Advisory Opinion of 12 July 1973

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057-19730712-ADV-01-00-EN
Document Type
Date of the Document
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Bilingual Document File

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

REPORTS OF JUDGMENTS,
ADVISORY OPINIONS AND ORDERS

APPLICATIONFOR REVIEWOF JUDGEMENT

No. 158(3FTHE UNITED NATIONS
ADMINISTRATIVETRIBUNAL

ADVISORYOPINION OF 12 JULY 1973

COUR INTERNATIONALE DE JUSTICE

RECUEIL DES ARRÊTS,
AVIS CONSULTATIFS ET ORDONNANCES

DEMANDE DE RÉFORMATION DU JUGEMENT

No 158DU TRIBUNAL ADMINISTRATIF
DES NATIONS UNIES

AVIS CONSULTATIFDU 12JUILLET1973 Officia1citation:
Applicationfor Reviewof JudgementNo. 158 of
the UnitedNations Administrative Tribunal,
Advisory Opinion,.J. Reports 1973,p. 166.

Mode officielde ci:ation
Demandede réformation dujugto 158 du
Tribunaladministratifdes Nations Unies,avis
consultatif,J. Recueil p.166.

sies umiw 381 1
Node vente: 12JULY 1973

ADVISORYOPINION

APPLICATION FORREVIEWOF JUDGEMENT No. 158
OF THE UNITED NATIONSADMINISTRATIVETRIBUNAL

DEMANDE DE RÉFORMAT~ONDU JUGEMENT No 158

DU TRIBUNAL ADMINISTRATIF DES NATIONS UNIES

12JUILLET1973

AVISCONSULTATIF INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

1973 YEAR 1973
12July
GenNo.57ist
12July 1973

APPLICATIONFOR REVIEWOF JUDGEMENT

No. 158OF THE UNITED NATIONS

ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL

ADVISORY OPINION

Request for advisory opinionby the Committee on Application for Review of
Administrative Tribunal Judgements-General Assembly resolution 957 (X)-
Article11 of the Stature of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal-
Competence of the Court-Question whether the body requesting the opinion
is a body duly authorized to request opinions-Articl96 of the Charter
-Legal questions arising within the scope of the activities of the requesting
body-Propriety of the Court'sgiving the opinion-Compatibility of system of
review establishedby resolution (X) withgeneralprinciples governing the
judicial process.
Scope of questions submitted to Court-Naturof task of Court inoceed-
ings instituted by virtue of Article II of Statute of the United Nations Admin-
istrative Tribunal.
Objection to Judgement on ground of failure by Administrative Tribunal to
exercise jurisdiction vested in it-Tof whether the Tribunal has failed to
exercise jurisdiction-Allega ttitonribunal failed to exercise juris-
diction in that it refused to consider fully claims for costs, failed to direct
recalculation of rate of remuneration and to correction and completionof
employment record-Extent of power of Tribunal to award compensation-
Question of misuse of power by administration.

Objection to Judgement on ground of fundamental error in procedure which
occasioned afailure of justice-Meaninof 'tfundamental error in procedure"
-Absence orinsuficiency of statement of reasonsfor ajudgment asfundamental
error inprocedure-Rejection by the Tribunaloff member's claimfor costs-
Questionof costs of reviewproceedings.167 APPLICATIONFOR REVlEW (ADVISORY OPINION)

Present: President LACHS;Vice-President AMMOUNJ ;udges FORSTER G,ROS,
BENGZON,ONYEAMA D,ILLARD, DE CASTRO,MOROZOV,JIMÉNEZ
DE ARECHAGAS,ir Humphrey WALDOCKN , AGENDRA SINGH,RUDA;
Registrar AQUARONE.

In thematter of the Application for Review of Judgement No. 158 of the
United Nations Administrative Tribunal,

THECOURT,

composed as above,
gives thefollowing Advisory Opinion:

1. The questions upon which the advisory opinion of the Court has been
asked were laid before the Court by a letter dated 28 June 1972, filed in the
Registry on 3 July 1972, from the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
By that letter the Secretary-General informed the Court that the Committee
on Applications for Review of Administrative Tribunal Judgements, set up
by General Assembly resolution 957 (X), had, pursuant to Article 11 of the
Statute of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal, decided on 20 June
1972 that there was a substantial basis for the application made to that
Committee for review of Administrative Tribunal Judgeinent No. 158,and had
accordingly decided to request an advisory opinion of the Court.The decision
of the Committee. which was set out iri extenso in the Secretary-General's

letter, and certified copies of which in English and French were enclosed
with that letter, read as follows:
"The Committee on Applications for Review of Administrative
Tribunal Judgements has decided that there is a substantial basis within
the meaning of Article 11 of the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal
for the application for the review of Administrative Tribunal Judgement
No. 158, delivered at Geneva on 28 April 1972.
Accordingly, the Committee requests an advisory opinion of the
International Court of Justice on the following questions:

1. Hasthe Tribunal failed to exercisejurisdiction vested in it as contended
in the applicant's application to the Committee on Applications for
Review of Administrative Tribunal Judgements (A/AC 86/R.59)?
2. Has the Tribunal committed a fundamental error in procedure which
has occasioned a failure of justice as contended in the applicant's
application to the Committeeon Applications for Review of Adminis-
trative Tribunal Judgements (A/AC.86/R.59)?"

2. In accordance with Article 66, paragraph 1,of the Statute of the Court,
notice of the request for an advisory opinion was given on 10 July 1972 to
al1 States entitled to appear before the Court; a copy of the Secretary-
General's letter with the decision of the Committee appended thereto was
transmitted to those States.
3. The Court decided on 14 July 1972 that it considered that the United
Nations and its member States were likely to be able to furnish information
on the question. Accordingly, on 17 July 1972 the Registrar notified the
Organization and its member States, pursuant to Article 66, paragraph 2, of
the Statute of the Court, that the Court would be prepared to receive written
statements from them within a time-limit fixed by an Order of 14 July 1972
at 20 September 1972.

5168 APPLICATIONFOR REVlEW (ADVISORY OPINION)

4. Pursuant to Article 65, paragraph 2, of the Statute of the Court, the
Secretary-General of the United Nations transmitted to the Court a dossier of
documents likely to throw light upon the question; these documents reached

the Registry on 29 August 1972.
5. One written statement was received within the time-limit so fixed,
namely a statement filed on behalf of the United Nations and comprising a
statement on behalf of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and a
statement of the views of Mr. Mohamed Fasla, the former staff member to
whom the Judgement of the AdministrativeTribunal related; the latter state-
ment was transmitted to the Court by the Secretary-General pursuant to
Article Il, paragraph 2, of the Statute of the United Nations Administrative
Tribunal.
6. Copies of the written statement were communicated to the States to
which the communication provided for in Article 66, paragraph 2, of the
Statute had been addressed. At the same time, by letter of 6 October 1972,
these States, and the United Nations, were informed that it was not contem-
plated that public hearings for the submission of oral statements would be
held in the case, and that the President of the Court had fixed 27 November
1972 as the time-limit for the submission of written comments as provided
for in Article 66, paragraph 4, of the Statute.
7. It subsequently appeared to the President of the Court from certain
communications from Mr. Fasla, forwarded to the Court by the Secretary-

General, that there was doubt whether the statement furnished to the Secre-
tary-General and transmitted to the Court, accurately represented Mr. Fasla's
views; the President therefore decided on 25 October 1972 that the written
statement referred to in paragraph 5 above might be amended by the filing
of a corrected version of the statement of Mr. Fasla's views, and fixed 5em-
ber 1972as the time-limit for this purpose. A corrected statement of theviews
of Mr. Fasla was filed through the Secretary-General within the time-limit
so fixed, and copies thereof were communicated to the States to which the
original written statement had been communicated.
8. In view of the time-limit for the amendment of the written statement,
the President extended the time-limit for the submission of written comments
under Article 66, paragraph 4, of the Statute to 31 January 1973. Within the
time-limitas so extended, written comments were filed on behaif of the United
Nations, comprising the comments of the Secretary-General on the corrected
version of the statement of the views of Mr. Fasla, and the comments of Mr.
Fasla on the statement on behalf of the Secretary-General.

9. Copies of the written comments were communicated to the States to
whom the communication provided for in Article 66, paragraph 2, of the

Statute had been addressed. At the same time, by letter of 22 February
1973, these States were informed that the Court had decided not to hold
public hearings for the submission of oralstatements in the case. This decision,
taken on 25 January 1973, had been communicated to the United Nations
by telegram the same day.

10. The circumstances which have given rise to the present request for
an advisory opinion are briefly as follows. Mr. Mohamed Fasla, the
former staff member referred to above, entered United Nations service169 APPLICATIONFOR REVIEW (ADVISORY OPINION)

on 30June 1964with a two-year fixed-term contract as Assistant Resident
Representative of the Technical Assistance Board in Damascus (Syrian
Arab Republic). After further assignments in Beirut (Lebanon), New
York and Freetown (Sierra Leone), Mr. Fasla was on 15September 1968
reassigned to the office of the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) in Taiz (Yemen) as Assistant Resident Representative. His

contract had by then been renewed by successive periods of six months.
one year, three months and twenty-one months, and was due to expire on
31 December 1969.On 22 May 1969Mr. Fasla was informed that while
every effort would be made to secure another assignment for him, it might
well be that no extension of his existingcontract would be made. This
advice was reiterated in a letter of 12September 1969informing Mr. Fasla
that it had not so far been possible to find him an assignment and that he
would be maintained on leave with full pay until the expiry ofhis contract.
Mr. Fasla requested the Secretary-General to review that decision, but
was informed that no review by the Secretary-General was required.
By letter of 20 November 1969, the Director of the UNDP Bureau of
Administrative Management and Budget notified Mr. Fasla that it had
not been possible to find a new assignment for himalid that no extension
of his contract could therefore be envisaged. Mr. Fasla, having again
requested a review ofthat decision, was informed byletter of 12December
1969that there was no basis for the Secretary-General to alter the position
taken by UNDP. On 28 December 1969, he lodged an appeal with the
Joint Appeals Board. On 3 June 1970 the Board, having found that

UNDP's efforts to assign Mr. Fasla elsewhere were inadequate since the
fact-sheet circulated concerning his performance record was incoinplete,
recommended the correction and completion of the records concerning
Mr. Fasla's service, the renewal by UNDP of endeavours to find him a
post and, should these fail, an ex gratia payment of six months' salary.
By a letter of 10 July 1970,however, Mr. Fasla was informed that the
Secretary-General had decided that there was no basis for the granting of
an ex gratia payment andthat no action should be taken in respect of that
recommendation by the Board. By a letter of 31 August 1970Mr. Fasla
wasinformed that UNDP did not iiitend to offerhiin anotherappointment,
as al1possible efforts, it was maintained, had been made to find a suitable
post for him within UNDP or with other agencies when he was under
contractual status with UNDP. On 31 December 1970, after seeking to
re-open the proceedings before the Joint Appeals Board, which however
considered that this was not possibleunder the relevant Staff Rules and
Regulations, he filed an application with the United Nations Admini-
strative Tribunal. On 11 June 1971, following proceedings before the
Joint Appeals Board in respect of a decision dated 15June 1970relating
to calculation of remuneration, Mr. Fasla fileda supplement to the appli-

cation with the Administrative Tribunal. Written pleadings were sub-
mitted in accordance with the Rules of the Tribunal, and there were also
requests for production of documents; judgment (in respect of both the
application and the supplement) was given by the Tribunal on 28 April1972.By an application of 26 May 1972,Mr. Fasla raised objections to
the decision and asked the Committee on Applications for Review of
Administrative Tribunal Judgements to request an advisory opinion of
theCourt.

Il. In formulating the request for an advisory opinion, the Committee
on Applications for Review of Administrative Tribunal Judgements
exercised a power conferred upon it by the General Assembly by its
resolution 957 (X) of 8 November 1955. .This resolution, inter alia,
introduced into the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal of the United
Nations a new Article 11by whch provision was made for the possibility
of challengingjudgements of the Tribunal before the Court through the
machinery ,of a request for an advisory opinion. After the Court had
given its Opinion concerning the Efect of Awards of Compensation
Made by the UnitedNations Administrative Tribunal(I.C.J. Reports 1954,
p. 47), the General Assembly set up a Special Committee to study the
question of establishing a procedure for review of the Tribunal's judge-
ments. The new Article II embodies the proposals of that Special
Comrnittee, as amended at the Tenth Session of the General Assembly,
and it ispursuant to the procedure provided in Article 11that the present

request for an opinion has been submitted to the Court.
12. The applicable provisions of Article 11 are contained in its first
four paragraphs, which read as follows:
"1. If a Member State, the Secretary-General or the person in
respect of whom a judgement has been rendered by the Tribunal
(including any one who has succeeded to that person's rights on
his death) objects to the judgement on the ground that the Tribunal
has exceeded its jurisdiction or cornpetence or that the Tribunal

has failed to exercise jurisdiction vested in it, or has erred on a
question oflaw relating to the provisions of the Charter ofthe United
Nations, or has committed a fundamental error in procedure which
has occasioned a failure ofjustice,uch Member State, the Secretary-
General or the person concerned may, within thirty days from the
date of the judgement, make a written application to the Committee
established by paragraph 4 of this article asking the Committee to
request an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on
the matter.
2. Within thirty days from the receipt of an application under
paragraph 1 of this article, the Committee shall decide whether or
not there is a substantial basis for the application. If the Committee
decidesthat such abasis exists,it shall request an advisoryopinion of
the Court, and the Secretary-General shall arrange to transmit to
the Court the views of the person referred to in paragraph 1.
3. If no application is made under paragraph 1 of this article, or if a decision to request an advisory opinion has not been taken
by the Committee, within the periods prescribed in this article, the
judgement of the Tribunal shall become final. In any case in which
a request has been made for an advisory opinion, the Secretary-

General shall either giveeffectto the opinion of the Court or request
the Tribunal to convene specially in order that it shall confirm its
originaljudgement, or give a new judgement, in conformity with the
opinion of the Court. If not requested to convene specially the
Tribunal shall at its next session confirm its judgement or bring it
into conformity with the opinion of the Court.
4. For the purpose of this article, a Committee is established
and autliorized under paragraph 2 of Article 96 of the Charter to
request advisory opinions of the Court. The Committee shall be
composed of the Member States the respresentatives of which have
served on the General Committee of the most recent regular session
of the General Assembly. The Committee shall meet at United
Nations Headquarters and shall establish its own rules."

13. During the debates in the Special Cominittee and in the Fifth
Committee of the General Assembly which led up to the adoption of
resolution 957 (X). a number of delegations questioned the legality or the
propriety of various aspects of the procedure set out in tliese paragraphs.
In fact, before the adoption of the resolution at the 541stplenary meeting
of the General Assembly, one delegation made a forma1 proposal that
the Court should be requested to givean advisory opinion on the question
whether the resolution was juridically well founded. Furthermore,
although resolution 957 (X) was adopted nearly 18years ago, this is the
first occasion on which the Court has been called upon to consider a
request for an opinion made under the procedure laid down in Article 11.
Accordingly, although no question has been raised in the statements and
comments submitted to the Court in the present proceedings either as to
the competeiice of the Court to give the opinion or as to the propriety
of its doing so, tlie Courtwill examine these two questions in turn.

14. As to the Court's conipetence to give the opinion, doubts have
been voiced regarding the legality of the Liseof the advisory jurisdiction
for the review of judgenients of the Administrative Tribunal. Thecon-
tentious jurisdiction of the Court,it has been urged, is liniited by Article
34 of its Statute to disputes between States; and it has been questioned

whether the advisory jurisdiction may be used for the judicial review of
contentious proceedings which have taken place before other tribunals
and to whicli individuals were parties. However, the existence, in the
background, of a dispute the parties to which may be affected as a
consequence of the Court's opnion, does not change the advisory nature
of the Court's task, which is to answer the questions put to it withregard
to a judgment. Thus, in its Opinion concerning Judgments of tlieAdminis-trative Tribunalof the IL0 upon CornplaintsMade against Unesco(I.C.J.
Reports 1956, p. 77), the Court upheld its competence to entertain a
request for an advisory opinion for the purpose of reviewing judicial
proceedings involving individuals. Moreover, in the earlier advisory
proceedings concerning the Effect of Awards of CompensationMade

by the United Nations Administrative Tribunal (I.C.J. Reports 1954,
p. 47) the Court replied to the General Assembly's request for an opinon
notwithstanding the fact that the questions submitted to it closely con-
cerned the rights of individuals. The Court seesno reason to depart from
the position which it adopted in these cases. If a request for advisory
opinion emanates from a body duly authorized in accordance with the
Charter to make it, the Court is competent under Article 65 of its Statute
to give such opinion on any legal question arising within the scope of the
activities of that body. The mere fact that it is not the rights of States
which are in issueinthe proceedings cannot sufficeto deprive the Court of
a competence expressly conferred on it by its Statute.

15. In the present case, however, of a request for, an opinion made
under Article II of the Statute of the United Nations Administrative
Tribunal, it has been questioned whether the requesting body itself is a
body duly authorized under the Charter to initiate advisory proceedings
before the Court. Under Article 11the requesting body is the Committee
on Applications for Review of Administrative Tribunal Judgements

(hereafter for convenience called the Committee), which was created by
General Assembly resolution 957 (X) specifically to provide machinery
for initiating advisory proceedings for the review of judgements of the
Tribunal. This Committee, it has been maintained is not such a body as
can be considered one of the "organs of the United Nations" entitled to
request advisory opinions under Article 96 of the Charter. Zthas further
been argued that the Committee does not have any activities of its own
which night enable it to qualify as an organ authorized to request advi-
sory opinions on legal questions arising within the scope of its activities.

16. Article 7of the Charter, under the heading "Organs", after naming
the six principal organs of the United Nations in paragraph 1,provides
in the most general terms in paragraph 2: "Such subsidiary organs as
may befound necessarymay be established in accordance with the present
Charter." Article 22 then expressly empowers the General Assembly to
"establish such subsidiary organs as it deems necessary for the perfor-
mance of itsfunctions". The object of both those Articles is to enable the
United Nations to accomplish its purposes and to function effectively.

Accordingly, to place a restrictive interpretation on the power of the
General Assembly to establish subsidiary organs would run contrary to
the clear intention of the Charter. Article 22, indeed, specificallyleaves it
to the General Assembly to appreciate the need for any particular organ,
and the sole restriction placed by that Article on the General Assembly'spower to establish subsidiary organs is that they should be "necessary
for the performance of its functions".

17. In its Opinion on the Effect of Awards of Compensation Made by
the United ~asons ~dnzinistratiijeTribunal, it is true, the Court expressly
held that the Charter "does not confer judicial functions on the General
Assembly" and that, when it established the Administrative Tribunal, it
"was not delegating the performance of its own functions" (I.C.J.
Reports 1954, at p. 61). At the same time, however, the Court pointed
out that under Article 101, paragraph 1,of the Charter the General
Assembly is given power to regulate staff relations, and it held that this

power included "the power to establish a tribunal to do justice between
the Organization and the staff members" (ibid.,at p. 58). From the above
reasoning it necessarily follows that the General Assembly's power to
regulate staff relations also comprises the power to create an organ
designed to provide machinery for initating the review by the Court of
judgments of such a tribunal.

18. Nor does it appear to the Court that there is substance in the
suggestion that the particular constitution of the Committee would
preclude it from being considered an "organ" of the United Nations.
As provided in paragraph 4 of Article 11,the Committee is composed of
"the Member States the representatives of which have served on the
General Committee of the most recent regular session of the General
Assembly". But this provision is no more than a convenient method of
establishing the membership of the Committee, which was set up as a
separate committee invested with its own functions distinct from those
of the General Committee. Paragraph 4, indeed, underlined the indepen-
dent character of the Committee by providing that it should establish
its own rules. These it drew up at its first meeting, amending them at later
meetings. Accordingly, the Court seesno reason to deny to the Committee
the character of an organ of the United Nations which the General
Assembly clearly intended it to possess.
19. Article 96, paragraph 2, of the Charter, empowers the General
Assembly to authorize organs of the United Nations to "request advisory
opinions of the Court on legal questions arising within the scope of
their activities". In the present instance paragraph 4 of Article 11 of the
Statute of the Administrative Tribunal expresslystates that theCommittee

"For the purpose of this article. ..is. ..authorized under paragraph 2
of Article 96 of the Charter to request advisory opinions of the Court".
These two provisions, prima facie, sufficeto establish the competence of
the Comrnittee to request advisory opinions of the Court. The point has
been raised, however, as to whether under Article 11of the Statute of the
Administrative Tribunal the Committee has any activities of its own
which enable it to be considered as requesting advisory opinions "on
legal questions arising within the scope of [its]activities". Thus, the view
has been expressed that the Committee has no other activity than torequest advisory opinions, and that the "legal questions" in regard to
which Article 11 authorizes it to request an opinion arise not within the
scope of "its activities" but of those of another organ, the Administrative
Tribunal.
20. The functions entrusted to the Committee by paragraphs 1and 2 of
Article 11are: to receiveapplications which formulate objections to judge-

ments of the Administrative Tribunal on one or more of the grounds set
out in paragraph 1and which ask the Committee to request an advisory
opinion; to decide within 30 days whether or not there is a substantial
basis for the application; and, if it so decides, to request an advisory
opinion of the Court. The scope of the activities of the Committee which
result from these functions is, admittedly, a narrow one. But the Com-
mittee's activities under Article 11have to be viewedin the larger context
of the General Assembly'sfunction in the regulation of staff relations of
which they form a part. This is not a delegation by the General Assembly
of its own power to request an advisory opinion; it is the creation of a
subsidiary organ having a particular task and invested it with the power
to request advisory opinions in the performance of that task. The mere
fact that the Committee's activities servea particular, limited, purpose
in the General Assembly's performance of its function in the regulation
of staff relations does not prevent the advisory jurisdiction of the Court
from being exercised in regard to those activities; nor is there any indi-
cation in Article 96of the Charter of any such restriction upon the General
Assembly's power to authorize organs of the United Nations to request

advisory opinions.
21. In fact, the primary function of the Committee is not the requesting
of advisory opinions, but the examination of objections to judgements in
order to decide in each case whether there is a substantial basis for the
application so as to cal1for a request for an advisory opinion. If it finds
that there is not such a substantial basis for the application the Committee
rejects the application without requesting an opinion of the Court. When
itdoes find that there is a substantial basis for the application, the legal
questions which the Cornmittee then submits to the Court clearly arise
out of the performance of this primary function of screening the applica-
tions presented to it. They are therefore questions which, in the view of
the Court, arise within the scope of the Cornmittee's own activities; for
they arise not out of the judgements of the Administrative Tribunal but
out of objections to those judgements raised before the Cornmittee itself.
22. True, Article 11does not make it part of the Cornmittee'sfunction
to implement any opinion given by the Court in response to the Com-
mittee'srequest; for under paragraph 3of that Article theimplementation
of the Court's opinions is a rnatter for the Secretary-General and the
Administrative Tribunal. But this does not change the fact that the

questions which are the subject of the Committee's requests for advisory
opinions are legal questions "arising" within the scope of its activities.
Al1that is necessary for a question to qualify under Article 96, paragraph
2, of the Charter is that it must be a legal one and must arise out of the175 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISORO YPINION)

activities of the organ concerned. In the present case, the Committee's re-
quest is for an advisory opinion regarding alleged failure by the Adminis-

trative Tribunal to exercisejurisdiction vested in it and fundamental errors
in procedure which it is alleged to have committed. These are questions
which by their very nature are legal questions similar in kind to those
which the Court in its 1956 Opinion in the Unesco case considered as
constituting legal questions within the meaning of Article 96 of the
Charter. Moreover, there is nothing in Article 96 of the Charter or
Article 65 of theStatute of the Court which requires that the replies to the
questions should be designed to assist the requesting body in its own
future operations or which makes it obligatory that the effect to begiven
to an advisory opinion should bethe responsibility of the body requesting
the opinion.
23. In the Jight of the foregoing considerations, the Court concludes
that the Committee on Applications for Review of Administrative
Tribunal Judgements is an organ of the United Nations, dulyconstituted

under Articles 7 and 22 of the Charter, and duly authorized under Article
96, paragraph 2, of the Charter to request advisory opinions of the Court
for thepurpose ofArticle 11ofthe Statute of the United Nations Adminis-
trative Tribunal. Itfollows that the Court is competent under Article 65
of its Statute to entertain a request for an advisory opinion from the
Committee made within the scope of Article 11 of the Statute of the
Administrative Tribunal.

