagements. The question,
therefore, to be decided by the Court is whether these obligations
comprise the awards of compensation made by the Administrative
Tribunal in favour of staff members. The reply to this question
must be in the affirmative. The obligatory character of these
awards has been established by the considerations set out above
relating to the authority of res judicata and the binding effect
of the judgments of this Tribunal upon the United Nations
Organization.
The Court therefore considers that the assignment of the budg-
etary function to the General Assembly cannot be regarded as
conferring upon it the right to refuse to give effect to the obligation
arising out of an award of the Administrative Tribunal. JUGEMENTS DU TRIB. ADMINISTRATIF (AVIS DU 13 VI1 54) 59
En second lieu, on a soutenu que, si le pouvoir implicite de
l'Assemblée généraled'établir un tribunal administratif pouvait
êtreà la fois nécessaire et essentiel, néanmoins, le pouvoir impli-
cite d'imposer des restrictions juridiques aux pouvoirs que l'As-
semblée généraletire expressément de la Charte, ne serait pas
admissible en droit.
On a soutenu que l'Assemblée généralene peut, en créant un
tribunal administratif, se dépouiller du pouvoir à elle conféré
par le paragraphe I de l'article17 de la Charte, qui énonce :
(L'Assembléegénérale examine et approuve le budget de l'Or-
ganisation.»
Cette disposition confère à l'Assemblée généraleun pouvoir pour
l'exercice duquel l'article18 exige un vote à la majorité des deux
tiers. Par conséquent, on prétend qu'il serait contraire aux dispo-
sitions relatives au pouvoir budgétaire d'instituer un tribunal
compétent pour rendre un jugement accordant une indemnité
que l'Assemblée généraleserait tenue d'exécuter. La Cour ne
peut accepter cette thèse.
La Cour constate que l'article 17 de la Charte figure dans une
section du chapitre IV concernant l'Assemblée générale,intitulée
((Fonctions ,et Pouvoirs ». Cet article traite d'une fonction de
l'Assemblée généraleet prévoit l'examen et l'approbation par elle
du budget de l'Organisation. L'examen du budget est donc un
acte qui doit s'accomplir, et il en est de mêmede son approbation,
car sans cette approbation, il ne peut pas y avoir de budget.
Mais la fonction d'approuver le budget ne signifie pas que l'As-
semblée généraleait un-pouvoir absolu d'approuver ou de ne pas
approuver les déperises qui lui sont proposées ; car certains élé-
ments de ces dépenses résultent d'obligations déjà encourues par
l'organisation et, dans cette mesure, l'Assemblée généralen'a pas
d'autre alternative que de faire honneur à ces engagements. Par
conséquent, la question que la Cour doit trancher est de savoir si
ces obligations comprennent les jugements du tribunal adminis-
tratif accordant des indemnités aux fonctionnaires. La réponse
ne peut qu'être affirmative. Le caractère obligatoire de ces juge-
ments est démontrépar les considérations qui précèdentrelatives à
l'autorité de la chose jugée et à la force obligatoire de ces juge-
ments pour l'organisation des Nations Unies.
En conséquence, la Cour estime que l'attribution de la fonction
budgétaire à l'Assemblée générale ne saurait être considérée comme
lui conférant le droit de refuser d'exécuter l'obligation résultant
d'un jugement du tribunal administratif.60 -4WARDS OF ADMIN .RIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI1 54)
It has also been contended that the implied power of the General
-4ssembly to establish a tribunal cannot be carried so far as to
enable the tribunal to intervene in matters falling within the prov-
ince of the Secretary-General. The Court cannot accept this con-
tention.
The General Assembly could at all times limit or control the
powers of the Secretary-General in staff matters, by virtue of the
provisions of Article 101. Acting under powers conferred by the
Charter, the General Assembly authorized the intervention of the
Tribunal to the extent that such intervention might result from the
exercise of jurisdiction conferred upon the Tribunal by its Statute.
Accordingly, when the Tribunal decides that particular action by
the Secretary-General involves a breach of the contract of service,
it is in no sense intervening in a Charter power of the Secretary-
General, because the Secretary-General's legal powers in staff
matters have already been limited in this respect by the General
.\ssembly.
A similar problem is involved in the contention that the General
Assembly cannot authorize and the Secretary-General cannot enter
into contracts of service which are not in conformity with the
Charter. The Staff Regulations are made a part of the contracts of
service and No. 11.2 reads as follows :
"The United Nations Administrative Tribunal çhall, under
applications from staff membersatalleging non-observancemeof their
terms of appointment, including al1 pertinent regulations and
rules."