24. Article 65 of the Statute is, however, permissive and, under it,
the Court's power to give an advisory opinion is of a discretionary
character. ln exercising this discretion, the Court has always been
guided by the principle that, as a judicial body, it is bound to remain
faithful to the requirements of its judicial character even in giving

advisory opinions (see, e.g.,Judgments of the Administrative Tribunal
of the IL0 upon Complaints Made against Unesco, Adilisory Opinion,
I.C.J. Reports 1956,p. 84; Constitution of the Maritime Safety Committee
of the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation, Advisory
Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1960, p. 153).During the debates which preceded
theadoption of General Assembly resolution 957(X)and the introduction
of Article II into the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal, doubts
were expressed by some delegations concerning certain features of the
procedure established by Article 11 precisely from the point of view of
the Court's judicial character. The Court will, therefore, now consider
whether, although it is competent to give the opinion requested, these
features of the procedure established by Article 11are of such a character
as should lead it to decline to answer the request.176 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISORO YPINION)

25. One objection that has been taken to Article 11 is that it insertsa
political organ into the judicial process for settling disputes between staff
members and the Organization. The Administrative Tribunal being a
judicial organ, it is incompatible with the nature of the judicial process,

so it has been suggested, that a political organ should be involved in the
judicial review of its judgements. Certainly, being composed of member
States, the Committee isapolitical organ. Its functions, onthe other hand,
are merely to make a summary examination of any objections to judge-
ments of the Tribunal and to decide whether there is a substantial basis
for the application to have the matter reviewedbythe Court in an advisory
opinion. These are functions which, in the Court's view, are normally
discharged by a legal body. But there is no necessary incompatibility
between the exercise of these functions by a political body and the
requirements of the judicial process, inasmuch as these functions merely
furnish a potential link between two procedures which are clearly
judicial in nature. In the Court's view, the compatibility or otherwise of
any given system of review with the requirements of the judicial process
depends on the circumstances and conditions of each particular system.

26. In the present instance, where recourse is to be made to the Inter-
national Court of Justice, itis understandable that the General Assembly

should have considered it necessary to establish machinery -for the
purpose of ensuring that only applicationsfor reviewhaving a substantial
basis should be made the subject of review proceedings by the Court.
At the same time, the Court notes that the Rules which the Comrnittee
has adopted take account of the quasi-judicial character of its functions.
Thus, these Rules provide that the other party to the proceedings before
the Administrative Tribunal may submit its comments with respect to
the application, andthat, if the Committee invites additional information
or views, the same opportunity to present them is afforded to al1parties
to the proceedings. This means that the decisions of the Committee are
reached after an examination of the opposing views of the interested
parties.
27. The reports of the Cornmittee's meetings reveal that it has dealt
with 16 applications for the review of judgements of the Administrative
Tribunal, al1of which have been made by staff members and none by the
Secretary-General or by a member State. The application which is the
subject of the present request for an advisory opinion was the fourteenth
received by the Committee, and up to date it is the only one in regard to
which the Committee has decided that there was "a substantial basis for

the application" calling for recourse to the advisory jurisdiction of the
Court. It is for the Committee to interpret the function entrusted to
it by paragraph 2 of Article 11, under which it has to "decide whether
or not there is a substantial basis for the application". In dealing with ap-
plications the practice of the Committee has been to limit itself to a
bare report of its decision as to whether or not there was a substantial
basis for the application and whether or not, in consequence, it shouldrequest an advisory opinion. The decisions taken by the Committee
are communicated to al1 member States, to the parties to the
proceedings, and to the Administrative Tribunal. However, the re-
ports do not state the grounds of the applicant's objections to the
Tribunal's judgement or the reasons which led the Committee to reject
or, as in the present instance, to endorse the application. The Committee
meets in closed session, and does not draw up summary records of its
proceedings concerning applications, and in the present instancethe Court
has been informed that these proceedings are regarded as confidential.
28. While it might be desirable for the applicant to receive some
indication of the grounds for the Cornmittee's decision in those cases in

which the application is rejected, the fact that the Committee's reports
are confined to a bare statement of the decision reached does not deprive
the reviewproceedings as awholeof their judicial character, norconstitute
a valid reason for the Court's declining to answer the present request. A
refusal by the Court to play its role in the system ofjudicial review set up
by the General Assembly would only have the consequence that this
systemwould not operate precisely in those cases in which theCommittee
has found that there is a substantial basis for the objections which have
been raised against a judgement. When the Committee reaches such an
affirmative decision there is no occasion for a reasoned statement of its
views or a public record of its proceedings; for the Committee's affir-
mative decision, based only ona prima facieappreciation ofthe objections,
is merely a necessary condition for the opening of the Court's advisory
jurisdiction. It ishen for the Court itself to reach its own, unhampered,
opinion as to whether the objections which have been raised against a
judgement are wellfounded or not and to statethe reasonsfor its opinion.
29. Other than what may be derived from the present proceedings,
there is no information before the Court regarding the criteria followed
by the Committee in appreciating whether there is "a substantial basis"
for an application. The statistics of the Committee's decisions may
appear to suggest the conclusion that, in applications made by staff
members, it has adopted a strict interpretation of that requirement. But
such a conclusion, even if established,would not sufficeby itself to render
the procedure under Article 11 of the Tribunal's Statute incompatible
with the principles governing the judicial process. It would, on the other

hand, be incompatible with these principles if the Cornmittee were not
to adopt a uniform interpretation of Article 11also in cases in which the
applicant was not a staff rnember. Furthermore, the legislative history
of Article 11 shows that recourse to the International Court of Justice
was to be had only in exceptional cases.
30. In the light of what has been said above, it does not appear that
there is anytlung in the character or operation of the Committee which
requires theCourt to conclude that the systemofjudicial reviewestablished
by General Assembly resolution 957(X) is incompatible with the general
principles governing the judicial process.
* *

15 31. The Court does not overlook that Article 11 provides for the right
of individual member States to object to a judgement of the Adminis-
trative Tribunal and to apply to the Committee to initiate advisory
proceedings on the matter; and that during the debates in 1955 the
propriety of this provision was questioned by a number of delegations.

The member State, it was said, would not have been a party to the pro-
ceedings before the Administzative Tribunal, and to allow it to initiate
proceedings forthe reviewof thejudgement would, therefore, be contrary
to the general principles governing judicial review. To confer such a
right on a member State, it was further said, would impinge upon the
rights of the Secretary-General as chief administrative officerand conflict
with Article 100of the Charter. It was also suggested that, in the case of
an application by a member State, the staffmember would bein a position
of inequality before the Committee. These argumentsintroduceadditional
considerations which would cal1for close examination by the Court ifit
should receive a request for an opinion resulting from an application to
the Committee by a member State. TheCourt isnot therefore to be under-
stood as here expressing any opinion in regard to any future proceedings
instituted under Article Il by a member State. But these additional
considerations are without relevance in the present proceedings in which
the request for an opinion results from an application to the Committee
by a staff member. The mere fact that Article 11provides for the possi-

bility of a member State applying for the review of ajudgement does not
alter the position in regard to the initiation of review proceedings as
between a staff member and the Secretary-General. Article 11,the Court
emphasizes, gives the same rights to staff members as it does to the
Secretary-General to apply to the Committee for the initiation of review
proceedings.

32. Even so, the Court has still to consider objections which have been
raised against the use of advisoryjurisdiction for the review of Adminis-
trative Tribunal judgements because of what was said to be an inherent
inequality under the Statute of the Court between the staff member, on
the one hand, and the Secretary-General and member States, on the
other. Persona1appearance, it was argued, was an essential feature of due
process of law, but under Article 66 of the Statute, only States and inter-
national organizations were entitled to submit statements to the Court.

It was also maintained that a mere expression of a hope by the General
Assembly in the proposed resolution (see para. 36 below) that member
States and the Secretary-General would forgo their right to an oral
hearing was not a sufficient guarantee of equality; nor was it thought
appropriate that an individual should be dependent on another party
to the dispute for the presentation of his views to the Court.
33. In the year following the adoption of Article 11, as it happened,
the Court was called upon to examine the compatibility with its judicial

16character of the use of the advisoryjurisdiction for review of Administra-
tive Tribunal judgements, though in the different context of Article XII
of the Statute of the IL0 Administrative Tribunal. Despite the different
context, the views then expressed by the Court in its Opinion con-
cerning Judgments of the Adininistratii,e Tribunal of the IL0 upon
Cornplaints Made against Unesco (I.C.J. Reports 1956, p. 77) are, in cer-
tain respects,apposite for the purposes of the present Opinion.
34. The difficulty regarding the requirement of equality between staff
members and their organization in review proceedings involving the
Court's advisory jurisdiction arises from the terms of Article 66 of the
Statute of the Court. This Article makes provision for the submission of
written or oral statements only by States and international organizations.
In the 1956proceedings the difficulty was recognized by Unesco, whose
Legal Counsel notified counsel for the staffmembers that the Organization

would transmit directly to the Court, without checking the contents, any
observations or information that they might desire to present. TheCourt
indicated that it saw no objection to this procedure, and counsel for the
staff members notified Unesco of his agreement to it. Subsequently, the
Court informed the States and organizations which had been considered
likely to be able to furnish informition on the question before the Court
that it did not contemplate holding public hearings in the case. At the
same time, it fixed a date within which further coniments might be
submitted in writing, and Unesco informed counsel for the staff members
of its readiness to transmit to the Courtsuch fiirther observations as they
might wish to present. Lnthe light of the procedure adopted, the Court
concluded that the requirements of equality had been suficiently met to
enable it to comply with the request for an Opinion. It observed:

&'Thedificulty was met, on the one hand, by the procedure under
which the observations of the officials were made available to the
Court through the intermediary of Unesco and, on the other hand,
by dispensing with oral proceedings. The Court is not bound for
the future by any consent which it gave or decisions which it made
with regard to the procedure thus adopted. In the present case, the
procedure which has been adopted has not given rise to any objection
on the part of those concerned. It has been consented to by counsel

for the officials in whose favour the Judgments were given. The
principle of equality of the parties follows from the requirements of
good administration of justice. These requireinents have not been
impaired in the present case by the circumstance that the written
statement on behalf of the officials was submitted through Unesco.
Finally, although no oral proceedings were held, the Court issatisfied
that adequate information has been made available to it. In view
of this there would appear to be no compelling reason why the
Court should not lend its assistance in the solution of a problem
confronting a specialized agency of the United Nations authorized180 APPLICATIO FOR REVlEW (ADVISORO YPINION)

to ask for an Advisory Opinion of the Court. Notwithstanding the
permissive character of Article 65 of theStatute in the matter of ad-
visory opinions, only compelling reasons could cause the Court to
adopt in this matter a negative attitude which would imperil the

working of the régime established by the Statute of the Admini-
strative Tribunal for the judicial protection of officials. Any see-
ming or nominal absence of equality ought not to be allowed to ob-
scure or to defeat that primary object.''(I.C.J.Reports 1956,p. 86.)
35. In that Opinion, therefore,the Court took the viewthat any absence
of equality between staff members and the Secretary-General inherent
in the terms of Article 66 of theStatute of the Court is capable of being
cured by the adoption of appropriate procedures which ensure actual

equality in the particular proceedings. In those advisory proceedings,
institutedunder the Statute of the IL0 Administrative Tribunal, the
adoption of the appropriate procedures was entirely dependent upon
the will of the Organization concerned, Unesco; and yet the Court
considered that "any seeming or nominal absence of equality" inherent
in Article 66 ofthe Court'sStatute ought not to prevent it from complying
with the request for an opinion. True, certain judges considered that the
absence of oral proceedings constituted either an insuperable or a serious
obstacle to the Court's complying with the request for an advisory
opinion. But that view was not shared by the Court. Moreover, in the
present proceedings, instituted under the Statute of the United Nations
Administrative Tribunal, the procedural position of the staff member is
more secure. Paragraph 2 of Article 11 expressly provides that, when
the Committee requests an advisory opinion, the Secretary-General shall
arrange to transmit to the Court the views ofthe staff member concerned.
The implication is that the staff member is entitled to have his views
transrnitted to the Court without any control being exercised over the

contents by the Secretary-General; for otherwise the views would not in
a true sense be the views of the staff member concerned. Thus, under
Article 11,the equality of a staff member in the written procedure before
the Court is not dependent on the will or favour of the Organization,
but is made a matter of right guaranteed by the Statute of the Adminis-
trative Tribunal.

36. In resolution 957(X) the General Assembly sought also to remedy
the inequality in regard to the oral procedure between staff members, on
the one hand, and member States and the Secretary-General, on the
other, which exists in Article 66 of the Court'statute. In that resolution,
afteradopting the text of the new Article 11ofthe Statute of the Adminis-
trative Tribunal, it added the recommendation:

"...that Member States and the Secretary-General should not make
oral statements before the International Court of Justice in any proceedings under the new article II of the Statute of the Adminis-
trative Tribunal adopted under the present resolution".

As to this recommendation, the Court observes that, when under Article
66, paragraph 2, of its Statute written statements have been presented to
the Court in advisory proceedings, the further procedure in the case, and
in particular the holding of public hearings for the purpose of receiving
oral statements, is a matter within the discretion of the Court. In exer-
cising that discretion, the Court will have regard both to the provisions
of itsStatute and to the requirements of itsjudicial character. But it does
not appear to the Court that there is any general principle of law which
requires that inreviewproceedings the interested partiesshould necessarily
have an opportunity to submit oral statements ;f their case to the review
tribunal. General principles of law and the judicid character of the
Court do require that, even in advisory proceedings, the interested parties
should each have an opportunity, and on a basis of equality, to submit
al1the elements relevant to the questions which have been referred to the
review tribunal. But that condition is fulfilled by the submission of
written statements. Accordingly, the Court sees noreason to resile from
the position which it took in its Opinion in the Unesco case that, if the
Court is satisfied that adequate information has been made available to it,
the fact that no public hearings have been held is not a bar to the Court's
complying with the request for an opinion.

37. In the present proceedings, in accordance with Article 65, para-
graph 2, of the Statute of the Court, the Secretary-General supplied the
Court with a large dossier of relevant documents, including copies of
documents which were before the Administrative Tribunal and of those
submitted by Mr. Fasla to the Committee; he aiso submitted a written
statement to the Court, and subsequently submitted written comments
on the statementof the viewsof Mr. Fasla, together with some additional
documents. Mr. Fasla, on his side, was accorded every opportunity to
present his views to the Court in writing on a basis of equality with the
Secretary-General, and this opportunity he used to the full. First,through
the instrumentality of the Secretary-General, a written statement of his
views was transmitted to the Court, together with an annexed document.
Sometwo months later and byleaveof the President of the Court, Mr. Fasla
transmitted by the same channel a corrected, but at the same time much
amplified, statement of his views, together with further documents.
Finally, within a further time-limit fixed by the President, he transmitted
to the Court his written comments on the Secretary-General's written
statement, and to these comments, signed by his counsel, there were
appended a "persona1 statement" by Mr. Fasla and additional documents.
As to oral proceedings, by a letter of 6 October 1972the United Nations
and its member States were informed that it was not contemplated that
public hearings for the submission of oral statements would be held in
the case. Subsequently, by a letter dated 15 November 1972, that is,prior to submitting his corrected ststement, Mr. Fasla transmitted to
the Court a request to be permitted to make an oral statement. On
25January 1973the Court decided not to hear oral statements and on the
same date telegraphed its decision to the United Nations Legal Counsel.
Mr. Fasla having renewed hisrequest in a letter of 29 January 1973,the
Court adhered to its decision not to hold a public hearing for the purpose
of receiving oral statements.

38. In advisory proceedings, as previously mentioned, it lies within
the entire discretion of the Court to decide whether to obtain oral in
addition to written statements. It may be truethat in the present proceed-
ingsfor the reviewofan Administrative Tribunal Judgement the questions
submitted to the Court relate to acontentious casebetweena staffmember
and the Secretary-General. It may also be true that this aspect of the
proceedings is accentuated by the fact that Article 11, paragraph 3, of
the Tribunat's Statute provides that the Secretary-General shall either
give effectto the opinion of the Court or request the Tribunal to convene
specially in order that it shall confirm its original judgement, or give a
newjudgement, in conformity withthe opinion oftheCourt. Nevertheless,
the proceedings before the Court are still advisory proceedings, in which
the task of the Court is not to retry the case but to reply to the questions
put to it regarding the objections whichhave been raisedto the Judgement
of the Administrative Tribunal. The Court is, therefore, only concerned
to ensure that the interested parties shall havea fair and equal opportunity
to present their viewsto the Court respecting the questions on which its
opinion is requested and that the Court shall have adequate information

to enable it to administer justice in giving its opinion. The Court is
satisfiedthat theserequirements have beenmet inthe present proceedings.

39. Again, the fact that under Article 11,paragraph 3,of the Tribunal's
Statute the opinion given by the Court is to have a conclusiveeffectwith
respect to the matters in litigation in that case does not constitute any
obstacle to the Court's replyingto the request for an opinion. Such an
effect, it is true,es beyond the scope attributed by the Charter and by
the Statute of the Court to an advisory opinion. It results, however, not
from the advisory opinion itself but from a provision of an autonomous
instrument havingthe forceof lawforthe staffmembersandthe Secretary-
General. Under Article XII of the Statute of the IL0 Administrative
Tribunal the Court's opinion is expressly made binding. In alluding to
this consequence the Court, in the Unesco case, observed:
0
"It in no wise affects the way in which the Court functions; that
continues to be determined by its Statute and its Rules. Nor does
it affect the reasoning by which the Court forms its Opinion or the
content of the Opinion itself. Accordingly, the fact that the Opinion
of the Court is accepted as binding provides no reason why the
Request for an Opinion should not be complied with." (I.C.J.
Reports 1956,p. 84.)183 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISORO YPINION)

Similarly, the special effect to be attributed to the Court's opinion by
Article 11of the Statute of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal
furnishes no reason for refusing to comply with the request for an opinion
in the present instance.
40. The Court has repeatedly stated that a reply to a request for an
advisory opinion should not, in principle, be refused and that only com-

pelling reasons would justify such a refusa1 (see, e.g., Juclgrnentsof the
Administrative Tribunal of the IL0 upon CornplaintsMade against Unesco,
Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1956, p. 86; Legal Consequences for
States of theContinztedPresence of South Africa in Namibia (South West
Africa) notwithstanding Security Council Resolution 276 (1970), Advisory
Opinion,I.C.J. Reports 1971,p.27).In thelight ofwhathas been saidabove,
it does not appear to theCourtthat there is anycompelling reason why it
should declineto replyto the request in the present instance. Onthe contra-
ry,asinthe 1956proceedings concerning the IL0 Administrative Tribunal,
the Court considers that itshould not"adopt inthis matter anegative atti-
tude which would imperil the working ofthe régimeestablished bythe Sta-
tute of the Administrative Tribunal for thejudicial protection of officials"
(I.C.J. Reports 1956,p. 86).Although the records show that Article 11was
not introduced into the Statute of the United Nations Administrative Tri-
bunal exclusively,or evenprimarily, to providejudicial protection for offi-
cials, they also show that steps were,nevertheless, taken to ensure that the
régime establislied by it should provide such protection. Moreover, it
has so far been officialsalone who have sought to invoke the régimeof

judicial protection established by Article 11. Accordingly, as already
indicated, although the Court does riot consider the review procedure
provided by Article 1 1as free from difficulty, it has no doubt that, in the
circumstances of the present case, it should comply with the request by
the Committee on Applications for Review of Administrative Tribunal
Judgements for an advisory opinion.

41. The scope of the questions on which, therefore, the Court has now
to advise is determined first,bj Article 11of the Statute of the Adminis-
trativeTribunal, which specifiesthe grounds on which ajudgement of the
Tribunal may be challenged through the medium of the advisory juris-
diction, and, secondly, by the terms of the request to the Court. Under
Article 11an application may be made to the Committeefor the purpose
of obtaining the review by the Court of a judgement of the Tribunal on
any of the following grounds, namely that the Tribunal has:
(i) "exceeded its jurisdiction or competence";
(ii) "failed to exercisejurisdiction vested in it";

(iii) "erred on a question of law relating to the provisions of the Charter
of the United Nations"; or(iv) "committed a fundamental error in procedure which has occasioned
a failure of justice."

Consequently, the Committee is authorized to request, and the Court to
give, an advisory opinion only on legal questions which may properly be
considered as falling within the terms of one or more of those four
"grounds". Again, under Article 65of the Court's Statute, itscompetence
to give advisory opinions extends only to legal questions on which its
opinion has been requested. The Court may interpret the terms of the
request and determine the scope of the questions set out in it. The Court

may also take into account any matters germane to the questions
submitted to it which may be necessary to enable it to form its opinion.
But in giving its opinion the Court is, in principle, bound by the
terms of the questions formulated in the request (Voting Procedure on
Questions relating to Reports and Petitions concernitig the Territory
of South West Africa, Advisory Opinion,I.C.J. Reports 1955, pp. 71-72;
Judgments oftheAdministrative Tribunalof theIL0 uponConzplaintsMade
against Unesco,Advisory Opinion,I.C.J. Reports 1956,pp. 98-99). In the
present instance, the questions formulated in the request refer to only
two of the four "grounds" of challenge specified in Article 11 of the
Administrative Tribunal's Statute, namely, failure to exercisejurisdiction
and fundamental error in procedure. Consequently, it is only objections
to Judgement No. 158based on one or other of those two grounds which
are within the terms of the questions put to the Court.
42. The text of the request which is now before the Court has been set
out at the beginning of this Opinion.The two questions which it contains
read as follows:

"(1) Has the Tribunal failed to exercise jurisdiction vested in it as
contended in the applicant's application to the Committee on
Applications for Reviewof Administrative Tribunal Judgements
(A/AC.86/R.59)?
(2)Has the Tribunal committed a fundamental error of procedure
which has occasioned a failure of justice as contended in the
applicant's application to the Committee on Applications for
Review of Administrative Tribunal Judgements (AlAC.861
R.59)?"

The document mentioned in each question is Mr. Fasla's formal appli-
cation to the Committee in which he set out his grounds of objection
to Judgement No. 158and his contentions in support of those grounds.
Thus the questions are specifically limited to the grounds of objec-
tion and the contentions advanced by him in his application to the
Committee. He alsoformulated four questions at the end of hisapplication

with the request that they be submitted to the Court. These questions
referred only to two of the four grounds of objection envisaged by
Article 11of the Tribunal's Statute, namely failure to exercisejurisdiction
and fundamental error in the procedure having occasioned a failure ofjustice; the other two grounds recognized in Article Il-excess of
jurisdiction and error on a question of law relating to the provisions of
the Charter-were not raised by the applicant before the Committee.
The two grounds advanced by the applicant before the Committee are
therefore identical in substance withthose upon which the opinion of the
Court has been requested.

43. In order to determine the scope of the questions put to the Court
and theframework within whichthe Court hasto giveitsopinion, itis neces-
sary to have regard to Mr. Fasla's contentions before theCommittee. As,
however, the implications of these contentions can be appreciated only
in the context of the claims presented by him to the Administrative
Tribunal and of the disposal of those claims by the Tribunal, the Court
must first set out his claims before the Tribunal and the Tribunal's
decisions in regard to them.
44. Mr. Fasla instituted his proceedings against the Secretary-General
before the AdministrativeTribunal by an application, dated 31December
1970,in which he requested it "to order the following measures":

"(a) As a preliminary measure, production by the Respondent of
the report by Mr. Satrap, Chief, Middle East Area Division,
UNDP on his investigation of the UNDP office in Yemen in
February 1969.
(b) As a prelirninary measure, production by the Respondent of
the report by Mr. Hagen, Consultant to the UNDP Adminis-
trator, on his investigation of the UNDP office in Yemen in
March 1969.
(c) As a preliminary measure, production by the Respondent of
the report by Mr. Hagen, UNDP Special Representative in
Yemen, concerning the Applicant's performance, prepared at
the request of the UNDP in the summer of 1969.

(d) Rin May 1969, by extending the Applicant's last fixed-termling

appointment for a further two years beyond 31 December
1969, with retroactive pay of salary and related allowances;
alternatively, a payment by the Respondent to the Applicant
of three years' net base salary.

(e) Correction and completion of the Applicant's Fact Sheet
which is intended for circulation both within and outside the
UNDP, with al1the required Periodic Reports and evaluations
of work; alternatively payment by the Respondent to the
Applicant of two years' net base salary.

(f) Invalidation of the Applicant's Periodic Report covering his service in Yemen, prepared in September 1970; alternatively,
payment by the Respondent to the Applicant of two years'net
base salary.

(g) Further serious efforts by the Respondent to place the

Applicant in a suitable post either within the UNDPor within
the United Nations Secretariat or within a UN Specialized
Agency; alternatively, payment by the Respondent to the
Applicant of two years' net base salary.

(h) As compensation for injury sustained by the Applicant as the
result of the repeated violation bythe Respondent of Adminis-
trative Instruction ST/AI/I 15, payment by the Respondent
to the Applicant of two years' net base salary.

(i) As compensation for injury sustained by the Applicant as the
result of the continuous violation by the Respondent of his
obligation to make serious efforts to find an assignment for
the Applicant, payment by the Respondent to the Applicant of
two years' net base salary.

(j) As compensation for injury sustained by the Applicant as the
result of prejudice displayed against him, payment by the
Respondent to the Applicant of fiveyears' net base salary.

(k) As compensation for the emotional and moral suffering
inflicted by the Respondent upon the Applicant, payment by
the Respondent to the Applicant of one Yemen rial.
(1) As compensation for delays in the consideration of the
Applicant's case, especially inview of the fact that no Joint
Appeals Board was in existence during the first four months
of 1969since the Respondent had failed to appoint a Panel
of Chairmen, payment by the Respondent to the Applicant of
one year's net base salary.

(m) Payment to the Applicant of the sum of $1,000.00for expenses
in viewof thefact that, although the Applicant wasrepresented
by a member of the Panel of Counsel, the complexity of the

case necessitated the Applicant's travel from California to
New York in May 1970as well as frequent transcontinental
telephone calls to the Applicant's Counsel before and after
that date.
(n) As compensation for the damage inflicted by the Respondent
onthe Applicant's professionalreputation and careerprospects
as the result of the circulation by the Respondent, both within
and outside the United Nations, of incomplete and misleading187 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISOR OYPINION)

information concerning the Applicant, payment by the

Respondent to the Applicant of five years' net base salary."

011 11 June 1971 a supplement to the application was filed with the
Administrative Tribunal, whereby it was requested to order the following
additional measures :

"(a) As compensation for the further delay in the consideration of
the Applicant's caseearly in 1971,payment by the Respondent
to the Applicant of one year's net basesalary.

(6) Recalculation by the Respondent of the Applicant's salary and
allowances in Yemen on the basis of the actual duration of the
Applicant's assignment there, and payment to the Applicant of
the difference between the recalculatedmount and the amount
the Applicant received.

(c) As compensation for the illegal suspension of the Applicant
from duty, payment by the Respondent to the Applicant of
five years' net base salary."

45. Judgment was given by the Tribunal on 28 April 1972.In the body
of the Judgement the Tribunal noted that certain of Mr. Fasla's requests
had been met and made a number of findings, some of which were

favourable and others unfavourable to his case. The precise terms ofhese
findings are given later in this Opinion.
46. On 26 May 1972 Mr. Fasla subniitted an application to the
Committee, setting out his objections to the Judgement and asking the
Conimittee to request an advisoryopinion of the Court. In hisapplication,
as already mentioned, he objects that the Administrative Tribunal (1)
failed to exercisejurisdiction vested int and (2) committed fundamental
errors in procedure which occasioned a failure of justice. He supports
each of these objections by a number of contentions in regard to alleged
defects in the Judgement. These contentions, to which further reference
will be made later, he groups together under three main heads:compen-
sation for injury to his professional reputation and employment oppor-
tunitier: compensation for the costs incurred by him in presenting his
clainis to the Joint Appeals Board and the Administrative Tribunal;
recalculation of his rate of remuneration while posted to Yemen. The

contentions advanced before the Committee cover a wide area of the
case before the Administrative Tribunal. Consequently. the Court finds
no reason to adopt a restrictive interpretation of the questions framed in
the request.
47. Under Article II of the Statiite of the Tribunal, as already indi-
cated, the task of the Court is not to retry the case but to give its opinion
on the questions submitted to it concerning the objections lodged against
the Judgement. The Court is not therefore entitled to substitute its ownopinion for that of the Tribunal on the merits of the case adjudicated
by the Tribunal. Its role is to determine if the circumstances of the case,
whether they relate to merits or procedure, show that any objection made
to the Judgement on one of the grounds mentioned in Article 11is well
founded. In so doing, the Court is not limited to the contents of the
challenged award itself, but takes under its consideration al1 relevant
aspects of the proceedings before the Tribunal as well as al1 relevant

matters submitted to the Court itself by the staff member and by the
Secretary-General with regard to the objections raised against that
judgement. These objections the Court examines on their merits in the
light of the information before it.
48. Furthermore, as the Court pointed out in its Advisory Opinion in
the Unesco case, a challenge to an administrative tribunal judgment on
the ground of unauthorized assumption of jurisdiction cannot serve
simply as a means of attacking the tribunal's decisions on the merits.
Speaking of Article XII ofthe Statute ofthe IL0 Administrative Tribunal,
which recognizes only unauthorized assumption of jurisdiction and
fundamental fault in the procedureasgroundsfor attacking thejudgments
of that tribunal, the Court said:

"The request for an Advisory Opinion under Article Xi..is not in the
nature of an appeal on the merits of the judgment. It is limited to a
challenge of the decision of the Tribunal confirming its jurisdiction
or to cases of fundamental fault of procedure. Apart from this,
there is no remedy against the decisions of the Administrative
Tribunal. A challenge of a decision confirming jurisdiction cannot
properly be transformed into a procedure against the manner in
whichjurisdiction has been exercised or against the substance of the
decision." (I.C.J.Reports 1956, pp. 98-99.)

So too, under Article 11of the Statute of the United Nations Adminis-
trative Tribunal a challenge to a decision for alleged failure to exercise
jurisdiction of fundamental error in procedure cannot properly be
transformed into a proceeding against the substance of the decision.
This does not mean that in an appropriate case, where the judgement has
been challenged on the ground of an error on a question of lawrelating to
the provisions of the Charter, the Court may not be called upon to
review the actual substance of the decision. But both the text of Article 11
and its legislative history make it clear that challenges to Administrative
Tribunal judgements under its provisions were intended to be confined to
the specificgrounds of objection mentioned in the Article.

49. Turning to the first question, the Court will now examinewhether
the Tribunal has failed to exercisejurisdiction vested in it, as contended

in the application to the Committee.
26 50. Article XII of the Statute of the IL0 Administrative Tribunal
speaks only of a challenge to "a decision of the Tribunal confirming its
jurisdiction", anddoes not make any mention of a failure of the Tribunal
to exercise its jurisdiction. Similarly, in the draft of Article11 of the
United Nations Administrative Tribunal's Statute recommended to the
General Assembly bythe SpecialCommittee on Review of Administrative
Tribunal Judgements, a challenge on this ground was contemplated only
if the Tribunal had "exceeded its jurisdiction or competence". The
words "or that the Tribunal has failed to exercisejurisdiction vestedinit"
were added at the 499th meeting of the Fifth Committee on the proposa1
of the Indian delegation, who had explained that:

"According to the text of the proposed new article 11, a review
might be requested on the ground that the Tribunal had exceeded
its jurisdiction or competence. There might, however, be cases
where the Tribunal had failed to exercise thejurisdiction if possessed
under the law; cases of errors in the exercise ofjirrisdictioriwerr also
feasible. In Indian legislation reliefs analogous to review were
granted both where atribunal exercisedjurisdiction not vestedin it by

law and where it failed to exercise jurisdiction vested in it by law,
provision thus being made not only for cases of excess ofjurisdiction
but alsofor those of failure or neglect to exercisejurisdiction. (Em-
phasis added.)
This explanation appears to confirm that this additional ground for
challenging a judgement was regarded as having a comparatively narrow
scope; i.e., as concerned essentially with a failure by the Tribunal to put
into operation the jurisdictional powers possessed by it-rather than

with a failure to do justice to the merits in the exercise of those powers.
It further appears that in accepting failure to exercisejurisdiction as an
additional ground of challenge the General Assembly regarded it as
eiusderngeneris witli cases where the Tribunal had exceeded its juris-
diction or competence; and the Fifth Committee thus seems to have
viewed both excess and failure in the exerciseofjurisdic~ion as essentially
concerned with matters of jurisdiction or competence in their strict
sense. In a more general way, the comparatively narrow scope intended
to be given to failure to exercisejurisdiction as agroundof challenge is
confirmed by the legislative history of Article 11, which shows that the
grounds of challenge mentioned in the Article were envisaged as covering
only "exceptional" cases.

51. In the Court's view, therefore, this ground of challenge covers
situations where the Tribunal has either consciously or inadvertently
omitted to exercisejurisdictional powers vested in it and relevant for its
decision of the case or of a particular material issue in the case. Clearly,
in appreciating whether or not the Tribunal has failed to exerciserelevant

jurisdictional powers, the Court must have regard to the substance of
27the matter and not merelyto the form. Consequently, the merefact thatthe
Tribunal has purported to exercise its powers with respect to any particu-
lar material issue will not be enough: it must in fact have applied them to
the determination of the issue. No doubt, there may be borderline cases

where it may be difficult to assess whether the Tribunal has in any true
sense considered and determined the exercise of relevant jurisdictional
powers. But that does not alter the duty of the Court to appreciate in
each instance, in the light of al1pertinent elements, whether the Tribunal
did or did not in fact exercise with respect to the case the powers vested
in it and relevant to its decision.

52. The first contention in the application to the Committee is that
the Tribunal did not fully consider and pass upon the claim for damages
for injury to professional reputation and career prospects. The claim
referred to is that set out in plea(n) in the application to the Tribunal,
in the following words:

"As compensation for the damage inflicted by the Respondent
on the Applicant's professional reputation and career prospects
as the resiilt of the circulation by the Respondent, both within and
outside the United Nations, of incomplete and ~nisleadinginforma-
tion concerning the Applicant, payment by the Respondent to the
Applicant of fiveyears' net base salary."

In support of this contention Mr. Fasla invokes Articles 2 and 9 of the
Tribunal's Statute, maintaining that under their provisions the Tribunal
was competent and had jurisdiction to award compensation to him for
such injuries; andthat it failed to exercisesuchcompetenceandjurisdiction
in not awarding him either damages or specific relief. In support of that
proposition he maintains that a claim to compensation for damage to his
professional reputation and career prospects was specifically pleaded;
that such a claim fell within the Tribunal's competence under Article 2,
paragraph 1, of its Statute; that the Tribunal did not even discuss the
claim, although it found that his personnel record and fact-sheet had
been maliciously distorted; that the Tribunal had before it matters which
evidenced the damage flowing from that distortion; that the damage was
not remote but the direct and natural consequence of the distortion;
that the malicious distortion of his personnel record and fact-sheet was
a wrongful act attributable in law to the Secretary-General; and that the

Tribunal, having taken cognizance of the wrongful act and yet having
provided no remedy for the damage occasioned thereby, obviously
failed to exercise its jurisdiction.

53. The validity of this contention cannot be adequately considered
without taking account of al1the claims submitted by the applicant tothe Administrative Tribunal and the latter's disposal of those claims. In
all, as previously indicated, the applicant had presented no less than 17
separate pleas. Three of those were of a preliminary character, requesting
the production of certain reports; the remaining 14 sought substantial

reliefinthe form either of a specificremedy or of monetary compensation.
As to the three pleas of a preliminary character, the Tribunal in its
Judgement :

(i) noted that the respondent had produced the first report;
(ii) noted that the second report was in the applicant's "official status
file" and therefore available to the counsel of the parties; that a
letter, which the applicant had explained he had had in mind when
he requested the production of "Mr. Hagen's report", had been

supplied confidentially to the Tribunal; and that the Tribunal had
made available to the applicant the few lines of the letter which it
had held to be relevant;
(iii) stated that, the Tribunal having requested the production of the
third report, the respondent had replied that it did not have such
areport inthe filesof thebody concerned; andthat theTribunal could
only take note of that reply.

As to the pleas for substantial relief, the Tribunal gave two decisions in
the applicant's favour, namely:
"1. The Respondent shail pay the Applicant a sum equal to six
inonths' net base salary:
2. The periodic report prepared for the period June 1968to March
1969 is invalid and shall be treated as such."

ln a third decision, while not upholding the applicant's claim to recal-
culation of his emoluments during his period of service in Yemen, the
Tribunal took note in paragraph XV of its Judgement of the respondent's
agreement, pursuant to a recommendation of the Joint Appeals Board, to
make the applicant "an e.ugvatia payment in the amount of any losses
that he could show he had suffered as a result of his precipitate recall
from Yemen". On this point, after declaring that the applicant was
entitled to take advantage of'the possibility thus offered. the Tribunal
made forma1provision for giving effect to that decision:

"3. Any requests for payment made in accordance with paragraph
XV above shall be submitted, together with the necessary
supporting evidence, by the Applicant to the Respondent,
within a period of two months from the date of thisjudgement."

The Tribunal concluded its Judgement withacomprehensive rejection of
the applicant's other claims, stating that:

"4. The other requests are rejected." 54. The first contention must also be considered in the light of three
other factors. First, there was a considerable degree of overlap in the
14claimsto substantial relief, in theensethat a number of them appeared
to be claims to different relief founded on the same act or omission.
Yet the staff member did not indicate whether and, if so,to what extent
the claims were to be considered as alternative or cumulative. Secondly,
in its Judgement the Tribunal set out al1 his claims, recited the facts of

the case at considerable length and gave a detailed summary of the
contentions of both parties. Moreover, the recital of facts included a
comprehensive account of the two proceedings before the Joint Appeals
Board in which there had been extensiveconsideration of various aspects
of the case. Thirdly, the Tribunal's own analysis of the case was substan-
tial, even if it did not deal specificallywith each of the claimspresented.
In its analysis it concentrated on what it considered to be the relevant
issues and those in regard to which it found substance in these clairns,
namely (i) that the Staff Rules concerning periodic reports had not been
properly complied with and that, bywayofconsequence, the commitment
of the Secretary-General to rnake serious efforts to place the applicant in a
suitable post had not been correctly fulfilled (paras. IV-VI1of the Judge-
ment), and (ii)that a report filed in 1970as aresult ofthe recommendations
oftheJoint AppealsBoard wasrnotivated byprejudiceagainst theapplicant
(paras. VIII-XII). After that examination of the main contentions of the
applicant concerning the violation of Staff Rules and the prejudice
evidenced in the 1970report on his performance in Yemen, the Tribunal,
in paragraph XII1 of the Judgement, examined the question of the
damages to be awarded as compensation, in lieu of the specific perfor-
mance of the obligations which the respondent had failed to observe. The

remainder of the substantive part of the Judgement related to the
additional claims filed in a supplementary application concerning
recalculation of remuneration and alleged illegal suspension from duty
(paras. XIV and XV), the claim for damages as a result of delays in
considering the case (para. XVI) and, finally, the question of costs
(para. XVIZ).

55. In organizing the structure of its Judgement, the Administrative
Tribunal followed the logical sequence of examining the existence of
violations of substantive law beforeentering into the question of compen-
sation for damage. Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Tribunal's Statute gives
it jurisdiction "to hear and pass judgement 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". This same paragraph adds: "The words 'contracts'
and 'terms of appointment' include al1pertinent regulations and rules
in force at the time of alleged non-observance, including the staff pension
regulations." A subsequent Article refers successivelyto the specificrelief 193 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISORY OPINION)

which may be granted by the Tribunal and to the award of monetary
compensation to be paid in lieu of such specific relief (Art. 9). The
Tribunal first determines the non-observance of contracts of employment
or of staff regulations before it examines the question of rescission of a
decision, or specificperformance of an obligation.The latter questions in
their turn take priority over the fixing of monetary compensation. The
sequencefollowed by the Administrative Tribunal in the Judgement under

consideration thus corresponds to the provisions of its Statute. It can
hardly be denied, however, that in this particular case the structure
adopted created the difficulty that some of the applicant's pleas, though
covered by the general consideration of the basic questions of non-
observance of regulations, of rescission and of damage, were not expressly
mentioned or specifically dealt with in the paragraphs in which the
Tribunal developed its reasoning and analysed what it deemed to be the
pertinent issues.

56. To find that such a difficulty has arisen in the present case does not
signify that, as contended by the applicant, there has been on the part
of the Tribunal a failure to exercise its jurisdiction with respect to those
pleas whch were not expresslymentioned nor specificallydealt with in the
substantive part of the Judgement. The test of whether there has been a
failure to exercise jurisdiction with respect to a certain submission can-
not be the purely forma1 one of verifying if a particular plea is men-
tioned eo nominein the substantive part of ajudgment :the test must be

the real one of whether the Tribunal addressed its mind to the matters
on which a plea was based, and drew its own conclusions therefrom as
to the obligations violated by the respondent and as to the compensation
to be awarded therefor. Such an approach is particularly requisite in a
case such as the present one, in which the Tribunal was confronted with
a series of claims for compensation or measures of relief which to a con-
siderable extent duplicated or at least substantially overlapped each other
and which derived from the same act of the respondent: the circulation
of an incomplete fact-sheet annexed to the enquiry concerning new em-
ployment for the applicant. This act, which was identified by the Tri-
bunal as the cause of the inadequate performance by the respondent of
the comrnitment to seek new employment for the applicant, also consti-
tuted the basis for the claim that the applicant's professional reputation
and career prospects had been damaged.
57. While the claim for damage to professional reputation and career
prospects was couched by the applicant in broad terms, to the effect that
it resulted from "the circulation by the Respondent, both within and

outside the United Nations, of incomplete and rnisleading information
concerning the Applient", the record shows that the only act attributable
to the respondent which could fa11within that description consisted
precisely in thatsame distribution to the United Nations central recruit-
ment service, to three specialized agencies, to two UNDP resident
representatives, and to several other services of the United Nations, of a
31fact-sheet which, while containing information reflecting valid periodic
reports, did not include statements in rebuttal by the staff member nor
reports concerning other periods of employment, which, contrary to
Staff Regulations, had not been prepared or incorporated. Since this act
of the respondent was at the same time both the cause of the inadequate
performance of the commitment to seek a new assignment and the source
of the claimed harm to reputation and career prospects, Mr. Fasla him-
self, in his explanatory ;tatement to the Administrative Tribunal,did not
develop the argument in support of the two pleas separately. It was
reasonable in these circumstances for the Administrative Tribunal, in one
and the same part of its Judgement, to consider and dispose of al1the

allegations ofinjury to the applicant resulting from thatparticularconduct
of the respondent.

58. In his application to the Committee, however, Mr. Faslacontends
that the award of damages made by the Tribunal "was solelyin compen-
sation for Respondent's failure to take al1reasonable steps to fulfill its
legal obligation to find another position for Applicant". Inshort he refers
to the particular plea filed by him as plea (i) in his application to the
Tribunal (para. 44 above). Since, as already indicated, the Tribunal did
iiot pronounce on each specific head of claim, but examined on a global
basis and in succession the questions of violation of staff rules or regu-
lations, of specific relief and of monetary compensation for the injury
sustained, there is no suggestion in the terms of the Judgement that the
Tribunal's decision awarding dainages was connected with only one
among the inter-related pleas filed by the applicant.

59. The preceding observations show that it was not unreasonable for
the Tribunal to consider jointly and make a single award for the damage
to the professional reputation and career prospects of the applicant
together with the damage resulting from the inadequate observance of
the commitment to seek new employment for him. The question however
remains whether the Tribunal, in awarding damages, did in fact consider
and take into account both aspects of his case. From the text of paragraph
XII1 of the Judgement it appears that in awarding damages the Tribunal

based itself on the following consideration among others:

"Havitlg regard to the Jindings of the Joint Appeals Board inits
report of 3 Jirne 1970 (paragraph 45) and to the fact that UNDP
refused tomakefurther efforts to findan assignment for the Applicant
after agreeing to correct the fact sheet ..."(Emphasis added.)

The reasoning of the Judgement thus incorporates by reference the
findings of the Joint Appeals Board in paragraph 45 of its report. Para-
graph 45 contains the follnwiiig sub-paragraph:195 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISOR OYPINION)

"(e) UNDP's efforts to assign the appellant elsewhere were
inadequate especially since the fact sheet was incomplete.
It is the view of the Board that, as a result of these facts, the
performance record of the appellant is incomplete and mis-

leading and that this seriously aflected /lis candidac.~,for a
furtlier extension of'his contract or jbr employment by other
agencies." (Emphasis added.)