It is contended that the incorporation, in the contracts of service,
of the right to rely on the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal
would conflict with the powers conferred on the .General Assembly
and on the Secretary-General by the Charter. In view of the fore-
goingconsiderations, the Court cannot accept this contention. There
can be no doubt that, by virtue of the terms thus incorporated in the
contracts of service, and solong as the Statute of the Administrative
Tribunal inits present form is in force, the staff members are entitled
to resort to the Tribunal and rely on its judgments.
In the third placé, the view has been put fonvard that the
Administrative Tribunal is a subsidiary, subordinate, or secondary
organ ; and that, accordingly, the Tribunal's judgments cannot
bind the General Assembly which established it.
17 JUGEMENTS DU TRIB. ADMINISTRATIF (AVIS DU 13 VI154) 60
On a également soutenu que le pouvoir implicite de l'Assemblée
généralede créer un tribunal ne saurait aller jusqu'à permettre au
tribunal d'intervenir dans des matières qui sont du domaine du
Secrétaire général.La Cour ne peut accepter cette thèse.
Aux termes des dispositions de l'article101, l'Assembléegénérale
pouvait à tout moment limiter ou contrôler les pouvoirs du Secré-
taire général enmatière de personnel. Agissant en vertu des pou-
voirs que lui confère la Charte, l'Assemblée générale a autorisé
l'intervention du tribunal, dans la mesure pouvant résulter de
l'exercice de la compétence conféréeau tribunal par son statut. En
conséquence, lorsque le tribunal décide qu'une mesure particulière
prise par le Secrétaire généralcomporte violation du contrat d'enga-
gement, il n'intervient nullement dans l'exercice d'un pouvoir que
le Secrétaire généraltient de la Charte, parce que les pouvoirs juridi-
ques du Secrétaire général enmatière de personnel ont déjà été
limités à cet égard par l'Assemblée générale.
Un problème semblable est soulevédans la thèse d'après laquelle
l'Assemblée généralene peut autoriser et le Secrétaire généralne
peut conclure des contrats d'engagement qui ne sont pas conformes
à la Charte. Le statut du personnel est incorporé au contrat d'enga-
gement et son article 11.2 dispose:
«Le tribunàl administratif des Nations Unies, suivant les condi-
tions fixéesdans son statut, connaît des requêtesdes membres
du personnel qui invoquent la non-observation des conditions
d'emploi, y compris toutes dispositions applicables du statut et
du règlement du personnel, et statue sur ces requêtes»
Il a étésoutenu que cette incorporation dans les contrats d'engage-
ment du droit d'invoquer le statut du tribunal administratif serait
contraire aux pouvoirs conféréspar la Charte à l'Assembléegénérale
et au Secrétaire général. Il résulte des considérations qui précèdent
que la Cour ne peut accepter cette thèse. Il n'y a pas de doute qu'en
vertu des termes ainsi incorporés dans les contrats d'engagement,
et aussi longtemps que le statut du tribunal administratif est en
vigueur en sa forme actuelle, les fonctionnaires ont le droit de
recourir au tribunal et d'invoquer ses jugements.
Il a étésoutenu en troisième lieu que le tribunal administratif
est un organe subsidiaire, subordonné ou secondaire, et que, par
conséquent, ses jugements ne sauraient lier l'Assemblée générale
qui l'a créé. 61 AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI154)
This view assumes that, in adopting the Statute of the Adminis-
trative Tribunal, the General Assembly was establishing an organ
which it deemed necessary for the performance of its own functions.
But the Court cannot accept this basic assumption. The Charter
does not confer judicial functions on the General Assembly and
the relations between staff and Organization come within the scope
of Chapter XV of the Charter. In the absence of the establishment
of an Administrative Tribunal, the function of resolving disputes
between staff and Organization could be discharged by the Secretary-
General by virtue of the provisions of Articles 97 and 101. Accord-
ingly, in the three years or more preceding the establishment of
the AdministrativeTribunal, the Secretary-General coped with this
problem by means of joint administrative machinery, leading to
ultimate decision by himself. By establishing the Administrative
Tribunal, the General Assembly \vas not delegating the performance
of its own functions :it was exercising a power which it had under
the Charter to regulate staff relations. In regard to the Secretariat,
the General Assembly is given by the Charter a power to make
regulations, but not a power to adjudicate upon, or othenvise deal
with, particular instances.
It has been argued that an authority exercising a power to make
regulations is inherently incapable of creating a subordinate body
competent to make decisions binding its creator. There can be no
doubt that the Administrative Tribunal is subordinate in the
sense that the General Assembly can abolish the Tribunal by
repealing the Statute, that it can amend the Statute and provide
for review of the-future decisions of the Tribunal and that it can
amend the Staff Regulations and make new ones. There is no lack
of power to deal effectively with any problem that may arise.
But the contention that the General Assembly is inherently inca-
pable of creating a tribunal competent to make decisions binding
on itself cannot be accepted. It cannot be justified by analogy to
national laws, for it is common practice in national legislatures
to create courts with the capacity to render decisions legally
binding on the legislatures which brought them into being.