From the concluding sentence of this sub-paragraph, which the Tribunal
reproduced in its Judgement, it is clear that in making the award the
Tribunal considered and took into account, it~teralia,the damage inflicted
on the professional reputation znd career prospects of the applicant

by the circulation of the fact-sheet; for the Tribunal clearly recognized
that the circulation of that fact-sheet had "seriously affected hiscandidacy
for a further extension of his contract or for employment by other
agencies". In short, the Tribunal applied its mind to the basic act of the
respondent which gave rise to the claimfor damages-the circulation ofan
incomplete fact-sheet-and not merely to one of its consequences,
namely, that the efforts to seek a new position for the applicant had, for
that very reason, not been fully adequate. Thus the Tribunal went to the
root of the matter and, in accordance with its Statute (Art. 9), fixed the
amount of compensation to be paid to the applicant in lieu ofspecific
performance, taking into account the "injury sustained" by him resulting
from the refusal to circulate an appropriately corrected fact-sheet to
potential employers.

60. It is necessary to add certain observations which confirm this

conclusion. Article 9, paragraph 1, of the Tribunal's Statute, which
governs the power of the Tribunal to award compensation, begins by
providing that theTribunal, if it finds that the applicationwellfounded,
"shall order the rescinding of the decision contested or the specific
performance of the obligation invoked". An order of this kind normally
constitutes the basic content of a decision of the Tribunal in favour of an
applicant. The immediately following sentence of Article 9, paragraph 1,
adds that:

"At the same time the Tribunal shall fix the amount of compen-
sation to be paid to the applicant for the injury sustained should
the Secretary-General, within thirty days'of the notification of the
judgement, decide, in the interest of the United Nations, that the
applicant shall be compensated without further action being taken
in his case; .."
Thus, the damages to be awarded by the Tribunal are of a subsidiary

character, inthe sensethat they are grantedin lieu of specificperformance.
The power of the Tribunal to award damages in lieu of specific perfor-
mance has been interpreted by the Tribunal as also empowering it toaward damages when it finds that it is not possibletoremedy thesituation
by ordering the rescinding of the decision contested or specific perfor-
mance of the obligation invoked.
61. In the present case the "specific performance" which could have
been ordered by the Tribunal was not merely that further, undefined,
efforts should be made to obtain a position for the applicant but that
those efforts should consistin the circulation to the personnel departments
of the United Nations and specialized agencies of a completed and
corrected fact-sheet giving a fuller picture of the applicant's past perfor-
mance as an officialof the United Nations.This is implicit inthe statement
made in paragraph XII1 of the Judgement that in assessing damages the
Tribunal had had regard "to the fact that UNDP refused to make further
efforts to find an assignment for the Applicant after agreeing to correct
the fact sheet bytaking into consideration the periodic reports which were
previously missing .. .".

62. The Tribunal held in the present case that, in view of the negative
position taken by the respondent as to the possibility or usefulness of
making further efforts for obtaining a new position for the applicant,
compensation was due without waitingfor a new decision bythe Secretary-
General within the 30-day period referred to in Article 9, paragraph 1.
The payment of compensation to an applicant depends on a decision by
the Secretary-General that no further action shall be taken in his case, and
in this particular instance the Tribunal already had before it such a
decision. Ttwould have served no purpose and indeed not have been in
the applicant's interest to await the repetition of that decision. In the
circumstances, this was not an unreasonable way of applying Article 9,
paragraph 1, of the Tribunal's Statute.
63. Compensation was therefore awarded, as the Judgement states,
"in lieu of specific performance", such compensation to constitute
"sufficient and adequate relief" for the injury sustained. lt follows that
the amount awarded as compensation did not merely seek to provide,
as contended by the applicant, relief for the non-execution of the obli-
gation to seek a new post for him, but was also intended to cover
that particular form of restitution which would have consisted in the
circulation of a completed and corrected fact-sheet. Such a circulation
among the recipients of the original letters would have provided specific
relief forthe harmful effects resulting for the applicant from the previous
circulation of the incomplete fact-sheet. This confirms that the award
of damages was also intended to comprise compensation for the injury
to the applicant's professional reputation and career prospects.

64. In his application to the Committee the applicant asserts that the
Tribunal's decision constituted a woefully inadequate judgement. This
could be interpreted as a disagreement with the adequacy of the amount
awarded. The hypothesis of a failure to exercise jurisdiction on account197 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISOR OYPINION)

of the extreme paucity of an award would only arise in the event of there
being such a discrepancy between the findings of a tribunal and the
remedy granted that the award in question could be viewed as going
beyond the exercise of reasonable discretion. On such a hypothesis, the
obvious unreasonableness of the award could be taken into account in

determining whether there had been a "failure to exercise jurisdiction",
within the meaning givento this term by the Courtin paragraphs 50and 51
above; and it might lead to the conclusion that the Tribunal had not in
substance and in fact exercised its jurisdiction with respect to the issue
of compensation. But except in such an extreme case, once a tribunal
has pronounced on the amount of compensation to be paid for a wrongful
act, it has exercised its jurisdiction on the matter, regardless of whether
it allows the fullmount claimed or allows only in part the compensation
requested.
65. In the present case the Administrative Tribunal found itself in the
situation of havingto translate the injury sustained by the applicant into
monetary terms. In this respect the Tribunal possesses a wide margin of
discretion within the broad principle that reparation must, as far as
possible, wipe out al1the consequences of the illegal act and re-establish
the situation which would, in al1probability, have existed if that act had
not been committed. This power of appreciation of the Tribunal is
subject to the rule provided for in the concluding words of paragraph 1
of Article 9 of its Statute:

"...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,rder the payment
of a higher indemnity. A statement of the reasons for the Tribunal's
decision shall accompany each such order."

This rule does iiot require the Tribunal to state in every judgement
whether or not it is confronted with an exceptional case, but only to do
so in judgements in which it has decided to "order the payment of a
higher indemnity". Moreover, even under this rule, the discretion given
to the Tribunal is a wide one. If the Court were acting in this case as a
court of appeal, it might be entitled to reach its own conclusions as to the
amount of damages to be awarded, but this is not the case. In view of the
gi'ounds of objection upon which the present proceedings are based, and
of the considerations stated above, the Court must confine itself to
concluding that there isno such unreasonableness intheaward as to make
it fa11outside the limits of the Tribunal's discretion. This being so, the
Tribunal cannot be considerec: as having failed to exercise its jurisdiction
in this respect. In reaching this conclusion the Court has taken account

of the fact that in paragraph XII1 of the Judgement, when fixing the
amount of compensatior,, the Tribunal referred to "the circumstances
of the case". Regard must therefore be had to various circumstancesof fact appearing from the documentation before the Tribunal which
may have been relevant for its determination. Among them the following
may be noted:

(1) The report on the applicant's service in Yemen, which the Tribunal
invalidated, was not circulated, and remained intheUNDP Personnel
Division.
(2) While the Joint Appeals Board qualified the performance record as
"incomplete and misleading", the Tribunal described the fact-sheet
in its own words as "incomplete, if not inaccurate" and the infor-
mation as having "serious gaps". The three ratingscirculated included
a favourable onein which the applicant was described as "an efficient
staff member giving complete satisfaction", but also two in which
he was described as "a staffmember who maintains only a minimum
standard".
(3) The Tribunal found that the applicant had raised no objection to,
and had no grounds for contesting, the decision to grant him special
leave with pay from 10 September 1969 till the expiration of his
contract on 31 December 1969.
(4) The Judgement itself, which is a public United Nations document,
vindicated in several respects certain claims of the applicant.

Account has also to be taken of the fact that the number of months of
salary by reference to which the Tribunal determined the amount of its
award was the same as the number of months of salary adopted by the
Joint Appeals Board as the measure of the ex gratia payment which it
had recommended in its report of 3 June 1970.

66. The second contention in the application io the Committee is that
the Tribunal failed to exercise itsjurisdictionecause, although it found
that the respondent had not performed his legal obligations with respect
to the applicant, it

"...nevertheless unjustifiably refused to fully consider Applicant's
request for the reimbursement of the unavoidable and reasonable
costs in excess of normal litigation costs involved in presenting his
claims to the Joint Appeals Board and the Administrative Tribunal,
and refused to order compensation therefor".

The claim referred to is set out in plea (m) in the application to the
Tribunal in the followingwords:

"Payment to the Applicant of the sum of $1,000.00for expenses
in view of the fact that, although the Applicant was represented by
a member of the Panel of Counsel, the complexity of the case199 APPLICATION FOR REVlEW (ADVISOR OYPINION)

necessitated the Applicant's travel from California to New York
in May 1970as well as frequent transcontinental telephone calls to
the Applicant's Counsel before and after that date."

67. ln support of his second contention Mr. Fasla invokes, interalia,
general principles of law and the case law of the Tribunal itself; as
establishing itsjurisdiction and competence to award costs to a successful
applicant. He then maintains that the Tribunal failed to address itself
fully to the question of costs: for the Judgement, although mentioning
costs in a summary fashion, rejected a demand for counsel's fees which
had never been made, but made no reference to the actual costs prayed

for. Rkcalling his success before the Tribunal in obtaining an award of
compensation and the invalidation of the periodic report on his service in
Yemen, he maintains that these and other elements of the decision showed
that he was justified in pursuing his claims. This being so, he further
maintains that the Tribunal refused fully to consider his request for the
reimbursement of expenses; for, without stating any standards or reasons,
the Tribunal said simply that it saw no justification for the request and
rejected it. As to theexpenses in question, he refers to the complexity
of the case, the longuration of the appellate process, the necessity of his
residing in California andthe consequential expenses involved in commu-
nicating and consulting with his counsel. These expenses, he maintains,
werereasonable, could not have been avoided otherwise than byextremely
inefficient and ineffectiveeans, and were in excess of normal litigation
costs before the Tribunal. Referring to what he calls a consistent pattern
in previous Judgements of awarding costs to successful applicants, he

stresses that he was not claiming costs for the assistance ofide counsel
such as had been disallowed in the more recent practice of the Tribunal.
However, he maintains that the costs, other than counsel's fees, which
he incurred were necessary, unavoidable andin exsessof normal litigation
expenses before the Tribunal;and that the Tribunal has previously found
that it had jurisdiction to award such costs.

68. The claim to costs was mentioned by theTribunal at the beginning
of its Judgement among the applicant's claims to substantial relief. The

Tribunal's decision in regard to costs was, no doubt, somewhat laconic
(para. XVII of the Judgement):
"The Applicant requests payment of one thousand dollars for
exceptional costs in preparing the case. Since the Applicant had the assistance of a member of the panel of counsel, the Tribunal finds

this request unfounded and rejects it."

This decision has, however, to be read in the light of the history of the
question of the award of costs by the Tribunal. Although not expressly
empowered by its Statute to award costs, the Tribunal did so in some of

itsearly cases on the basis of what it considered to be an inherent power.
In 1950, this power was questioned by the Secretary-General, who
contended that: (a) the Tribunal was without authority under its Statute
to tax costs against the losing party and (b) even if the Tribunal decided
that it had competence to assess costs they should be sGictly limited and
not include al1 types of actual costs. After consideration of the legal
issues involved the Tribunal formally adopted on 14 December 1950a
statement of policy on the matter which, inter alia, provided:

"4. In view of the simplicity of the proceedings of the Adminis-
trative Tribunal, as laid down in its rules, the Tribunal will not, as
a general rule, consider the question of granting costs to applicants
whose claims have been sustained by the Tribunal.

5. In exceptional cases, the Tribunal may, however, grant a
compensation for such costs if rhey are demotlstrated to llave been
irnavoidable,if they are reasonablein amount, and if the!. exceed
tlie normal expenses of litigation before the Tribunal.

6. In particular, it will not be the policy of the Tribunal to award
costs covering fees of legal counsel with respect to cases which do

not involve special difficulties." (Emphasis added.)

To this it may be added that the Secretariat has established a panel of
counsel in disciplinary and appeal cases. The counsel, drawn from the
Secretariat, are assigned to assist applicants as part of theirfficialduties
and receive secretarial assistance and other support services. This assis-
tance is available to staff members without cost. As recognized by Mr.

Fasla, it has been the normal practice of the Tribunal, since the creation
of the panel of counsel, not to award costs for the assistance of outside
counsel.
69. Mr. Fasla cornplains that the Judgement rejected a demand for
counsel's fees which had never been made but did not mention the
actual costs prayed for, namely his exceptional costs. But this reading
of the Judgement does not appear to be correct. The Tribunal first
recalled expressly that he had requested compensation for "exceptional
costs in preparing the case" and went on to state: "since the applicant
had the assistance of a member of the panel of counsel, the Tribunal

38finds this request unfoundedand rejects it" (emphasis added). This would
seem to be simply a terse, and somewhat oblique, way of saying that the
Tribunal did not find the case one for the award of exceptional costs.
Furthermore, under the Tribunal's Statement of Policy adopted on

14December 1950,referred to above, it is clear that the award of costs is
a matter within its discretion; and that there is always an onusprobandi
upon the applicant to demonstrate that the costs have been unavoidable,
reasonable in amount and in excess of the normal expenses of litigation
before the Tribunal. The question of costs istherefore very much a matter
for the appreciation of the Tribunal in each case.

70. In the circumstances the Court does not think that the contention
that the Tribunal failed to exercisejurisdiction vested in it with respect
to costs is capable of being sustained. The Tribunal manifestly addressed
its mind to the question and exercised itsjurisdiction by deciding against
the applicant'sclaim. Thereforethiscontention turns out to concern not a
failure by the Tribunal to exerciseitsjurisdiction butan appeal against its
decision on the merits. In so far as this contention is a challenge to the
Judgement on the ground of any inadequacy in the motivation of the
decision, it falls to be considered not in the present context ofafailure to
exercisejurisdiction but in that of the second question put to the Court

as to whether there has been a fundamental error in procedure which has
occasioned a failure ofjustice (see paras. 97-98 below.)

71. The third contention in the application to the Committee is that
the Tribunal failed to exercise its jurisdiction in that it did not directthe
Secretary-General to recalculate the applicant's rate of remuneration
while posted to Yemen on the basis of the actual duration of his assign-
ment there. The claim referred to is set out in the supplementary appli-
cation to the Administrative Tribunal, in the following words:

"(b) Recalculation by the Respondent of the Applicant's salary
and allowances in Yemen on the basis of the actual duration
of the Applicant's assignment there, and payment to the
Applicant of the difference between the recalculated amount
and the amount the Applicant received."
In support of that contention Mr. Fasla invokes Article 9, paragraph 1,
of the Tribunal's Statute. He refers to his posting to Yemen in September
1968and his precipitate recall to Headquarters in May 1969;the payment

of his salary and allowances while in Yemen at the lower rate of a staff
member assigned to a post for longer than one year; the Secretary-
General's admission before the Joint Appeals Board that they would
have been recalculated if he had been assigned to another post within the
39year; the Secretary-General's argument that the applicant had never

been reassigned from Yemen; and the rejection of that argument by the
Joint Appeals Board, which found that his duty station had been changed
on 22 May 1969. The Tribunal, in Mr. Fasla's view, failed to draw the
necessary legal conclusion from these circumstances and, by not granting
the sameform ofrecognition and remedy asinthe caseof the respondent's
obligation to seek a new post for him, failed to exerciseitsjurisdiction.

72. The claim under this head was recited at the beginning of the
Judgement. Subsequently the Tribunal summarized the history of this
claim before the Joint Appeals Board, which made no recommendation
on it, because it was not covered by the Staff Regulations or Rules or by
administrative instructions, but recommended an ex gratia payment in
the amount of any losses that the applicant could show that he had
suffered as a consequence of his precipitate recall from Yemen. The

Judgement also transcribed the dissenting opinion which the member of
the Joint Appeals Board elected by the staff had made in support of the
claim. After summarizing the applicant's and respondent's arguments on
the question, the Tribunal devoted paragraph XV of its Judgement to
dealing with this claim. The Tribunal set out the text of Staff Rule 103.22
(c), invoked by the applicant, and stated:

"The Tribunal observes that this text leaves the Respondent a
margin of discretion with respect to the payment of an assignment
allowance: it is possible for the allowance to be paid for a stay of
less than one year. In addition, the text lays down a very strict rule:
the subsistence allowance is payable only where an assignment
allowance has not been paid. In the present case, however, the
Applicant received an assignment allowance and is therefore not
entitled,under the Staff Rules, to a subsistence allowance."

In the light of this statement it is difficult to perceive the basis for the
contention made in the application to the Committee that the Tribunal
did not consider or discuss the matter, since it specificallydealt with this
particular claimin paragraph XV of itsJudgement and reached a concrete
decision rejecting it as ill-founded.
73. In the same paragraph XV of the Judgement, the Tribunal also
referred to the Joint Appeals Board recommendation for an ex gratia

payment in the amount of any losses that the applicant could show to
have resulted from his recall and to the fact that the Secretary-General
had agreed to make such an ex gratiapayment, and added:

"...in view of the above decision concerning the subsistence allow-

ance, the Applicant is entitledto take advantage of the possibility offered by the Respondent withiil a reasonable period of time from

this judgement ..."(eniphasis added).
To give effect to this decision the Tribunal. in the operative part of the
Judgement, provided that:

"3. An? requests for paynieiit made in accordance witli paragraph
XV abobe shall be submitted, together with the necessary supporting
evidence. by the Applicai-itto the Respondent within a period of two
nioiiths froni the date of this judgement."
Having regard to the applicant's initiation of review proceedings, the

Court is of the opinioii that this terni of two nionths should not be
regarded as expired but should be considered to ruii only from the date
when the Judgement becomes final in accordance with paragrapli 3 of
Article II of the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal.
74. Accordingly, the contention that the Tribunal failed to exercise
its jurisdiction with respect to the claini for recalculation of the rate of
remuneration is not sustainable on the face of the Judgement. The
Tribunal nianifestly addressed its mind to the applicant's claim, referred
specifically to it and exercised its jurisdiction by deciding to reject it.
The complaint tlius again turnsout to concern nota failure bythe Tribunal
to exercise its jurisdiction but an appeal agaii~st its treatrnent of the
rnerits of the claiin.

75. In his application to the Committee, Mr. Fasla alleges that the
Tribunal did not order the correction of his fact-sheet and that gaps in
his employment record which were still in existence had not been filled.
This allegation may be interpreted as a complaint tliat the Tribuilal
failed to exerciseitsjurisdiction with respect to plea (r/ in the application

to the Tribunal, which reads as follows:
"Correction and completion of the Applicant's Fact Sheet which
is intended for circulation both within and outside the UNDP, with
al1 the required Periodic Reports and evaluations of work; alter-
natively, payment by the Respondent to the Applicant of two years'
net base salary."

In the written statement of his views submitted to the Court, Mr. Fasla
specifically complains that the Tribunal failed to exercise its jurisdiction
with respect to this particular plea among others.
76. The Tribunal, while not mentioning this plea specifically, applied
its mind to itby stating, in paragrapli VI11of the Judgement:

"The preparation of a corrected fact sheet becomes ineailingless once UNDP decided not to take the necessary further steps to find
the Applicant a new assignment."

The obvious inference from the Tribunal's statement is that to allow the
specific relief claimed would no longer serve any useful purpose. Thus
to state its conclusion by implication is one of the ways in which a
tribunal may, and not infrequently does, exercise its jurisdiction with
respect to a particular plea.

77. In his a~~lication to the Committee Mr. Fasla also contends that
Article 9, pa;agraph 3, of the Tribunal's Statute imposes upon the
Tribunal the duty to award compensation when the wrong cannot be
provided forin paragraph 1 of ~rticle 9. In support
remedied bythe relief
of this contention he invokes the text of paragraph3,which provides that,
where applicable, "compensation shall be fixed by the Tribunal". After
noting the use of the imperative "shall", he submits that the correct
construction of paragraph 3 deprives the Tribunal of any discretion to
refrain fromawarding compensation where the wrong cannot be remedied
by the rescinding of the decision or the specific performance of the obli-
gation. This is an interpretation to which the Court cannot subscribe.
Paragraph 3 inay not be interpreted in isolation from paragraph 1.The
introductory words of paragraph 3, "in al1applicable cases", refer back
to paragraph 1 and only comprise tliose cases in which compensation
must be awarded under that first paragraph. This interpretation is
confirmed by the text of paragraph 3 in other officia1languages. Thus
the paragraph does not impose an obligation or confer a power on the
Tribunal to award compensation in circumstances other than those
provided for in paragraph 1.

78. The Court will now proceed to consider the basic contentions ad-
vanced by Mr. Fasla in the statement of his viewssubmitted to the Court
which concern the exercise of the discretionary powers of the administra-
tion and dlege the existence in this case of improper motives constituting
a misuse of power. It may be open to doubt how far these contentions,
which were not fully adduced in the application presented to the Com-
mittee, faIl strictly within the contentions referred to in the first question
put to the Court. The Court, however, as it has previously stated,does not
consider that it should adopt a restrictive interpretation of the question.
It will therefore examine those contentions and, in deciding to do so, it

takes particular account of the fact that in the application to theCom-
mittee, and with regard to the ground of failure to exercisejurisdiction,
reference was made to "misuse of powers with improper motive".
79. In his statement of views Mr. Fasla contends that it was as a con-sequence of his reporting serious administrative irregularities in the
UNDP office in Yemen that he was recalled from his post there; he
further contends that the failure of the Secretary-General to renew his
fixed-term contract was "an intentional or negligent consequence" of the
efforts made by Mr. Fasla, particularly in a report dated 17January 1969,

to deal with the conditions existing in that office. He points out in this
respect that, intaking this action and informing his superiors of what he
felt was an unsatisfactory situation, he was fulfilling his duties under the
Staff Regulations, since by accepting an appointment with the United
Nations, he had pledged hiinselfto discharge hir functions and to regulate
his conduct "with the interests of the United Nations only in view". He
then asserts that the failure of the United Nations Administrative Tribu-
nal to investigate the link between his efforts in the Yemen office and the
decisions concerning his recall and non-renewal of contract constituted
what he describes as the most fundamental failure of the Administrative
Tribunal to exercisethe jurisdiction vested in it.
80. The allegations thus advanced assume that the two basic adminis-
trative decisions which vitally affected Mr. Fasla in 1969, his recall from
Yemen and the non-renewal of his fixed-term contract, were the reaction
of the administration to the attitude which he had taken in denouncing
serious administrative irregularities.This impliesthe assertion that he was
persecuted not only for having exercised his rights but for having per-
formed his obligations in the interests of the United Nations; it also
implies that those administrative decisions were determined by improper

or extraneous motivation.

81. The adoption by the General Assembly of the Statute of the Ad-
ministrative Tribunal and the jurisprudence developed by this judicial
organ constitute a system ofjudicial safeguards which protects officialsof
the United Nations against wrongful action of the administration, in-
cluding such exercise of discretionary powers as may have been deter-
mined by improper motives, in violation of the rights or legitimate
expectations of a staff member. tn view of the existence of this system of
judicial safeguards, and in line with the position now taken before the
Court, it would have been the proper course for Mr. Fasla to have chal-
lenged before the United Nations Administrative Tribunal the validity
of the two decisions, of recall and non-renewal, on the grounds alleged,
namely, that they violated his rights, interfered with the performance of
his duties to the Organization, and wereinspired byimproper motivation.
82. However, in his application to the United Nations Administrative
Tribunal, Mr. Fasla did not request the Tribunal to rescind, on the
grounds of illegality or improper motivation, the decisions concerning
his recall from Yemen and the non-renewal of his fixed-term contract.
Under the Rules of Procedure of the Tribunal each application must
specify "the decisions which the applicant is contesting and whose rescis-

sion he is requesting under Article 9, paragraph 1, of the Statute". The
pleas submitted to the Administrative Tribunal, transcribed in paragraph44 above, do not however refer to these two basic decisions, and this
indicated that they werenot disputed by the applicant. Thus, with respect

to the recall from Yemen, the specificplea submitted as plea (b) of the
supplementary application only concerned certain economic conse-
quences of his recall from Yemen. The other pleas for rescission or
specificperformance were submitted on the assumption that the original
fixed-term contract had expired, since pleas (e) and (g) concerned the
non-fulfilment of the obligation assumed by the Secretary-General to
make efforts to seek a new position for Mr. Fasla. Prejudice was invoked
not as a basis for the rescission of any administrative decision but as a
ground for compensation (plea (j)). The only request for rescission with
respect to which the claim of prejudice was relevant was plea (f), con-
cerning the invalidation of the report prepared in September 1970. As
to plea (d) its scope will be examined separately. Al1 the other pleas
claimed only compensation (pleas (h), (i),(k), (1), (m), (il),and pleas
(a) and (c) of the supplementary application). In other words, the ap-
plicant was;basing his claim before the Administrative Tribunal on the

inadequacy of the efforts of the Secretary-General to obtain for him a
newcontract,but not ontheillegality or improper motivation of the decis-
ions to recall him from Yemen and not to renewhis fixed-term contract.
83. In these circumstances, the Administrative Tribunal was justified
in finding, as it did in paragraph III of its Judgement, that although the
applicant had requested the Tribunal (in plea (d)) to order the Secretary-
General to restore hm to the status quoante, such a claim was not based
on the right to have his contract extended. In the same paragraph the
Tribunal found that the request concerning further employment depended
on the pleas that the Secretary-General be ordered to correct and com-
plete Mr. Fasla's fact-sheet and make serious efforts to place him in a
suitable post.

84. The explanatory statement accompanying the pleas confirms the
correctness of this conclusion of the Tribunal. In the arguments then
advanced in support of the pleas, frequent reference was made to irregu-
larities inthe Yemenoffice, but it wasneverasserted, as is now vigorously
contended before the Court, that it had been as a consequence of the
efforts displayed by Mr. Fasla to correct such irregularities that he had
been recalled from Yemen and that his contract had not beenprolonged.
On the contrary, that explanatory statement mentioned that Mr. Fasla
had requested on his own initiative to be recalled from Yemen before the
expiry of his assignment.
85. Inasmuch as the applicant had not sought from theAdministrative
Tribunal the rescission of the decisions of recall and non-renewal on the
grounds of their illegalityand improper motivation, it is obvious that the
Administrative Tribunal could not have been expected to go into these
issuesproprio motu, or proceed on its own account to an examination ofor inquiry into these matters. While the Administrative Tribunal under
its Statute and in accordance with itsjurisprudence examines the alleged-
ly improper motivation of an administrative decision, and under its
Rules of Procedure may arrange any measures of inquiry as may be

necessary, it results from its character as "an independent and truly
judicial body" (I.C.J. Reports 1954,p. 53)that it can only proceed to in-
quiries of that kind on the basis of a plea from the aggrieved party for
rescission of the contested decision and a specificallegation by that party
that that decision has been inspired by improper or extraneous motiva-
tion. Equally, it would not have been appropriate for the Court to proceed
on its own to such an inquiry under Articles 48 to 50 of its Statute. The
Court's abstention from carrying out an inquiry into the administrative
situation in Yemen or into the motives of the decision to recall the
applicant from there does not mean that, in review proceedings, the
Court regards itself as precluded from examining in full liberty the facts
of the case or from checking the Tribunal's appreciation of the facts.
Such an inquiry would have beendirected to facts and allegations invoked
to substantiate claims and submissions not advanced by the applicant
before the Administrative Tribunal. An inquiry into those matters could
have no place in review proceedings designed to determine whether the
Tribunal had failed to exercise its jurisdiction, a question which neces-
sarily relates only to claims and submissions presented to the Tribunal.

86. Furti-rermore the documentation before the Tribunal permitted it
to verify the motivation which had determined the decision of recall.
After having received the applicant's denunciations of irregularitiesin the
management of the Yemen office, the administration had in February
1969sent a senior officia1to visit that officeand report on the measures
to be taken. His report, the submission of whch to the Tribunal was in-
sisted upon by the applicant in his plea (a), and which contained favour-
able comment on Mr. Fasla's efforts in Yemen, dealt in its conclusions
with the management of the Yemen office. On this point the report
advised that Mr. Fasla could "continue in charge of the office during the
immediate period of [the Resident Representative's] absence"; at the
same time, however, it recommended that "in the interest of competent
field representation and operation it would be advisable to move him out
of the Yemen Arab Republic as well".
87. These circumstances suffice to explain why the Court isunable to
accept the contention that the Administrative Tribunal failed to exercise
its jurisdiction in that it did not enquire into the situation in the Yemen
office. No tribunal can be fairly accused of failure to have exercised the
jurisdiction vested in it on the ground that it failed to make an inquiry or
a finding of fact which was not required in order to adjudicate on the case
presented to it,ad which none of the parties asked it to make. One must

bear in mind the principle previously recalled by the Court, that it is the
duty of an international tribunal 'bot only to reply to the questions as
stated in the final submissions of the parties, but also to abstain fromdeciding points not indicated in those submissions" (I.C.J. Reports

1950, p. 402).

88. The Court must now take up the second question in the request for
advisory opinion, which requires it to determine whether the Tribunal
has committed a fundamental error in procedure which has occasioned a
failure ofjustice as contended in the application to the Committee.

89. The contentions in the above document with regard to "a funda-
mental error in procedure which has occasioned a failure ofjustice" may
be summarized as follows. First, Mr. Fasla contends that the "failure of
justice" was apparent from the facts he had alleged with regard to failure
to exercise jurisdiction and from the information contained in the an-
nexes to his application; and that a woefully inadequate judgement had
resulted from the failure of the Tribunal to utilize its establishedproce-
dure and method of dealing with applications. Secondly, he contends
that the Tribunal had not proceeded "to fully consider and pass upon"
various pleas and requests, contrary to its normal practice and to what he
termed the well-established general principle that a court ofjustice must

analyse and decide al1claims properly brought before it, with a reasoned
explanation of its conclusions and factual support therefor. Thirdly, he
contends that the failure even to mention claims was a deviation from
normal judicial procedure constituting fundamental error.

90. Under this question the Court has to determine, first, what is the
meaning and scope of the provision in Article 11 which allows a judge-
ment to be challenged on the ground "that the Tribunal.. .has committed
a fundamental error in procedure which has occasioned a failure of
justice"; and, secondly, in what respects, if any, the facts before itclose
such a fundamentalerror in procedure in the present case.
91. "A fundamental fault in the procedure" is one of the two grounds
of challenge contained in Article XII of the Statute of the ILOAdmini-
strative Tribunal, and it was in a similar forrn-"fundamental error in
procedure"-that this ground was incorporated in the draft of a new
Article 11 of the Statute of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal
recommended to the General Assembly by the Special Committee on
Review of Administrative Tribunal Judgements in 1955. The words
"which has occasioned a failure of justice" were introduced at the
499th meeting of the Fifth Committee on the proposa1 of the Indian

delegation, who had stated that:
"Another ground for review provided in the proposed new Article
11 was the commission of a fundamental error in procedure. The use of the word 'fundamental' was intended to preclude review on
account of trivial errors in procedure or errors that were not of a
substantial nature. Inorder to make the intention clearer, the Indian
delegation would suggest that the phrase 'which has occasioned a

failure of justice' should be inserted after the words 'fundamental
error in procedure' in the text of the article."

The additional phrase was not, therefore, intended to alter the scope of
this ground of challenge, still less to create an independent ground of
objection, but merely to provide an indication as to the meaning of the
word "fundamental"; and in accepting the Indian proposa1 the Fifth
Committee seems to have assumed that it did not involve any change in
the substance of the original draft. One delegate indeed observed that "a
fundamental error in procedure clearly implied a failure of justice".
92. It may not be easy to state exhaustively what is involved in the
concept of "a fundamental error in procedure which has occasioned a
failure ofjustice". But the essence of it, in the cases before the Adminis-
trative Tribunal, may be found in the fundamental right of a staffmember
to present his case, either orally or in writing, and to have it considered by
the Tribunal before it determines his rights. An error in procedure is
fundamental and constitutes "a failure of justice7'when it is of such a
kind as to violate the oficial's right to a fair hearing as above definedand
in that senseto deprive him ofjustice. To put the matter in that way does

not provide a complete answer to the problem of determining precisely
what errors in procedure are covered by the words of Article 11.Butcer-
tain elementsoftheright to afair hearing are well recognized and provide
criteria helpful in identifying fundamental errors in procedure whichhave
occasioned a failure of justice: for instance, the right to an independent
and impartial tribunal established by law; the right to have the case
heard and determined within a reasonable time; the right to a reasonable
opportunity to present the case to the tribunal and to comment upon the
opponent's case; the right to equaiity in the proceedings vis-à-vis the
opponent; and the right to a reasoned decision.
93. Mr. Fasla, both in his application to the Committee and in his
written statement and comments transmitted to the Court, to a large
extent pleads failure to exercise jurisdiction and fundamental error in
procedure as alternative or joint grounds upon which to formulate what
appear to be essentially the same complaints concerning the Tribunal's
handling of his case. In consequence, many of the considerations which
apply to his contentions in regard to the former ground apply also to his
contentions concerning the latter. For the most part, these contentions
appear to be complaints against the Tribunal's adjudication of the merits
of the claims, rather'than assertions of errors in procedure in the proper

sense of that term. In so far as they may be said to touch matters of
procedure, they appear, with one exception, to be dealt with in the next
paragraph, to express disagreement with the Tribunal's determinations
of the procedure to be followed in the light of itsappreciation ofthe factsand merits of the case, rather than to allegeerrors in procedure within the
meaning of Article 11.This is shown, for instance, in the complaint that
the Tribunal failed to exercise its jurisdiction and committed an error in

procedure when it declared relevant to the case only one part of the
document production of which was requested by the applicant in his
plea (b), and limited itself to taking note of the declaration of the re-
spondent with respect to the document requested in plea (c). Subject to
the one question which now requires separate examination, Mr. Fasla's
contentions do not raise matters whch constitute errors in procedure in
the true sense of that term.

94. The one exception is the complaint that the Tribunal's decisions
rejecting the claims were not supported by any adequate reasoning. This
complaint does, in the opinion of the Court, concern an alleged error in
procedure in the proper sense of the term, and is of a kind to cal1 for
consideration under the provision in Article 11relating to a fundamental
error in procedure which has occasioned a failure of justice. The Secre-

tary-General, in his written statement, contends that a failure to state the
reason on whichevery part of ajudgement of the Administrative Tribunal
is based is not a ground included among serious departures from a
fundamental rule of procedure, for although the Secretary-General
explicitly mentioned the possibility of including this among the grounds
for review when Article 11of the Tribunal's Statute was drafted, this was
not done. The Court is unable to accept this contention. The fact that
failure to state reasons was not expresslymentioned in the list of grounds
for review does not exclude the possibility that failure to state reasons
may constitute one of the errors in procedure comprised in Article 11.
Not only is it of the essence of judicial decisions that they should be
reasoned, but Article 10, paragraph 3, of the Tribunal's Statute, which
this Court has found to be a provision "of an essentiallyjudicial char-
acter" (I.C.J. Reports 1954, p. 52), requires that: "the judgements shall
state the reasons on which they are based."
95. While a statement of reasons is thus necessary to the validity of a
judgement of the Tribunal, the question remains as to what form and
degree of reasoning will satisfythis requirement. Theapplicantappears to

assume that, for a judgment to be adequately reasoned, every particular
plea has to be discussed and reasons given for upholding or rejecting each
one. But neither practice nor principle warrants so rigorous an interpreta-
tion of the rule, which appears generally to be understood as simply
requiring that a judgment shail be supported by a stated process of
reasoning. This statement must indicate in a general way the reasoning
upon which the judgment is based; but it need not enter meticulously into
every claim and contention on either side. While a judicial organ is
obliged to pass upon al1the forma1submissions made by a Party, itis notobliged, in framingits judgment, to develop its reasoning in the form of a
detailed examination of each of the various heads of claim submitted.
Nor are there any obligatory forms or techniques for drawing up judg-
ments: a tribunal may employ direct or indirect reasoning, and state

specificor merely implied conclusions, provided that the reasons on which
thejudgment is based are apparent. The question whether ajudgment isso
deficient in reasoning as to amount to a denial of the right to a fair
hearing and a failure of justice, is therefore one which necessarily has to
be appreciated in the light both of the particular case and ofthe judgment
as a whole.

96. The general nature of the Judgement in the present case has al-
ready been indicated. The applicant's claims are set out scriatin? ar.d
every one of them is thus mentioned; there is an extensive review of what
the Tribunal considered to be the pertinent facts; there is a substantial
summary of what the Tribunal regarded as the pertinent parts of the
proceedings beîore the Joint Appeals Board; there is a substantial sum-
mary of the arguments of both the applicant andthe respondent; there is
an extensive statement of the reasoning and the conclusions of the
Tribunal in regard to those closely related matters and issues which it
identified as requiring substantial examination. In selecting those matters
and issues the Tribunal followed the pattern of the applicant's explana-
tory statement,which didnot analyseeach pleaseparatelybutconcentrated
on the substantive legal issues. The sequence in the Tribunal's reasoning
thus corresponded in broad lines to the one followed by the applicant

himself in developing his legal grounds in his explanatory statement.
There is, finally, in the Judgement, an operative part making three
affirmative findings and, in accordance with a usual practice of the
Tribunal, rejecting al1 other requests in a single provision. No doubt a
judgment framed in this manner relies to a certain extent on inference and
implication for the understanding of its reasoning in regard to some
particular issues. It is possible however to identify and determine with
precision those parts in the reasoning of the Judgement where each one of
the claims of the applicant is considered. In any event, the question at
issue is not whether the Tribunal might have used different forms or
techniques, or whether more elaborate reasoning might have been con-
sidered as preferable or more adequate. The question is whether the
Judgement was sufficiently reasoned to satisfy the requirements of the
rule that a judgement of the Administrative Tribunal must state the
reasons on which it is based. Having regard to the form and content of
the Judgement, the Court concludes that its reasoning does not fa11short
of the requirements of that rule.

97. Particular consideration is required, however, of the decision re-
49jecting the claim for exceptional costs, which has already been described
as somewhat laconic. The Tribunal merely asserted that the claim for
exceptional costs was unfounded, without indicating the reasons why it
reached that conclusion. The applicant's complaint in this respect is that
the Tribunal, without stating any standards or reasons, said simply that
it did not see anyjustification for the request and flatly rejected it. In this
respect, however, the Statement of Policy adopted by the Tribunal on
14 December 1950 should be taken into account, since it sets the stan-
dards applicable by the Tribunal on the subject. The declaration that the

request for exceptional costs was unfounded must be understood, in the
light of that general statement, as signifying that the applicant, upon
whom lay the orlusprobandi, had not demonstrated that such exceptional
costs had been unavoidable and reasonable inamount.

98. Account must also be taken of the basic principle regarding the
question of costs in contentious proceedings before international tribu-
nals, to the effect that each party shall bear its own in the absence of a
specific decision of the tribunal awarding costs (cf. Article 64 of the
Statute of the Court). An award of costs in derogation of this general
principle, and imposing on one of the parties the obligation to reimburse
expenses incurred by its adversary, requires not only an express decision,
but alsoa statement of reasons insupport. Onthe other hand, the decision
merely to allow the general principle to apply does not necessarily require
detailed reasoning, and may even be adopted by implication. It follows
that on this point also the Judgement of the Administrative Tribunal
cannot be said to be open to challenge on the basis of inadequate reason-

ing, as contended by the applicant.

99. As to Mr. Fasla's request for costs in respect of the review pro-
ceedings, first before the Committee and afterwards before the Court,
there is no occasion for the Court to pronounce upon it. The Court con-
finesitself to the observation that when the Committee finds that there is a
substantial basis for the application, it may be undesirable that any
necessary costs of review proceedings under Article 11 of the Statute of
the Administrative Tribunal should have to be borne by the staffmember.

100. After having stated its conclusions on the questions referred to it,
the Court wishes to reaffirm the opinion which it expressed in paragraph
73above, namely that Mr. Fasla isentitled, in accordance with paragraph
XV of the Administrative Tribunal's Judgement, to a payment in the
amount of any losses suffered as a result of his precipitate recall from213 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISOR OYPINION)

Yemen, and that the period of twomonths fixedin this connection by the
Administrative Tribunal, having been suspended for the duration of the
review proceedings, is to be calculated fromthe date when the Judgement
becomes finalin accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 11of the Statute
of the Tribunal.

101. For these reasons,

by 10 votes to 3,

to comply with the request for an advisory opinion;

with regard to Question 1,
by 9 votes to 4,

that the Administrative Tribunal has not failed to exercisethejurisdic-
tion vested in it as contended in the applicant's application to the Com-
mittee on Applications for Review of Administrative Tribunal Judge-
ments ;

with regard to Question II,

by 10votes to 3,
that the Administrative Tribunal has not committed a fundamental
error in procedure which has occasioned a failure ofjustice as contended
in the applicant's application to the Cornmittee on Applications for

Review of Administrative Tribunal Judgements.

Done in English and in French, the Englishtext being authoritative, at
the Peace Palace, The Hague, this twelfth day ofJuly, one thousand nine
hundred and seventy-three, 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) Manfred LACHS,

President.

(Signed) S. AQUARONE,
Registrar. President LA CH^ makes the following declaration:

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

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

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

Judges FORSTE and NAGENDR SINGH make the following declaration:

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

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

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

1 Hereafterfor conveniencecalledthe Coinmittee.

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

to be indicated to cover al1eventualities.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Tribunal, having reached the conclusion that the

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Initialled)M.L.

(Initialled) S.A.

Bilingual Content

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

REPORTS OF JUDGMENTS,
ADVISORY OPINIONS AND ORDERS

APPLICATIONFOR REVIEWOF JUDGEMENT

No. 158(3FTHE UNITED NATIONS
ADMINISTRATIVETRIBUNAL

ADVISORYOPINION OF 12 JULY 1973

COUR INTERNATIONALE DE JUSTICE

RECUEIL DES ARRÊTS,
AVIS CONSULTATIFS ET ORDONNANCES

DEMANDE DE RÉFORMATION DU JUGEMENT

No 158DU TRIBUNAL ADMINISTRATIF
DES NATIONS UNIES

AVIS CONSULTATIFDU 12JUILLET1973 Officia1citation:
Applicationfor Reviewof JudgementNo. 158 of
the UnitedNations Administrative Tribunal,
Advisory Opinion,.J. Reports 1973,p. 166.

Mode officielde ci:ation
Demandede réformation dujugto 158 du
Tribunaladministratifdes Nations Unies,avis
consultatif,J. Recueil p.166.

sies umiw 381 1
Node vente: 12JULY 1973

ADVISORYOPINION

APPLICATION FORREVIEWOF JUDGEMENT No. 158
OF THE UNITED NATIONSADMINISTRATIVETRIBUNAL

DEMANDE DE RÉFORMAT~ONDU JUGEMENT No 158

DU TRIBUNAL ADMINISTRATIF DES NATIONS UNIES

12JUILLET1973

AVISCONSULTATIF INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

1973 YEAR 1973
12July
GenNo.57ist
12July 1973

APPLICATIONFOR REVIEWOF JUDGEMENT

No. 158OF THE UNITED NATIONS

ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL

ADVISORY OPINION

Request for advisory opinionby the Committee on Application for Review of
Administrative Tribunal Judgements-General Assembly resolution 957 (X)-
Article11 of the Stature of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal-
Competence of the Court-Question whether the body requesting the opinion
is a body duly authorized to request opinions-Articl96 of the Charter
-Legal questions arising within the scope of the activities of the requesting
body-Propriety of the Court'sgiving the opinion-Compatibility of system of
review establishedby resolution (X) withgeneralprinciples governing the
judicial process.
Scope of questions submitted to Court-Naturof task of Court inoceed-
ings instituted by virtue of Article II of Statute of the United Nations Admin-
istrative Tribunal.
Objection to Judgement on ground of failure by Administrative Tribunal to
exercise jurisdiction vested in it-Tof whether the Tribunal has failed to
exercise jurisdiction-Allega ttitonribunal failed to exercise juris-
diction in that it refused to consider fully claims for costs, failed to direct
recalculation of rate of remuneration and to correction and completionof
employment record-Extent of power of Tribunal to award compensation-
Question of misuse of power by administration.

Objection to Judgement on ground of fundamental error in procedure which
occasioned afailure of justice-Meaninof 'tfundamental error in procedure"
-Absence orinsuficiency of statement of reasonsfor ajudgment asfundamental
error inprocedure-Rejection by the Tribunaloff member's claimfor costs-
Questionof costs of reviewproceedings. COUR INTERNATIONALE DE JUSTICE

12juillet
Rôle géneral
no57

DEMANDEDE REFORMATI DO UN JUGEMENT
No 158DU TRIBUNAL ADMINISTRATIF

DESNATIONSUNIES

AVIS CONSULTATIF

Requêtepour avis consultatif préspar le Comité des demandes de réfor-
mation dejugements du Tribunal administratif desNations Uniesolution
957 (X) de l'Assembléegénéra-e Article II du statut du Tribunaladministra-
tifdes Nations Uni-s Compétence dela Cou- Question de savoirsil'organe
qui a demandéI'avisest un organe dûment autàcet effe- Article 96 de la
Charte - Questions juridiques qui se poseraient dans le cadre de l'activitéde
l'organeauteur dela requê-eOpportunité,pourla Cour, de donner I'avis de-
mandé - Compatibilitédu système deréformation inspar la résolution957
(X) avec les principes généraux enmatière deprocédurejudiciaire.
Portée des questions soumisesa Cour - Nature de la tâche confiàela
Cour dans lesprocédures engagées en vertu deticle II du statut du Tribunal
administratif des Nations Unies.
Contestation du jugementarce que le Tribunai administratif aurait omis
d'exercer sa juridictionCritèrepermettant de déterminersi le Tribunal a
omis d'exercer sa juridictionllégations selon lesquellesle Tribunaln'apas
exercésa juridiction parce qu'ila refuséd'examinerond une demande de
remboursement des dépens,omis d'ordonner un nouveau calcul du taux de
rémunérationet omis defaire rectifier et compléter le dossier-Portée
voir du Tribunal d'accorder une indemn-téQuestion de l'abus de pouvoir
qu'aurait commis l'administration.
qui a provoquéun mal-jugé eSens de l'expression «erreur essentielle» dans la,
procédure- Défaut ouinsuffisancede motifs danslejugement conscomme
une erreur essentielle deprocédureejet, par le Tribunal, de la demande de
remboursement des dépensprésentpar unfonctionnai-e Question des dépens
dans la procédure de réformation.167 APPLICATIONFOR REVlEW (ADVISORY OPINION)

Present: President LACHS;Vice-President AMMOUNJ ;udges FORSTER G,ROS,
BENGZON,ONYEAMA D,ILLARD, DE CASTRO,MOROZOV,JIMÉNEZ
DE ARECHAGAS,ir Humphrey WALDOCKN , AGENDRA SINGH,RUDA;
Registrar AQUARONE.