The question cannot be determined on the basis of the description
of the relationship between the General Assembly andthe Tribunal,
that is, by considering whether the Tribunal is to be regarded as
a subsidiary, a subordinate, or a secondary organ, or on the basis
of the fact that it was established by the General Assembly. It
depends on the intention of the General Assembly in establishing
the Tribunal, and on the nature of the functions conferred upon
it by its Statute. An examination of the language of the Statute
of the Administrative Tribunal has shown that the General Assem-
bly intended to establish a judicial body ; moreover, it had the
legal capacity under the Charter to do so. JUGEMENTS DU TRIB. ADMINISTRATIF (- VISDU 13 VI1 54) 61
Cette conception part de l'idée qu'en adoptant le statut du
tribunal administratif, l'Assemblée générale créait un organe
qu'elle jugeait nécessaire à l'exercice de ses propres fonctions.
Mais la Cour ne peut accepter ce point de départ. La Charte n'a
pas conféréde fonctions judiciaires à l'Assemblée générale,et les
rapports entre le personnel et l'organisation rentrent dans le cadre
du chapitre XV de la Charte. En l'absence d'un tribunal adminis-
tratif, la charge de trancher les différends entre le personnel et
l'organisation pourrait incomber au Secrétaire général, en vertu
des dispositions des articles 97 et IOI. C'est ainsi que, pendant les
trois ans et ulus aui ont ré cédé la création du tribunal adminis-
tratif, le ~ekrétaiie généiala fait face à ce problème au moyen
d'un organisme administratif paritaire conduisant à une décision
définitive du Secrétaire général. En créant le tribunal adminis-
tratif, l'Assemblée générale ne déléguait pas l'exercice de ses
propres fonctions; elle exerçait un pouvoir, qu'elle tenait de la
Charte : celui de réglementer les rapports avec le personnel. A
l'égard du Secrétariat, l'Assemblée générale a reçu de la Charte
le pouvoir de fixer des règles, mais non de se prononcer judiciaire-
ment sur des cas d'espèce, ou d'en traiter autrement.
On a soutenu qu'une autorité ayant pouvoir réglementaire serait
par sa nature même incapable de créer un corps subordonné
compétent pour rendre des décisions qui lieraient celui qui l'a
créé.Certes le tribunal administratif est subordonné en ce sens
que l'Assemblée généralepeut l'abolir en supprimant son statut,
qu'elle peut amender ce statut et prévoir la revision des décisions
futures du tribunal. enfin au'elle eut amender le statut du Der-
sonne1 et en rédiger un autre. Les pouvoirs ne manquent pas pour
traiter avec efficacité tout ~roblème auI ~oIrrait surgir" Mais on
ne peut accepter l'allégation que l'Assemblée généraleest, par sa
nature même, incapable de créerun tribunal compétent pour rendre
des décisions qui la lient. On ne saurait justifier cette allégation
par une analogie avec des lois nationales, car il est de pratique
courante pour les législatures nationales de créer des tribunaux
qui ont la capacité de rendre des décisions liant le législateur qui
les a créés.
La question ne peut êtrerésolue en prenant pour base l'étude
des rapports entre l'Assemblée généraleet le tribunal, c'est-à-dire
en déterminant si le tribunal doit êtreconsidéré commeun organe
subsidiaire, subordonné ou secondaire, ou bien en relevant qu'il a
étécréépar l'Assembléegénérale.La solution dépend de l'intention
de l'Assembléegénéralequand elle a créé letribunal et de la nature
des fonctions que lui confère son statut. L'examen des termes du
statut du tribunal administratif a démontré que l'Assemblée
générale a voulu créerun corps judiciaire ;au surplus, elle tenait
de la Charte la capacité juridique de le faire.62 AWXRDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI1 54)
The view has been advanced that the Court should follow
what has been called the precedent established by the League
of Nations in 1946. On that occasion, the Assembly of the League
rejected certain awards of its Administrative Tribunal. It is
unnecessary to consider the question whether the Assembly,
which in very special circumstances was winding up the League,
was justified in rejectingthose awards. The cases adjudicated upon
by the Tribunal of the League, andthe circumstances in which they
arose, are different from those which led to the request for this
Opinion. Moreover, the cases arose under the Statute of the
Administrative Tribunal of the League, and not under the Statute
of the Administrative Tribunal of the United Nations, and the
Assembly was acting under the Covenant and not under the
Charter.
In view of the complete lack of identity between the two
situations, and of the conclusions already drawn by the Court
from the Charter and the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal
of the United Nations and other relevant instruments and records,
the Court cannot regard the action of the Assembly of the League
in 1946 as an applicable precedent or as an indication of the
intention of the General Assembly when the Statute of the Admin-
istrative Tribunal was adopted in 1949.