In thematter of the Application for Review of Judgement No. 158 of the
United Nations Administrative Tribunal,

THECOURT,

composed as above,
gives thefollowing Advisory Opinion:

1. The questions upon which the advisory opinion of the Court has been
asked were laid before the Court by a letter dated 28 June 1972, filed in the
Registry on 3 July 1972, from the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
By that letter the Secretary-General informed the Court that the Committee
on Applications for Review of Administrative Tribunal Judgements, set up
by General Assembly resolution 957 (X), had, pursuant to Article 11 of the
Statute of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal, decided on 20 June
1972 that there was a substantial basis for the application made to that
Committee for review of Administrative Tribunal Judgeinent No. 158,and had
accordingly decided to request an advisory opinion of the Court.The decision
of the Committee. which was set out iri extenso in the Secretary-General's

letter, and certified copies of which in English and French were enclosed
with that letter, read as follows:
"The Committee on Applications for Review of Administrative
Tribunal Judgements has decided that there is a substantial basis within
the meaning of Article 11 of the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal
for the application for the review of Administrative Tribunal Judgement
No. 158, delivered at Geneva on 28 April 1972.
Accordingly, the Committee requests an advisory opinion of the
International Court of Justice on the following questions:

1. Hasthe Tribunal failed to exercisejurisdiction vested in it as contended
in the applicant's application to the Committee on Applications for
Review of Administrative Tribunal Judgements (A/AC 86/R.59)?
2. Has the Tribunal committed a fundamental error in procedure which
has occasioned a failure of justice as contended in the applicant's
application to the Committeeon Applications for Review of Adminis-
trative Tribunal Judgements (A/AC.86/R.59)?"

2. In accordance with Article 66, paragraph 1,of the Statute of the Court,
notice of the request for an advisory opinion was given on 10 July 1972 to
al1 States entitled to appear before the Court; a copy of the Secretary-
General's letter with the decision of the Committee appended thereto was
transmitted to those States.
3. The Court decided on 14 July 1972 that it considered that the United
Nations and its member States were likely to be able to furnish information
on the question. Accordingly, on 17 July 1972 the Registrar notified the
Organization and its member States, pursuant to Article 66, paragraph 2, of
the Statute of the Court, that the Court would be prepared to receive written
statements from them within a time-limit fixed by an Order of 14 July 1972
at 20 September 1972.

5Présents: M. LACHSP , résident; M. AMMOUNV , ice-Président;MM. FORSTER,
GROS, BENGZON,ONYEAMAD , ILLARD, DE CASTRO,MOROZOV,
JIMÉNEZ DE ARÉCHAGA s,ir Humphrey WALDOCKM , M. NAGENDRA
SINGHR , UDA,juges; M. AQUARONE G,reffier.

Au sujet de la demande de réformation du jugement no 158 du Tribunal
administratif des Nations Unies,

ainsi composée,
donne l'avis consultatif suivant:

1. La Cour a étésaisie des questionssur lesquelles un avisconsultatif lui est
demandé par une lettre du Secrétaire généralde l'organisation des Nations
Unies datée du 28 juin 1972 et enregistrée au Greffe le3 juillet 1972. Dans
cette lettre, le Secrétaire généralportela connaissance de la Cour que, le
20juin 1972, conformément à l'article 11 du statut du Tribunal administratif

des Nations Unies, le Comité des demandes de réformation de jugements du
Tribunal administratif des Nations Unies, institué par la résolution 957 (X)
de l'Assembléegénérale, adécidéqu'une demande deréformation concernant
lejugement no 158dudit Tribunal reposait sur des bases sérieuseset a prié en
conséquence la Cour de donner un avis consultatifà ce sujet. La décisiondu
Comité, qui est intégralement reproduite dans la lettre du Secrétaire général
et dont le texte certifiéconforme en anglais et en français est jointcette
lettre, est ainsi conçue:

«Le Comité des demandes de réformation de jugements du Tribuna
administratif a décidéque la demande deréformation du jugement no 158
du Tribunal administratif, renduàGenève le 28 avril 1972, reposait sur
des bases sérieusesau sens de l'article 1statutdu Tribunal.

En conséquence, le Comité prie la Cour internationale de Justice de
donner un avis consultatif sur les questions suivantes:
1. Le Tribunal a-t-il omis d'exercer sa juridiction ainsi que le soutient le
requérant dans sa demande présentéeau Comité des demandes de
réformation de jugements du Tribunal administratif (A/AC.86/R.59)?

2. LeTribunal a-t-il commis, dansla procédure, uneerreur essentielle qui
a provoqué un mal-jugé, ainsi que le soutient le requérant dans sa
demande présentée au Comité des demandes de réformation de
jugements du Tribunal administratif (A/AC.86/R.59)?»
2. Conformément à l'article 66, paragraphe 1, du Statut de la Cour, la
requêtepour avis consultatif a éténotifiéele 10juillet 1972à tous les Etats
admis à ester en justice devant la Cour; copie de la lettre du Secrétairegénéral

a ététransmise a ces Etats, avec la décisiondu Comityannexée.

3. Par décision du 14 juillet 1972, la Cour a jugé que l'organisationdes
Nations Unies et ses Etats Membres étaient susceptibles de fournir des ren-
seignements sur la question. Le 17juillet 1972, le Greffiier a fait connaître en
conséquence à l'organisationet à ses Etats Membres, en application de
l'article 66, paragraphe 2, du Statut, que la Cour étaitdisposéecevoir des
exposés écritsdans un délaidont, par ordonnance du 14juillet 1972, la date
d'expiration a étéfixéeau 20septembre 1972.168 APPLICATIONFOR REVlEW (ADVISORY OPINION)

4. Pursuant to Article 65, paragraph 2, of the Statute of the Court, the
Secretary-General of the United Nations transmitted to the Court a dossier of
documents likely to throw light upon the question; these documents reached

the Registry on 29 August 1972.
5. One written statement was received within the time-limit so fixed,
namely a statement filed on behalf of the United Nations and comprising a
statement on behalf of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and a
statement of the views of Mr. Mohamed Fasla, the former staff member to
whom the Judgement of the AdministrativeTribunal related; the latter state-
ment was transmitted to the Court by the Secretary-General pursuant to
Article Il, paragraph 2, of the Statute of the United Nations Administrative
Tribunal.
6. Copies of the written statement were communicated to the States to
which the communication provided for in Article 66, paragraph 2, of the
Statute had been addressed. At the same time, by letter of 6 October 1972,
these States, and the United Nations, were informed that it was not contem-
plated that public hearings for the submission of oral statements would be
held in the case, and that the President of the Court had fixed 27 November
1972 as the time-limit for the submission of written comments as provided
for in Article 66, paragraph 4, of the Statute.
7. It subsequently appeared to the President of the Court from certain
communications from Mr. Fasla, forwarded to the Court by the Secretary-

General, that there was doubt whether the statement furnished to the Secre-
tary-General and transmitted to the Court, accurately represented Mr. Fasla's
views; the President therefore decided on 25 October 1972 that the written
statement referred to in paragraph 5 above might be amended by the filing
of a corrected version of the statement of Mr. Fasla's views, and fixed 5em-
ber 1972as the time-limit for this purpose. A corrected statement of theviews
of Mr. Fasla was filed through the Secretary-General within the time-limit
so fixed, and copies thereof were communicated to the States to which the
original written statement had been communicated.
8. In view of the time-limit for the amendment of the written statement,
the President extended the time-limit for the submission of written comments
under Article 66, paragraph 4, of the Statute to 31 January 1973. Within the
time-limitas so extended, written comments were filed on behaif of the United
Nations, comprising the comments of the Secretary-General on the corrected
version of the statement of the views of Mr. Fasla, and the comments of Mr.
Fasla on the statement on behalf of the Secretary-General.

9. Copies of the written comments were communicated to the States to
whom the communication provided for in Article 66, paragraph 2, of the

Statute had been addressed. At the same time, by letter of 22 February
1973, these States were informed that the Court had decided not to hold
public hearings for the submission of oralstatements in the case. This decision,
taken on 25 January 1973, had been communicated to the United Nations
by telegram the same day.

10. The circumstances which have given rise to the present request for
an advisory opinion are briefly as follows. Mr. Mohamed Fasla, the
former staff member referred to above, entered United Nations service 4. Conformément à l'article 65, paragraphe 2, du Statut, le Secrétaire
généralde l'organisation des Nations Unies a transmis a la.Cour un dossier
de documents pouvant servirà élucider la question; ces documents sont
parvenus au Greffe le 29 août 1972.
5. Un exposéécritaété présentédans le délaifixé;il émanait de l'organisa-
tion des NationsUnieset comprenait unexposéfait aunom du Secrétairegénéral
de l'organisation ainsi que l'opinion de M. Mohamed Fasla, l'ancien fonc-
tionnaire que concernait le jugement du Tribunal administratif visédans la
requête; cette opinion a été transmise à la Cour par le Secrétaire général,
conformément a l'article Il, paragraphe 2, du statut du Tribunal administra-
tif.

6. Des exemplaires de I'exposéécrit ont été transmis aux Etats à qui la
communication prévue par l'article 66, paragraphe 2, du Statut de la Cour
avait étéadressée. Ces Etats et l'organisation des Nations Unies ont été
avisésen même temps,par lettre du 6 octobre 1972, qu'il n'était pas envisagé
de tenir en l'affaire d'audiences publiques consacrées a des exposés oraux
et que le Président de la Cour avait fixéau 27 novembre 1972la date d'expira-
tion du délaidans lequel des observations écritespourraient êtreprésentées

conformément a l'article 66, paragraphe 4, du Statut.
7. Estimant qu'il ressortait de certaines communications de M. Fasla,
transmises à la Cour par le Secrétaire général,que des doutes paraissaient
exister sur le point de savoir si le texte remis au Secrétaire généralet adressé
la Cour exprimait avec exactitude les vues de l'intéressé,le Président de la
Cour a décidéle 25 octobre 1972 que l'exposéécritmentionné au paragraphe
5 ci-dessus pourrait êtremodifiépar le dépôtd'une version corrigéede l'opi-
nion de M. Fasla dans un délaivenant a expiration le 5 décembre 1972. Une
version corrigée de l'opinion deM. Fasla ayantétédéposéedans ce délaipar
l'intermédiaire du Secrétaire général,des exemplaires en ont étéadressésaux
Etats qui avaient reçu le texte du premier exposé.

8. En raison du délaifixépour l'amendement de l'exposéécrit,le Président
a reporté au 31janvier 1973 la date d'expiration du délaidans lequel des ob-
servations écrites pourraient être soumises conformément a l'article 66,
paragraphe 4, du Statut. Dans le délai ainsi prorogé, desobservations écrites
ont étéprésentéesau nom de l'organisation des Nations Unies; elles com-
prenaient les observations du Secrétaire généralsur la version corrigée de
l'opinion de M. Fasla ainsi que les observations de M. Fasla en réponse 5i

l'exposédu Secrétaire général.
9. Ces observations écritesont ététransmises aux Etats qui avaient reçu la
communication prévue a l'article 66, paragraphe 2, du Statut. Il leur a en
mêmetemps étéprécisépar lettre du 22 février1973 que la Cour avait décidé
de ne pas tenir en l'affaire d'audiences publiques consacrées a des exposés
oraux. Cette décision,prise le25janvier 1973, avait ététélégraphiée àI'Orga-
nisation des Nations Unies le mêmejour.

10. Brièvement résumées, les circonstances qui sont à l'origine de la
présente requête pour avis consultatif sont les suivantes: l'ancien fonc-

tionnaire dont il s'agit, M. Mohamed Fasla, est entré au service de l'Or-
6169 APPLICATIONFOR REVIEW (ADVISORY OPINION)

on 30June 1964with a two-year fixed-term contract as Assistant Resident
Representative of the Technical Assistance Board in Damascus (Syrian
Arab Republic). After further assignments in Beirut (Lebanon), New
York and Freetown (Sierra Leone), Mr. Fasla was on 15September 1968
reassigned to the office of the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) in Taiz (Yemen) as Assistant Resident Representative. His

contract had by then been renewed by successive periods of six months.
one year, three months and twenty-one months, and was due to expire on
31 December 1969.On 22 May 1969Mr. Fasla was informed that while
every effort would be made to secure another assignment for him, it might
well be that no extension of his existingcontract would be made. This
advice was reiterated in a letter of 12September 1969informing Mr. Fasla
that it had not so far been possible to find him an assignment and that he
would be maintained on leave with full pay until the expiry ofhis contract.
Mr. Fasla requested the Secretary-General to review that decision, but
was informed that no review by the Secretary-General was required.
By letter of 20 November 1969, the Director of the UNDP Bureau of
Administrative Management and Budget notified Mr. Fasla that it had
not been possible to find a new assignment for himalid that no extension
of his contract could therefore be envisaged. Mr. Fasla, having again
requested a review ofthat decision, was informed byletter of 12December
1969that there was no basis for the Secretary-General to alter the position
taken by UNDP. On 28 December 1969, he lodged an appeal with the
Joint Appeals Board. On 3 June 1970 the Board, having found that

UNDP's efforts to assign Mr. Fasla elsewhere were inadequate since the
fact-sheet circulated concerning his performance record was incoinplete,
recommended the correction and completion of the records concerning
Mr. Fasla's service, the renewal by UNDP of endeavours to find him a
post and, should these fail, an ex gratia payment of six months' salary.
By a letter of 10 July 1970,however, Mr. Fasla was informed that the
Secretary-General had decided that there was no basis for the granting of
an ex gratia payment andthat no action should be taken in respect of that
recommendation by the Board. By a letter of 31 August 1970Mr. Fasla
wasinformed that UNDP did not iiitend to offerhiin anotherappointment,
as al1possible efforts, it was maintained, had been made to find a suitable
post for him within UNDP or with other agencies when he was under
contractual status with UNDP. On 31 December 1970, after seeking to
re-open the proceedings before the Joint Appeals Board, which however
considered that this was not possibleunder the relevant Staff Rules and
Regulations, he filed an application with the United Nations Admini-
strative Tribunal. On 11 June 1971, following proceedings before the
Joint Appeals Board in respect of a decision dated 15June 1970relating
to calculation of remuneration, Mr. Fasla fileda supplement to the appli-

cation with the Administrative Tribunal. Written pleadings were sub-
mitted in accordance with the Rules of the Tribunal, and there were also
requests for production of documents; judgment (in respect of both the
application and the supplement) was given by the Tribunal on 28 Aprilganisation des Nations Unies le 30juin 1964en vertu d'un contrat d'une
duréedéterminéede deux ans en qualité d'adjointau représentant résident
du Bureau de l'assistance technique à Damas (République arabe syrien-
ne). Après avoir été affectà Beyrouth (Liban), New York et Freetown
(Sierra Leone), M. Fasla a étémutéle 15septembre 1968au bureau du
Programme des Nations Unies pour le développement (PNUD) à Taiz
(Yémen)comme adjoint au représentant résident. Soncontrat, qui avait
été renouvelépour des périodessuccessivesde duréevariable (sixmois, un
an, troismois, vingt et un mois), devait venàrexpiration le 31 décembre
1969.Le 22 mai 1969, M. Fasla a été informé quetous lesefforts possibles
seraient faits pour lui trouver un autre poste mais qu'ilsepourrait que son
contrat en cours ne soit pas renouvelé.Cet avertissement a été confirmé
dans une lettre du 12 septembre 1969l'informant qu'il avait étéimpos-
siblejusque-là de lui trouver un poste et qu'il serait maintenu en congé

plein traitement jusqu'à l'expiration de son contrat. Ayant priéle Secré-
taire généralde reconsidérer cette décision,M. Fasla a été informé que
rien ne motivait un réexamenpar le Secrétairegénéral.Le 20 novembre
1969,le directeur de la gestion administrative et du budget du PNUD a
fait savoirà M. Fasla qu'il n'avait pas été possiblede lui trouver un
nouveau poste et qu'on ne pouvait en conséquenceenvisager la prolon-
gation de son contrat. Ayant de nouveau demandé un réexamende la
décision,M. Fasla a été aviséle 12décembre1969que rien ne permettait
au Secrétairegénéralde modifier la décisiondu PNUD. Le 28 décembre
1969, il s'est pourvu devant la Commission paritaire de recours. Le 3juin
1970, ayant constaté que tous les efforts voulus n'avaient pas étéfaits
pour lui trouver un autre poste car sa fiche analytique individuelle était
incomplète,la Commission a recommandé quele dossier de M. Fasla soit
rectifiéet complété,que le PNUD continue de lui chercher un poste et, si

ceseffortséchouaient,qu'illui verseàtitre gracieux une sommeéquivalant
à son traitement pour une périodede six mois. Néanmoins,par lettre du
10juillet 1970,M. Fasla a étéaviséque le Secrétairegénéralavait décidé
que rien ne justifiait le versement d'une sommeàtitre gracieux et qu'au-
cune suite ne serait donnée à cette recommandation de la Commission.
M. Fasla a étéinformé par lettredu 31août 1970que le PNUD n'avait pas
l'intention de lui offrir un autre engagement, motif pris de ce que tous les
efforts possibles avaienttéfaits pour lui trouver un poste correspondant
à ses aptitudes, au PNUD ou dans d'autres organisations, à l'époqueou
il étaitliépar contrat au PNUD. Le 31décembre1970,aprèsavoir essayé
de rouvrir la procéduredevant la Cominission paritaire de recours qui a
considéréquicela n'étaitpas possible eu égardau statut et au règlement
du personnel, il a introduit une requêtedevant le Tribunal administratif
des Nations Unies. Le 11juin 197 1, à la suite d'une procédureengagée
devant la Commission paritaire de recours au sujet d'une décisiondu

15juin 1970concernant le calcul de ses émoluments,M. Fasla a présenté
une requêteadditionnelle au Tribunal administratif. Des pièces ont été
déposées conformémentau règlement du Tribunal et des demandes
tendant à la production de documents ont étéprésentées;le Tribunal a1972.By an application of 26 May 1972,Mr. Fasla raised objections to
the decision and asked the Committee on Applications for Review of
Administrative Tribunal Judgements to request an advisory opinion of
theCourt.

Il. In formulating the request for an advisory opinion, the Committee
on Applications for Review of Administrative Tribunal Judgements
exercised a power conferred upon it by the General Assembly by its
resolution 957 (X) of 8 November 1955. .This resolution, inter alia,
introduced into the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal of the United
Nations a new Article 11by whch provision was made for the possibility
of challengingjudgements of the Tribunal before the Court through the
machinery ,of a request for an advisory opinion. After the Court had
given its Opinion concerning the Efect of Awards of Compensation
Made by the UnitedNations Administrative Tribunal(I.C.J. Reports 1954,
p. 47), the General Assembly set up a Special Committee to study the
question of establishing a procedure for review of the Tribunal's judge-
ments. The new Article II embodies the proposals of that Special
Comrnittee, as amended at the Tenth Session of the General Assembly,
and it ispursuant to the procedure provided in Article 11that the present

request for an opinion has been submitted to the Court.
12. The applicable provisions of Article 11 are contained in its first
four paragraphs, which read as follows:
"1. If a Member State, the Secretary-General or the person in
respect of whom a judgement has been rendered by the Tribunal
(including any one who has succeeded to that person's rights on
his death) objects to the judgement on the ground that the Tribunal
has exceeded its jurisdiction or cornpetence or that the Tribunal

has failed to exercise jurisdiction vested in it, or has erred on a
question oflaw relating to the provisions of the Charter ofthe United
Nations, or has committed a fundamental error in procedure which
has occasioned a failure ofjustice,uch Member State, the Secretary-
General or the person concerned may, within thirty days from the
date of the judgement, make a written application to the Committee
established by paragraph 4 of this article asking the Committee to
request an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on
the matter.
2. Within thirty days from the receipt of an application under
paragraph 1 of this article, the Committee shall decide whether or
not there is a substantial basis for the application. If the Committee
decidesthat such abasis exists,it shall request an advisoryopinion of
the Court, and the Secretary-General shall arrange to transmit to
the Court the views of the person referred to in paragraph 1.
3. If no application is made under paragraph 1 of this article,rendu son jugement sur la requêteinitiale et la requête additionnellele

28 avril 1972.Le 26 mai 1972,M. Fasla a contesté cette décisionet de-
mandéau Comité desdemandesde réformationdejugements du Tribunal
administratif de prier la Cour de donner un avisconsultatif.

II. En présentant une requêtepour avis consultatif, le Comité des
demandes de réformation de jugements du Tribunal administratif a
exercéun pouvoir que l'Assemblée généralle ui a conférépar sa résolu-
tion 957(X)du 8novembre 1955.Cette résolution aajouténotamment au
statut du Tribunal administratif des Nations Unies un nouvel article 11
qui prévoitla possibilitéde contester lesjugements du Tribunal devant la
Cour par la voie d'une demande d'avis consultatif. Après l'avis consul-

tatif de la Cour sur 1'Efet de ,jugements du Tribunal administratif des
Nations Uniesaccordant indemnité (C.I.J. Recueil1954,p. 47), l'Assemblée
généralea crééun comitéspécialchargé d'étudierla question de l'insti-
tution d'une procédure de réformation des jugements du Tribunal. Le
nouvel article 11 consacre les propositions de ce Comité spécial, telles
qu'elles ont étémodifiéespar l'Assemblée générale à sa dixième session,
et c'est conformément à la procédure prévue àcet article que la présente
requêtepour avis consultatif a étésoumise à la Cour.

12. Les dispositions applicables de l'article 11 sont celles des quatre
premiers paragraphes de cet article, qui sont ainsi conçus:

«1. Si un Etat Membre, le Secrétairegénéralou la personne qui
a étél'objet d'un jugement rendu par le Tribunal (y compris toute
personne qui a succédémortis causa à ses droits) conteste le juge-
ment en alléguant que le Tribunal a outrepassé sa juridiction ou sa
compétenceou n'a pas exercésajuridiction ou a commis une erreur
de droit concernant les dispositions de la Charte des Nations Unies
ou a commis, dans la procédure, une erreur essentielle qui a provo-
qué un mal-jugé,cet Etat Membre, le Secrétaire généralou l'in-
téressépeut, dans les trente jours suivant lejugement, demander par

écritau Comitécrééen vertu du paragraphe 4 du présent articlede
prier la Cour internationale de Justice de donner un avis consultatif
sur la question.

2. Dans les trente jours suivant la réception de la demande visée
au paragraphe 1du présentarticle, le Comitédécide sicettedemande
repose sur des bases sérieuses.S'ilen décideainsi, il prie la Cour de
donner un avis consultatif et le Secrétairegénéralprend les dispo-
sitions voulues pour transmettreà la Cour l'opinion de la personne
viséeau paragraphe 1.
3. Siaucunedemande n'estfaiteen vertu du paragraphe 1du présent or if a decision to request an advisory opinion has not been taken
by the Committee, within the periods prescribed in this article, the
judgement of the Tribunal shall become final. In any case in which
a request has been made for an advisory opinion, the Secretary-

General shall either giveeffectto the opinion of the Court or request
the Tribunal to convene specially in order that it shall confirm its
originaljudgement, or give a new judgement, in conformity with the
opinion of the Court. If not requested to convene specially the
Tribunal shall at its next session confirm its judgement or bring it
into conformity with the opinion of the Court.
4. For the purpose of this article, a Committee is established
and autliorized under paragraph 2 of Article 96 of the Charter to
request advisory opinions of the Court. The Committee shall be
composed of the Member States the respresentatives of which have
served on the General Committee of the most recent regular session
of the General Assembly. The Committee shall meet at United
Nations Headquarters and shall establish its own rules."

13. During the debates in the Special Cominittee and in the Fifth
Committee of the General Assembly which led up to the adoption of
resolution 957 (X). a number of delegations questioned the legality or the
propriety of various aspects of the procedure set out in tliese paragraphs.
In fact, before the adoption of the resolution at the 541stplenary meeting
of the General Assembly, one delegation made a forma1 proposal that
the Court should be requested to givean advisory opinion on the question
whether the resolution was juridically well founded. Furthermore,
although resolution 957 (X) was adopted nearly 18years ago, this is the
first occasion on which the Court has been called upon to consider a
request for an opinion made under the procedure laid down in Article 11.
Accordingly, although no question has been raised in the statements and
comments submitted to the Court in the present proceedings either as to
the competeiice of the Court to give the opinion or as to the propriety
of its doing so, tlie Courtwill examine these two questions in turn.

14. As to the Court's conipetence to give the opinion, doubts have
been voiced regarding the legality of the Liseof the advisory jurisdiction
for the review of judgenients of the Administrative Tribunal. Thecon-
tentious jurisdiction of the Court,it has been urged, is liniited by Article
34 of its Statute to disputes between States; and it has been questioned

whether the advisory jurisdiction may be used for the judicial review of
contentious proceedings which have taken place before other tribunals
and to whicli individuals were parties. However, the existence, in the
background, of a dispute the parties to which may be affected as a
consequence of the Court's opnion, does not change the advisory nature
of the Court's task, which is to answer the questions put to it withregard
to a judgment. Thus, in its Opinion concerning Judgments of tlieAdminis- article ou si le Comiténe décide pasde demander un avis consultatif
dans lesdélaisprescrits par le présent article,lejugement du Tribunal

devient définitif.Chaque fois quela Cour est priée dedonner un avis
consultatif, le Secrétairegénéralou bien donne effet à I'avis de la
Cour, ou bien prie le Tribunal de se réunir spécialementpour con-
firmer son jugement initial ou rendre un nouveau jugement, confor-
mément à l'avis de la Cour. S'iln'est pas inviàése réunirspéciale-
ment, le Tribunal,à sa session suivante, confirme sonjugement ou le
rend conforme àl'avisde la Cour.

4. Aux fins du présent article, il est créé uncomité, autorisé en
vertu du paragraphe 2 de l'articl96 de la Charte à demander des
avis consultatifs la Cour. Le Comitéest composédes Etats Mem-
bres représentésau Bureau de la dernière en date des sessions ordi-
naires de l'Assemblée généraleL . e Comité se réunit au siège de

l'organisation et établitson propre règlement.)

13. Pendant les débatsqui ont eu lieu au Comitéspécialet à la Cin-
quième Commission de l'Assemblée générale e qtui ont aboutiàI'adop-
tion de la résolution 957 (X), plusieurs délégations ontmis en doute la
Iégalitéou l'opportunité de divers éléments dela procédureainsi définie.
En fait, avant l'adoption de la résolution à la 541' séance plénièrede

l'Assemblée générale, une délégatio avait officiellement proposé que
I'on prie la Cour de donner un avis consultatif sur la question de savoir
si la résolution étaitjuridiquement fondée. De plus, bien que la résolu-
tion 957 (X) ait étéadoptée il ya près de dix-huit ans, c'est la première
fois que la Cour est saisie d'une requêtepour avis consultatif en applica-
tion de la procédure définieà l'article 1.En conséquence,quoique I'on
n'ait pas soulevédans les exposéset observations soumis àla Cour en la
présente instance les questions de savoir si la Cour a compétence pour
rendre un avis et s'il est opportun qu'elle le fasse, la Cour les examinera
tour à tour.
*
* *

14.S'agissant de la compétencede la Cour pour rendre I'avisdemandé,
on a émisdes doutes sur la légalitdu recours à la juridiction consultative
pour la réformation de jugements du Tribunal administratif. On a fait
valoir qu'en vertu de I'article4 du Statut de la Cour la juridiction con-
tentieuse de celle-ci ne porte que sur les différendsentre Etats: on a donc
contestéque la juridiction consultative puisse êtreutiliséepour la réfor-

mation judiciaire de procédures contentieuses qui se sont déroulées
devant d'autres tribunaux et auxquelles des personnes privées étaient
parties. L'existence,en arrière-plan, d'un différendet de parties que I'avis
de la Cour peut affecter ne modifie cependant pas le caractère consultatif
de la fonction de la Cour, consistant à répondre aux questions qui lui
sont posées à propos d'un jugement. Aussi bien, dans son avis consultatiftrative Tribunalof the IL0 upon CornplaintsMade against Unesco(I.C.J.
Reports 1956, p. 77), the Court upheld its competence to entertain a
request for an advisory opinion for the purpose of reviewing judicial
proceedings involving individuals. Moreover, in the earlier advisory
proceedings concerning the Effect of Awards of CompensationMade

by the United Nations Administrative Tribunal (I.C.J. Reports 1954,
p. 47) the Court replied to the General Assembly's request for an opinon
notwithstanding the fact that the questions submitted to it closely con-
cerned the rights of individuals. The Court seesno reason to depart from
the position which it adopted in these cases. If a request for advisory
opinion emanates from a body duly authorized in accordance with the
Charter to make it, the Court is competent under Article 65 of its Statute
to give such opinion on any legal question arising within the scope of the
activities of that body. The mere fact that it is not the rights of States
which are in issueinthe proceedings cannot sufficeto deprive the Court of
a competence expressly conferred on it by its Statute.

15. In the present case, however, of a request for, an opinion made
under Article II of the Statute of the United Nations Administrative
Tribunal, it has been questioned whether the requesting body itself is a
body duly authorized under the Charter to initiate advisory proceedings
before the Court. Under Article 11the requesting body is the Committee
on Applications for Review of Administrative Tribunal Judgements

(hereafter for convenience called the Committee), which was created by
General Assembly resolution 957 (X) specifically to provide machinery
for initiating advisory proceedings for the review of judgements of the
Tribunal. This Committee, it has been maintained is not such a body as
can be considered one of the "organs of the United Nations" entitled to
request advisory opinions under Article 96 of the Charter. Zthas further
been argued that the Committee does not have any activities of its own
which night enable it to qualify as an organ authorized to request advi-
sory opinions on legal questions arising within the scope of its activities.

16. Article 7of the Charter, under the heading "Organs", after naming
the six principal organs of the United Nations in paragraph 1,provides
in the most general terms in paragraph 2: "Such subsidiary organs as
may befound necessarymay be established in accordance with the present
Charter." Article 22 then expressly empowers the General Assembly to
"establish such subsidiary organs as it deems necessary for the perfor-
mance of itsfunctions". The object of both those Articles is to enable the
United Nations to accomplish its purposes and to function effectively.

Accordingly, to place a restrictive interpretation on the power of the
General Assembly to establish subsidiary organs would run contrary to
the clear intention of the Charter. Article 22, indeed, specificallyleaves it
to the General Assembly to appreciate the need for any particular organ,
and the sole restriction placed by that Article on the General Assembly'ssur les Jugements du Tribunaladministratif de l'OIT sur requétes contre

l'Unesco (C.1.J. Recueil 1956, p. 77), la Cour s'est déclaréecompétente
pour connaître d'une demande d'avis consultatif ayant pour objet le
réexamend'une procédurejudiciaire concernant desparticuliers. De plus,
dans la procédure consultativeantérieurerelativeà1'EfSedt ejugements du
Tribunal administratif des Nations Unies accordant indemnité (C.I.J.
Recueil 1954,p. 47), elle a donnésuiteà la demande d'avis que I'Assem-
bléegénérale luiavait adressée, bien que les questions qui lui étaient
soumises eussent intéressétrès directement les droits de particuliers. La
Cour ne voit aucune raison de s'écarter de l'attitude qu'elle a adoptée
dans ces affaires. Dèslors qu'une requêtepour avis consultatif est présen-
téepar un organe dûment autorisé à cet effet conformément à la Charte,

la Cour est compétente,en vertu del'article 65de son Statut,pour donner
un avis s'il s'agit d'une question juridique qui se pose dans le cadre de
l'activitéde cet organe. Le fait que ce ne sont pas les droits des Etats qui
sont en cause dans la procédurene suffit pas enleverà la Cour une com-
pétencequi lui est expressément conférépear sonStatut.
15. Dans la présente affaire, quiconcerne une requêtepour avis con-
sultatif introduite en application de l'article 11 du statut du Tribunal
administratif des Nations Unies, on s'est demandé si l'organe dont
émane la requêteest dûment autorisé conformément à la Charte à
engager une procédure consultativedevant la Cour. En vertu de l'article
11, cet organe est le Comité des demandes de réformation de jugements
du Tribunal administratif (ci-après dénomméle Comité),qui a étéins-

titué par la résolution 957 (X) de l'Assemblée général e seule fin de
fournir le mécanisme nécessaireà la mise en mouvement d'une procédure
consultative concernant la réformation de jugements du Tribunal. On a
soutenu que ce Comiténe saurait êtreconsidérécomme un des ((organes
de l'organisation)) autoriséà demander des avis consultatifs en vertu de
l'article 96de la Charte. On a fait observer en outre qu'il n'a pasune
activitépropre qui permette de voir en lui un organe habilitédemander
des avis consultatifs sur des questionsjuridiques qui se poseraient dans le
cadre de son activité.
16. Après avoir énuméréd,ans son paragraphe 1,les six organes prin-
cipaux de l'organisation des Nations Unies, l'article 7 de la Charte, qui

figure dans le chapitre intitulé ((Organes)), dispose dans les termes les
plus générauxau paragraphe 2: «Les organes subsidiaires qui se révéle-
raient nécessairespourront êtrecréésonformément à laprésenteCharte.))
L'article 22 habilite ensuite expressémentl'Assembléegénérale à ((créer
les organes subsidiaires qu'elle juge nécessairàsl'exercice de ses fonc-
tions)). L'objet de ces deux articles est de permettre'Organisation des
Nations Unies d'accomplir sa mission et de fonctionner efficacement.Par
suite, interpréter de façon restrictive le pouvoir de l'Assemblée générale
de créerdes organes subsidiaires iraità l'encontre de l'intention claire-
ment expriméedans la Charte. En réalitél'article 22 laisse expressément
à l'Assemblée générale ls eoin d'apprécier siun organe déterminéestpower to establish subsidiary organs is that they should be "necessary
for the performance of its functions".

17. In its Opinion on the Effect of Awards of Compensation Made by
the United ~asons ~dnzinistratiijeTribunal, it is true, the Court expressly
held that the Charter "does not confer judicial functions on the General
Assembly" and that, when it established the Administrative Tribunal, it
"was not delegating the performance of its own functions" (I.C.J.
Reports 1954, at p. 61). At the same time, however, the Court pointed
out that under Article 101, paragraph 1,of the Charter the General
Assembly is given power to regulate staff relations, and it held that this

power included "the power to establish a tribunal to do justice between
the Organization and the staff members" (ibid.,at p. 58). From the above
reasoning it necessarily follows that the General Assembly's power to
regulate staff relations also comprises the power to create an organ
designed to provide machinery for initating the review by the Court of
judgments of such a tribunal.

18. Nor does it appear to the Court that there is substance in the
suggestion that the particular constitution of the Committee would
preclude it from being considered an "organ" of the United Nations.
As provided in paragraph 4 of Article 11,the Committee is composed of
"the Member States the representatives of which have served on the
General Committee of the most recent regular session of the General
Assembly". But this provision is no more than a convenient method of
establishing the membership of the Committee, which was set up as a
separate committee invested with its own functions distinct from those
of the General Committee. Paragraph 4, indeed, underlined the indepen-
dent character of the Committee by providing that it should establish
its own rules. These it drew up at its first meeting, amending them at later
meetings. Accordingly, the Court seesno reason to deny to the Committee
the character of an organ of the United Nations which the General
Assembly clearly intended it to possess.
19. Article 96, paragraph 2, of the Charter, empowers the General
Assembly to authorize organs of the United Nations to "request advisory
opinions of the Court on legal questions arising within the scope of
their activities". In the present instance paragraph 4 of Article 11 of the
Statute of the Administrative Tribunal expresslystates that theCommittee

"For the purpose of this article. ..is. ..authorized under paragraph 2
of Article 96 of the Charter to request advisory opinions of the Court".
These two provisions, prima facie, sufficeto establish the competence of
the Comrnittee to request advisory opinions of the Court. The point has
been raised, however, as to whether under Article 11of the Statute of the
Administrative Tribunal the Committee has any activities of its own
which enable it to be considered as requesting advisory opinions "on
legal questions arising within the scope of [its]activities". Thus, the view
has been expressed that the Committee has no other activity than tonécessaire,la seule restriction imposéepar cet article au pouvoir de l'As-
sembléegénéralede créer des organes subsidiaires étant que ces organes
doivent être«nécessaires àl'exercicede ses fonctions)).
17. 11est vrai que, dans son avis consultatif sur'Effeetdejugements du
Tribunal administratif .des Nations Unies accordant indemnité, la
Cour a déclaréque la Charte «n'a pas conféréde fonctions judiciaires
à l'Assemblée générale))et qu'en créant le Tribunal administratif
«l'Assembléegénérale ne déléguait pas l'exercic dee ses propres fonc-
tions))(C.I.J.Recueil 1954,p. 61).La Cour n'en a pas moins soulignéque
I'article101,paragraphe 1, de la Charte donne à l'Assembléegénéralele

pouvoir de fixer des règlespour ce qui est des rapports avec le personnel
et que ce pouvoir comprend celui ((d'instituer un tribunal pour faire
justice entre l'organisation et les fonctionnaires))bid.p. 58). 11découle
forcément du raisonnement qui précèdeque le pouvoir de l'Assemblée
généralede réglementerles relations avec le personnel englobe aussi celui
de créerun organe dont le but est de fournir le mécanisme nécessaire à la
mise en mouvement d'une réformation, par la Cour, des jugements d'un
tel tribunal.
18. D'autre part, il ne semble pasà la Cour que l'on soit fondé à pré-
tendre que le Comiténe pourrait être considéré commeun «organe» des
Nations Unies en raison de sa constitution particulière. Ainsi que le
prévoitl'article11, paragraphe 4, du statut du Tribunal administratif, le

Comité est composé «des Etats Membres représentésau Bureau de la
dernière en date des sessions ordinaires de l'Assembléegénérale)).Cette
formule ne tend pas à autre chose qu'à définirde manière commode la
composition du Comité, qui a étécréé en tant que comitédistinct, chargé
de fonctions qui lui sont propres et qui diffèrentde celles du Bureau. Le
paragraphe 4 souligne d'ailleurs le caractère indépendant du Comitéen
précisantqu'il établit son propre règlement, Celui-cia étéélaboré à la
première séancedu Comitéet modifiélors de séancesultérieures. LaCour
ne voit donc aucune raison de lui refuser le caractère d'un organe de l'Or-
ganisation des Nations Unies que l'Assembléegénéraleavait manifeste-
ment l'intention de lui conférer.

19. L'article 96, paragraphe 2, de la Charte donne à l'Assemblée
généralele pouvoir d'autoriser les organes de l'organisation des Nations
Unies à ((demander à la Cour des avis consultatifs sur des questions
juridiques qui se poseraient dans le cadre de leur activité)).Enoccurren-
ce, l'article Il, paragraphe4,du statut du Tribunal administratif spécifie
que le Comité ((aux fins du présentarticle ..[est] autorisé en vertu du
paragraphe 2 de l'articl96 de la Charte a demander des avis consultatifs
à la Cour)). Ces deux dispositions suffisent de prime abord à établir la
compétencedu Comité poursolliciter de la Cour des avis consultatifs. On
a cependant soulevéla question de savoir si, au regard de l'article II du
statut du Tribunal administratif, le Comitéa une activité qui lui soit
propre et permette de considérer qu'il puisse demander des avis consul-

tatifs ((sur des questions juridiques qui se poseraient dans le cadre de
[son] activité)).On a dit que le Comité n'avait d'autre activité que derequest advisory opinions, and that the "legal questions" in regard to
which Article 11 authorizes it to request an opinion arise not within the
scope of "its activities" but of those of another organ, the Administrative
Tribunal.
20. The functions entrusted to the Committee by paragraphs 1and 2 of
Article 11are: to receiveapplications which formulate objections to judge-

ments of the Administrative Tribunal on one or more of the grounds set
out in paragraph 1and which ask the Committee to request an advisory
opinion; to decide within 30 days whether or not there is a substantial
basis for the application; and, if it so decides, to request an advisory
opinion of the Court. The scope of the activities of the Committee which
result from these functions is, admittedly, a narrow one. But the Com-
mittee's activities under Article 11have to be viewedin the larger context
of the General Assembly'sfunction in the regulation of staff relations of
which they form a part. This is not a delegation by the General Assembly
of its own power to request an advisory opinion; it is the creation of a
subsidiary organ having a particular task and invested it with the power
to request advisory opinions in the performance of that task. The mere
fact that the Committee's activities servea particular, limited, purpose
in the General Assembly's performance of its function in the regulation
of staff relations does not prevent the advisory jurisdiction of the Court
from being exercised in regard to those activities; nor is there any indi-
cation in Article 96of the Charter of any such restriction upon the General
Assembly's power to authorize organs of the United Nations to request

advisory opinions.
21. In fact, the primary function of the Committee is not the requesting
of advisory opinions, but the examination of objections to judgements in
order to decide in each case whether there is a substantial basis for the
application so as to cal1for a request for an advisory opinion. If it finds
that there is not such a substantial basis for the application the Committee
rejects the application without requesting an opinion of the Court. When
itdoes find that there is a substantial basis for the application, the legal
questions which the Cornmittee then submits to the Court clearly arise
out of the performance of this primary function of screening the applica-
tions presented to it. They are therefore questions which, in the view of
the Court, arise within the scope of the Cornmittee's own activities; for
they arise not out of the judgements of the Administrative Tribunal but
out of objections to those judgements raised before the Cornmittee itself.
22. True, Article 11does not make it part of the Cornmittee'sfunction
to implement any opinion given by the Court in response to the Com-
mittee'srequest; for under paragraph 3of that Article theimplementation
of the Court's opinions is a rnatter for the Secretary-General and the
Administrative Tribunal. But this does not change the fact that the

questions which are the subject of the Committee's requests for advisory
opinions are legal questions "arising" within the scope of its activities.
Al1that is necessary for a question to qualify under Article 96, paragraph
2, of the Charter is that it must be a legal one and must arise out of thedemander des avis consultatifs, et que les ((questionsjuridiques)) sur
lesquelles l'article 11 l'autoriàeen solliciter se posent non pas dans le
cadre de son ((activité))mais dans le cadre de I'activité d'unautre organe,
le Tribunal administratif.
20. Les paragraphes 1 et 2 de l'article 11 attribuent au Comité les
fonctions suivantes: recevoir les demandes contestant les jugements du
Tribunal administratif pour un ou plusieurs des motifs mentionnés au
paragraphe 1et tendant à ce que le Comitéprie la Cour dedonner un avis
consultatif; déciderdans lestrentejours siune demande repose ounon sur
des bases sérieuses;dans I'affirmative, prier la Cour de donner un avis
consultatif. Ces fonctions laissent au Comitéun champ d'activité quiest
assurémentétroit.Mais il faut replacer I'activitéainsi confiéeau Comité

en vertu de l'article II dans le cadre d'une fonction plus large dont elle
n'est qu'une partie, celle qui incombe à l'Assembléegénéralede régle-
menter les relations avec le personnel. En l'occurrence, l'Assemblée
générale nedélèguepas son propre pouvoir de demander un avis consul-
tatif;. elle crée un organe subsidiaire chargéd'attributions particulières
et doté du pouvoir de solliciter un avis consultatif dans I'exercicede ces
attributions. Le fait que I'activitédu Comitéait un objet préciset limité
dans le cadre de la fonction qu'assume l'Assembléegénéralede régle-
menter les relations avec le personnel ne suffit pas à la soustraireà la
juridiction consultative de la Cour; rien dans l'article96 de la Charte
n'indique au surplus que le pouvoir de l'Assembléegénéraled'autoriser
des organes de l'organisation des Nations Unies à demander des avis
consultatifs soit pareillement restreint.
21. En réalitéla fonction principale du Comitén'est pas de solliciter

des avis consultatifs, elle est d'examiner les objections formuléescontre
des jugements afin de décider,dans chaque espèce,si la demande repose
sur des bases suffisamment sérieusespour qu'il y ait lieu de présenter une
requêtepour avis consultatif. Si le Comité conclut par la négative, il
rejette la demande sans prier la Cour de donner un avis. S'ilconclut par
I'affirmative, les questions juridiques qu'il soumet alors à la Cour se
posent manifestement dans l'exercicede sa fonction principale qui est de
filtrer lesdemandes qui lui sont adressées.Ce sont donc des questions qui,
selon la Cour, se posent dans le cadre de l'activitépropre du Comité;elles
nt: sont passoulevCesen effet par lesjugements du Tribunal administratif
mais par les objections formuléescontre cesjugements devant le Comité
lui-même.
22. Certes l'article II ne charge pas le Comitéde mettre en Œuvreles
avis que la Cour peut rendre sur sa demande puisqu'en vertu du para-

graphe 3 de cet article la tâche de mise en Œuvreincombe au Secrétaire
généralet au Tribunal administratif. 11n'empêcheque les questions sur
lesquelles portent les requêtespour avis consultatif émanantdu Comité
sont des questions juridiques qui se posent dans le cadre de son activité.
Pour qu'une question puisse êtresoumise à la Cour conformément à
I'article 96, paragraphe 2, de la Charte, il faut et il suffit qu'elle soit juri-
dique et qu'elle se posedans le cadre de I'activitéde l'organe intéres.nE175 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISORO YPINION)

activities of the organ concerned. In the present case, the Committee's re-
quest is for an advisory opinion regarding alleged failure by the Adminis-

trative Tribunal to exercisejurisdiction vested in it and fundamental errors
in procedure which it is alleged to have committed. These are questions
which by their very nature are legal questions similar in kind to those
which the Court in its 1956 Opinion in the Unesco case considered as
constituting legal questions within the meaning of Article 96 of the
Charter. Moreover, there is nothing in Article 96 of the Charter or
Article 65 of theStatute of the Court which requires that the replies to the
questions should be designed to assist the requesting body in its own
future operations or which makes it obligatory that the effect to begiven
to an advisory opinion should bethe responsibility of the body requesting
the opinion.
23. In the Jight of the foregoing considerations, the Court concludes
that the Committee on Applications for Review of Administrative
Tribunal Judgements is an organ of the United Nations, dulyconstituted

under Articles 7 and 22 of the Charter, and duly authorized under Article
96, paragraph 2, of the Charter to request advisory opinions of the Court
for thepurpose ofArticle 11ofthe Statute of the United Nations Adminis-
trative Tribunal. Itfollows that the Court is competent under Article 65
of its Statute to entertain a request for an advisory opinion from the
Committee made within the scope of Article 11 of the Statute of the
Administrative Tribunal.