The Court has accordingly arrived at the conclusion that the
first Question submitted to it must be answered in the negative.
The second Question does not therefore cal1 for consideration.
For these reasons,
having regard to the Statute of the United Nations Admin-
istrative Tribunal and to any other relevant instruments and to
the relevant records,
by nine votes to three,
that the General Assembly has not the right on any grounds to
refuse to give effect to an award of compensation made by the
Administrative Tribunal of the United Nations in favour of a i
staff member of the U ited Nations whose contract of service
has been terminated wi fhout his assent. JUGEMENTS DU TRIB. ADlfINISTRATIF (AVIS DU 13VI1 54) 62
Il a étésoutenu que la Cour devrait suivre ce que l'on a appelé
le précédentétabli par la Société desNations en 1946. L'Assemblée
de la Société des Nations avait alors rejeté certains jugements
de son tribunal administratif. Il est inutile d'examiner si 1'Assem-
blée, qui liquidait la Société desNations dans des circonstances
très particulières, était fondée rejeter ces jugements. Les affaires
jugées par le tribunal de la Société desNations et les circonstances
dans lesquelles elles se présentaient sont différentes de celles qui
ont provoqué la présente demande d'avis consultatif. Au surplus,
ces affaires étaient nées sous le régime du statut du tribunal
administratif de la Société desNations et non sous celui du statut
du tribunal administratif des Nations Unies. L'Assemblée agissait
dans le cadre du Pacte et non dans celui de la Charte.
En raison de l'absence complète d'identité entre les deux
situations, ainsi que des conclusions que la Cour a déjà tirées
de la Charte et du statut du tribunal administratif des Nations
Unies et des autres instruments et textes pertinents, la Cour ne
peut considérer l'action de l'Assemblée de la Société desNations
en 1946 comme un précédent applicable ou comme un indice de
l'intention de l'Assemblée générale lorsqu'en 1949, elle a adopté
le statut du tribunal administratif.
En conséquence, la Cour arrive àla conclusion qu'il faut répondre
par la négative à la première question qui lui est posée.La seconde
question n'a donc pas à êtreexaminée.
Par ces motifs,
vu le statut du tribunal administratif des Nations Unies et tous
autres instruments et textes pertinents,
par neuf voix contre trois,
que l'Assemblée généralen'a pas le droit, pour une raison quel-
conque, de refuser d'exécuter un jugement du tribunal administratif
des Nations Unies accordant une indemnité à un fonctionnaire des
Nations Unies à l'engagement duquel il a étémis fin sans l'assenti-
ment de l'intéressé.
19 AWARDS OF ADMIN. TRIBUNAL (OPINION OF 13 VI154)
63
Done in English and French, the English text being authoritative,
at the Peace Palace, The Hague, this thirteenth day of July,
one thousand nine hundred and fifty-four, in two copies, one of
which will be placed in the archives of the Court and the other
transmitted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
(Signed) Arnold D. MCNAIR,
President.
(Signed) GARNIER-COIGNET,
Deputy-Registrar.
Jvdge WINIARSKIw , hile voting in favour of the Opinion of the
Court, avails himself of the right conferred on him by Articles7
and 68 of the Statute to append a statement of his separate opinion.
Jiidges ALVAREZ, HACKWORTH and LEVICARNEIRO declare that
they do not share the Court's Opinion and, availing themselves
of the right conferred on them by Articl57 and 68 of the Statute,
append thereto statements of their dissenting opinioris.
(Initialled)A. D. McN.
(Initialled) G.-C. JUGEMENTS DU TRIB. -4DMINISTRATIF (AVIS DU 13 VI1 54) 63
Fait en anglais et en français, le texte anglais faisant foi, au Palais
de la Paix, à La Haye, Ie treize juillet mil neuf cent cinquante-
quatre, en deux exemplaires, dont l'un restera déposéaux archives
de la Cour et dont l'autre sera transmis au Secrétaire général des
Nations Unies.
Le Président,
(Sigîté)Arnold D. IICNAIR.
Le Greffier adjoint,
(Signé)GARXIER-COIGNET.
hl. WINIARSKI,juge, tout en ayant voté pour l'avis de la Cour,
se prévaut du droit que lui confèrent les articleset 68 du Statut
pour y joindre l'exposé de son opinion individuelle.
MM.ALVAREZH , ACKWORTH et LEVICARNEIROj,uges, déclarent
ne pas partager l'avis de la Cour et, se prévalant du droit que
leur confèrentles article57 et 68 du Statut, y joignent les exposés
de leur opinion dissidente.
(Paraphé) A. D. McN.
(Parafihé)G.-C.
Advisory Opinion of 13 July 1954