24. Article 65 of the Statute is, however, permissive and, under it,
the Court's power to give an advisory opinion is of a discretionary
character. ln exercising this discretion, the Court has always been
guided by the principle that, as a judicial body, it is bound to remain
faithful to the requirements of its judicial character even in giving

advisory opinions (see, e.g.,Judgments of the Administrative Tribunal
of the IL0 upon Complaints Made against Unesco, Adilisory Opinion,
I.C.J. Reports 1956,p. 84; Constitution of the Maritime Safety Committee
of the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation, Advisory
Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1960, p. 153).During the debates which preceded
theadoption of General Assembly resolution 957(X)and the introduction
of Article II into the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal, doubts
were expressed by some delegations concerning certain features of the
procedure established by Article 11 precisely from the point of view of
the Court's judicial character. The Court will, therefore, now consider
whether, although it is competent to give the opinion requested, these
features of the procedure established by Article 11are of such a character
as should lead it to decline to answer the request.l'espèce,le Comitésollicite un avis consultatif pour savoir si, comme on le

prétend,le Tribunal administratif a omis d'exercer sa juridiction et com-
mis des erreurs essentielles dans la procédure. Ce sontlà, par leur nature
même,des questions juridiques, du genre de celles que la Cour a con-
sidéréesen 1956,dans son avis donné à Ia demande de l'Unesco, comme
des questions juridiques au sens de l'article 96 de la Charte. De plus, rien
dans I'article 96 de la Charte ni dans l'article 65 du Statut de la Cour
n'impose que les réponsesaux questions soient destinées aider l'organe
sollicitant l'avis consultatif dans son activité future et n'exige que cet
organe soit aussi celui qui lui donne effet.

23. Vu les considérations qui précèdent,la Cour conclut que le Comité
des demandes de réformation de jugements du Tribunal administratif est

un organe de l'organisation des Nations Unies dûment constituéen vertu
des articles 7 et 22 de la Charte et dûment autorisé, conformément à
l'article 96, paragraphe 2, de cet instrument, à demander à la Cour des
avis consultatifs aux fins de I'article du statut du Tribunal administra-
tif des Nations Unies. Il en résulteque la Cour est compétente en vertu de
I'article5 de son Statut pour connaître d'une requête pour avis consul-
tatif présentéepar le Comité dans le cadre de l'article 11 du statut du
Tribunal administratif.

24. Il faut noter toutefois que l'article 65 du Statut de la Cour est per-
missif et que, en vertu de ce texte, le pouvoir que la Cour possède de
donner un avis consultatif a un caractère discrétionnaire. Dans l'exercice

de ce pouvoir discrétionnaire, la Cour a toujours suivi le principe selon
lequel, en tant qu'organe judiciaire, elle doit rester fidèleaux exigencesde
son caractère judiciaire, même lorsqu'elle donne des avis consultatifs
(voir par exemple Jugements du Tribunaladministratif de l'OIT sur re-
quêtescontre l'Unesco, avis consultatif, C.I.J. Recueil 1956,p. 84; Corv-
position du Comitéde la sécuritémaritime de l'Organisationintergouverne-
mentale consultative de la navigation maritime, avis consultatif; C.I.J.
Recueil 1960,p. 153).Au cours des débatsquiont précédé l'adoption de la
résolution957 (X)de l'Assemblée générae let l'introduction de I'arti11e
dans le statut du Tribunal administratif, certaines délégationsont ex-
primédes doutes sur divers aspects de la procédureprévue à I'article 11,
en raison précisémentdu caractère judiciaire de la Cour. La Cour se
propose donc d'examiner à présent si,bien qu'elle soit compétente pour
donner l'avis consultatif demandé, ces aspects de la procédure instituée

par I'article1sont tels qu'ilsdevraient l'inciteà refuser de répondre.176 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISORO YPINION)

25. One objection that has been taken to Article 11 is that it insertsa
political organ into the judicial process for settling disputes between staff
members and the Organization. The Administrative Tribunal being a
judicial organ, it is incompatible with the nature of the judicial process,

so it has been suggested, that a political organ should be involved in the
judicial review of its judgements. Certainly, being composed of member
States, the Committee isapolitical organ. Its functions, onthe other hand,
are merely to make a summary examination of any objections to judge-
ments of the Tribunal and to decide whether there is a substantial basis
for the application to have the matter reviewedbythe Court in an advisory
opinion. These are functions which, in the Court's view, are normally
discharged by a legal body. But there is no necessary incompatibility
between the exercise of these functions by a political body and the
requirements of the judicial process, inasmuch as these functions merely
furnish a potential link between two procedures which are clearly
judicial in nature. In the Court's view, the compatibility or otherwise of
any given system of review with the requirements of the judicial process
depends on the circumstances and conditions of each particular system.

26. In the present instance, where recourse is to be made to the Inter-
national Court of Justice, itis understandable that the General Assembly

should have considered it necessary to establish machinery -for the
purpose of ensuring that only applicationsfor reviewhaving a substantial
basis should be made the subject of review proceedings by the Court.
At the same time, the Court notes that the Rules which the Comrnittee
has adopted take account of the quasi-judicial character of its functions.
Thus, these Rules provide that the other party to the proceedings before
the Administrative Tribunal may submit its comments with respect to
the application, andthat, if the Committee invites additional information
or views, the same opportunity to present them is afforded to al1parties
to the proceedings. This means that the decisions of the Committee are
reached after an examination of the opposing views of the interested
parties.
27. The reports of the Cornmittee's meetings reveal that it has dealt
with 16 applications for the review of judgements of the Administrative
Tribunal, al1of which have been made by staff members and none by the
Secretary-General or by a member State. The application which is the
subject of the present request for an advisory opinion was the fourteenth
received by the Committee, and up to date it is the only one in regard to
which the Committee has decided that there was "a substantial basis for

the application" calling for recourse to the advisory jurisdiction of the
Court. It is for the Committee to interpret the function entrusted to
it by paragraph 2 of Article 11, under which it has to "decide whether
or not there is a substantial basis for the application". In dealing with ap-
plications the practice of the Committee has been to limit itself to a
bare report of its decision as to whether or not there was a substantial
basis for the application and whether or not, in consequence, it should 25. On a objecté notamment que l'article 11 du statut du Tribunal
administratif fait intervenir un organe politique dans un mode de règle-
ment judiciaire des diErends entre les fonctionnaires et l'Organisation.
Le Tribunal administratif étantun organe judiciaire,ilest, a-t-on dit, in-
compatible avec la nature mêmede l'action enjustice qu'un organe poli-
tique ait un rôleàjouer dans la réformation judiciaire desjugements du
Tribunal. 11est vrai qu'étantcomposéd'Etats Membres de l'organisation
le Comitéest un organe politique. Mais ses fonctions consistent unique-
ment àexaminer sommairement les objections qui peuvent êtresoulevées
contre lesjugements du Tribunal et à décidersi lesdemandestendant àce
que la Cour réexaminela question par voie d'avis consultatif reposent
sur des bases sérieuses.Cesont desfonctions qui, de l'avisde la Cour, sont
normalement exercéespar un organe juridique. Mais il n'y a pas forcé-

ment incompatibilité entre les exigences de la justice et l'exercice de ces
fonctions par un organe politique car elles ne font qu'assurer un lien
potentiel entre deux procédures qui sont de nature nettement judiciaire.
La Cour estime que le point de savoir si un systèmede réformation est
compatible avec les exigences de lajustice dépend des circonstances et des
conditions de ce système.
26. Dans le cas présent,où c'est la Cour internationale de Justice elle-
mêmequi doit êtresaisie, on comprend que l'Assembléegénéraleait
estiménécessaired'instituer un mécanismetel que seules des demandes de
réformation reposant sur des bases sérieuses puissentfaire l'objet d'un
réexamen par la Cour. La Cour constate d'ailleurs que le règlement
adoptépar le Comitétient compte du caractère quasijudiciaire des fonc-
tions de celui-ci. Ainsi il prévoitque, une demande de réformation étant
formulée, l'autre partieà la procédure devant le Tribunal administratif

peut présenter ses observations sur cette demande et que, si le Comité
sollicite des renseignements ou exposéscomplémentaires, chacun des in-
téressésa la même facultéd'en présenter.Il en résulteque le Comitéprend
sa décisionaprèsun examen contradictoire des thèsesdes parties.

27. Il ressort des rapports du Comitéqu'il aétésaisi de seizedemandes
de réformation de jugements du Tribunal administratif; toutes émanent
de fonctionnaires, aucune du Secrétairegénéralou d'un Etat Membre. La
demande qui est à l'origine de la présenterequêtepour avis consultatif
est la quatorzième qui ait été adresséau Comitéet c'estjusqu'ici la pre-
mière à propos de laquelle le Comité ait décidé qu'ellereposait «sur des
bases sérieuses))nécessitantle recours à la juridiction consultative de la

Cour. Il appartient au Comité d'interpréter la mission que lui confie
l'article 11,paragraphe2, et qui consistà décidersi la demande «repose
sur des bases sérieuses)).En pratique, quand il statuesur une demande, le
Comité se contente d'indiquer dans un rapport s'il considère que la de-
mande repose sur des bases sérieuseset si, en conséquence, ilestime
devoir demander un avis consultatif. Les décisions prises par lui sont
communiquées à tous les Etats Membres, aux partiesà la procédureet au

14request an advisory opinion. The decisions taken by the Committee
are communicated to al1 member States, to the parties to the
proceedings, and to the Administrative Tribunal. However, the re-
ports do not state the grounds of the applicant's objections to the
Tribunal's judgement or the reasons which led the Committee to reject
or, as in the present instance, to endorse the application. The Committee
meets in closed session, and does not draw up summary records of its
proceedings concerning applications, and in the present instancethe Court
has been informed that these proceedings are regarded as confidential.
28. While it might be desirable for the applicant to receive some
indication of the grounds for the Cornmittee's decision in those cases in

which the application is rejected, the fact that the Committee's reports
are confined to a bare statement of the decision reached does not deprive
the reviewproceedings as awholeof their judicial character, norconstitute
a valid reason for the Court's declining to answer the present request. A
refusal by the Court to play its role in the system ofjudicial review set up
by the General Assembly would only have the consequence that this
systemwould not operate precisely in those cases in which theCommittee
has found that there is a substantial basis for the objections which have
been raised against a judgement. When the Committee reaches such an
affirmative decision there is no occasion for a reasoned statement of its
views or a public record of its proceedings; for the Committee's affir-
mative decision, based only ona prima facieappreciation ofthe objections,
is merely a necessary condition for the opening of the Court's advisory
jurisdiction. It ishen for the Court itself to reach its own, unhampered,
opinion as to whether the objections which have been raised against a
judgement are wellfounded or not and to statethe reasonsfor its opinion.
29. Other than what may be derived from the present proceedings,
there is no information before the Court regarding the criteria followed
by the Committee in appreciating whether there is "a substantial basis"
for an application. The statistics of the Committee's decisions may
appear to suggest the conclusion that, in applications made by staff
members, it has adopted a strict interpretation of that requirement. But
such a conclusion, even if established,would not sufficeby itself to render
the procedure under Article 11 of the Tribunal's Statute incompatible
with the principles governing the judicial process. It would, on the other

hand, be incompatible with these principles if the Cornmittee were not
to adopt a uniform interpretation of Article 11also in cases in which the
applicant was not a staff rnember. Furthermore, the legislative history
of Article 11 shows that recourse to the International Court of Justice
was to be had only in exceptional cases.
30. In the light of what has been said above, it does not appear that
there is anytlung in the character or operation of the Committee which
requires theCourt to conclude that the systemofjudicial reviewestablished
by General Assembly resolution 957(X) is incompatible with the general
principles governing the judicial process.
* *

15 DEMANDE DE REFORMATION(AVIS CONSULTATIF) 177

Tribunal administratif. Toutefois les rapports du Comité n'énoncent pas
les motifs pour lesquels les requérants contestent le jugement du Tribu-

nal, ni ceux qui amènent le Comité à rejeter ou, comme c'est le cas en
l'espèce,à accueillir la demande. Le Comitése réunità huis clos, n'établit
pas de comptes rendus analytiques de ses délibérations,et la Cour a été
informée dans la présente affaire que ces délibérationssont considérées
comme confidentielles.

28. S'il peut êtresouhaitable de donner au requérant quelqueindication
des motifs de la décision prise par le Comité quand la demande est reje-
tée,le fait que les rapports du Comité se bornent à énoncer la décisionne
prive pas de son caractère judiciaire la procédure de réformation envisa-
géecomme un tout et ne constitue pas non plus une raison valable pour

que la Cour refuse de répondre a la présente requête.Si la Cour refusait
ainsi de jouer son rôle dans le système de réformation judiciaire créé par
l'Assemblée générale, la seule conséquence serait que ce système ne fonc-
tionnerait pas dans les cas justement où le Comité aurait estiméque les
objections i un jugement reposent sur des bases sérieuses. Quand le Co-
mitéparvient à cette décision positive, il n'a pas besoin de présenter un
exposé motivéde son opinion ou de rendre publics ses débats car une

telle décision, qui ne repose que sur une appréciation sommaire des ob-
jections formulées, n'est qu'une condition nécessaire à l'exercice de la
juridiction consultative de la Cour. C'est ensuite h la Cour elle-même
d'aboutir librement ii sa propre opinion sur le bien-fondé des objections
soulevéescontre unjugement et de préciser ses motifs.

29. En dehors des indications que peut fournir Ia procédure actuelle, la
Cour ignore tout des critères appliqués par le Comité pour décidersi une
demande ((repose sur des bases sérieuses)). Les données statistiques sur
les décisions du Comité inciteraient riconclure que, pour ce qui est des
demandes présentéespar les fonctionnaires, il a adopté une interpréta-
tion stricte de cette exigence. Mais, même à supposer démontréeune telle

conclusion, cela ne suffirait pas pour que la procédure établieà l'articlI1
du statut du Tribunal administratif soit incompatible avec les principes
d'une bonne justice. En revanche, il y aurait bien incompatibilité si le
Comité n'interprétait pas l'article11 de la mêmemanière dans les cas où
la demande n'émanerait pas d'un fonctionnaire. Au surplus, l'historique
de I'article 11 montre que la Cour internationale de Justice ne devait

intervenir qu'exceptionnellement.

30. Vu ce qui vient d'être dit,rien dans la nature ni dans le mode de
fonctionnement du Comiténe paraît imposer à la Cour la conclusion que
le système de réformation judiciaire institué par la résolution 957 (X) de
l'Assemblée générale esitncompatible avec les principes générauxappli-
cables à une action en justice. 31. The Court does not overlook that Article 11 provides for the right
of individual member States to object to a judgement of the Adminis-
trative Tribunal and to apply to the Committee to initiate advisory
proceedings on the matter; and that during the debates in 1955 the
propriety of this provision was questioned by a number of delegations.

The member State, it was said, would not have been a party to the pro-
ceedings before the Administzative Tribunal, and to allow it to initiate
proceedings forthe reviewof thejudgement would, therefore, be contrary
to the general principles governing judicial review. To confer such a
right on a member State, it was further said, would impinge upon the
rights of the Secretary-General as chief administrative officerand conflict
with Article 100of the Charter. It was also suggested that, in the case of
an application by a member State, the staffmember would bein a position
of inequality before the Committee. These argumentsintroduceadditional
considerations which would cal1for close examination by the Court ifit
should receive a request for an opinion resulting from an application to
the Committee by a member State. TheCourt isnot therefore to be under-
stood as here expressing any opinion in regard to any future proceedings
instituted under Article Il by a member State. But these additional
considerations are without relevance in the present proceedings in which
the request for an opinion results from an application to the Committee
by a staff member. The mere fact that Article 11provides for the possi-

bility of a member State applying for the review of ajudgement does not
alter the position in regard to the initiation of review proceedings as
between a staff member and the Secretary-General. Article 11,the Court
emphasizes, gives the same rights to staff members as it does to the
Secretary-General to apply to the Committee for the initiation of review
proceedings.

32. Even so, the Court has still to consider objections which have been
raised against the use of advisoryjurisdiction for the review of Adminis-
trative Tribunal judgements because of what was said to be an inherent
inequality under the Statute of the Court between the staff member, on
the one hand, and the Secretary-General and member States, on the
other. Persona1appearance, it was argued, was an essential feature of due
process of law, but under Article 66 of the Statute, only States and inter-
national organizations were entitled to submit statements to the Court.

It was also maintained that a mere expression of a hope by the General
Assembly in the proposed resolution (see para. 36 below) that member
States and the Secretary-General would forgo their right to an oral
hearing was not a sufficient guarantee of equality; nor was it thought
appropriate that an individual should be dependent on another party
to the dispute for the presentation of his views to the Court.
33. In the year following the adoption of Article 11, as it happened,
the Court was called upon to examine the compatibility with its judicial

16 31. La Cour n'oublie pas que l'article 11donne aux Etats Membres le

droit de contester un jugement du Tribunal administratif et de demander
au Comité d'entamer une procédure consultativeen la matière et elle
relèvequ'au cours des débatsde 1955un certain nombre de délégations
ont mis en cause l'opportunité de cette disposition. On a dit que,'Etat
Membre n'ayant pas été partieà l'instance devant le Tribunal administra-
tif, l'autorisàrengager une procédureen vue de la réformationdu juge-
ment serait contraire aux principes généraux régissant lersecours judi-
ciaires. On a dit en outre que le fait de conférer untel droit un Etat
Membre constituerait un empiétementsur lesdroits du Secrétairegénéral,
qui est le plus haut fonctionnaire de l'organisation, et contreviendraàt
l'article 100 de la Charte. On a également émisl'opinion qu'en cas de
demande présentéepar un Etat Membre le fonctionnaire serait dans une
situation d'infériorité devantle Comité.Ces arguments font intervenir des

considérations additionnelles que la Cour devrait soigneusement exa-
miner si elle étaitun jour saisie d'une requêtepour avis consultatif sur
demande adresséeau Comitépar un Etat Membre. Il ne faut donc pas
considérerque la Cour exprime ici une opinion à l'égard d'uneprocédure
qui serait engagéeà l'avenir par un Etat Membre en vertu de l'article 11.
Les considérations additionnelles dont il s'agit sont au reste sans perti-
nence en l'espèce,ou la requêtepour avis consultatif fait suite à une
demande présentéeau Comité par un fonctionnaire. En soi le fait que
l'article1 permette à un Etat Mem~re de demander la réformation d'un
jugement ne changerien à la situationqui existe quand les parties intéres-
séessont un fonctionnaire et le Secrétairegénéral.La Cour souligne que
l'article 11 donne aux fonctionnaires le même droit qu'au Secrétaire
généralde demander au Comitéd'engager une procédurede réformation.

32. La Cour doit cependant examiner encore les objections élevées
contre l'emploi de la procédure consultative comme voie de réformation
des jugements du Tribunal administratif, en raison d'une inégalité
inhérente, résultantdu Statut de la Cour, qui existerait entre le fonction-
naire d'une part et le Secrétairegénéralet les Etats Membres de l'autre.
La comparution, soutenait-on, est un élément essentielde toute bonne
justice mais, en vertu de l'articledu Statut, seuls les Etats et les organi-
sations internationales sont habilités présenter desexposés à la Cour.
On affirmait aussi que l'espoir, exprimépar l'Assemblée généraldeans la
résolution proposée(voir paragraphe 36ci-après),que les Etats Membres

et le Secrétaire généralrenonceraient à leur droit d'êtreentendus ne
suffirait pasàgarantir l'égalité;et l'on ne jugeait pas convenable qu'un
plaideur doive compter sur une autre partie au différendpour que sesvues
soient présentéesà la Cour.
33. Or il s'esttrouvé que, l'annéequi a suivi l'adoption de l'article 11,
la Cour a été appelée àexaminer si l'emploi de lajuridiction consultative

16character of the use of the advisoryjurisdiction for review of Administra-
tive Tribunal judgements, though in the different context of Article XII
of the Statute of the IL0 Administrative Tribunal. Despite the different
context, the views then expressed by the Court in its Opinion con-
cerning Judgments of the Adininistratii,e Tribunal of the IL0 upon
Cornplaints Made against Unesco (I.C.J. Reports 1956, p. 77) are, in cer-
tain respects,apposite for the purposes of the present Opinion.
34. The difficulty regarding the requirement of equality between staff
members and their organization in review proceedings involving the
Court's advisory jurisdiction arises from the terms of Article 66 of the
Statute of the Court. This Article makes provision for the submission of
written or oral statements only by States and international organizations.
In the 1956proceedings the difficulty was recognized by Unesco, whose
Legal Counsel notified counsel for the staffmembers that the Organization

would transmit directly to the Court, without checking the contents, any
observations or information that they might desire to present. TheCourt
indicated that it saw no objection to this procedure, and counsel for the
staff members notified Unesco of his agreement to it. Subsequently, the
Court informed the States and organizations which had been considered
likely to be able to furnish informition on the question before the Court
that it did not contemplate holding public hearings in the case. At the
same time, it fixed a date within which further coniments might be
submitted in writing, and Unesco informed counsel for the staff members
of its readiness to transmit to the Courtsuch fiirther observations as they
might wish to present. Lnthe light of the procedure adopted, the Court
concluded that the requirements of equality had been suficiently met to
enable it to comply with the request for an Opinion. It observed:

&'Thedificulty was met, on the one hand, by the procedure under
which the observations of the officials were made available to the
Court through the intermediary of Unesco and, on the other hand,
by dispensing with oral proceedings. The Court is not bound for
the future by any consent which it gave or decisions which it made
with regard to the procedure thus adopted. In the present case, the
procedure which has been adopted has not given rise to any objection
on the part of those concerned. It has been consented to by counsel

for the officials in whose favour the Judgments were given. The
principle of equality of the parties follows from the requirements of
good administration of justice. These requireinents have not been
impaired in the present case by the circumstance that the written
statement on behalf of the officials was submitted through Unesco.
Finally, although no oral proceedings were held, the Court issatisfied
that adequate information has been made available to it. In view
of this there would appear to be no compelling reason why the
Court should not lend its assistance in the solution of a problem
confronting a specialized agency of the United Nations authorizedaux fins de la réformation de jugements du Tribunal administratif était

compatible avec son caractère judiciaire - la question se posait, il est
vrai, dans le cadre différentde l'articleXII du statut du Tribunal ad-
ministratif de l'OIT. Malgrécette différence, les vues exprimées à cette
occasion par la Cour dans son avis consultatif sur les Jugements du
Tribunaladministratifdel'OIT surrequêtes contrel'Unesco(C.I.J. Recueil
1956,p. 77)s'appliquent àcertains égardsà la présenteespèce.
34. Pour ce qui est de l'égalitéentre les fonctionnaires et les organisa-
tions dont ils relèventdans les instances de réformation mettant en jeu la
juridiction consultative de laCour, la difficultétient aux termes de l'article
66 du Statut de la Cour. Cet article réserveaux Etats et aux organisations
internationales la faculté de présenter des exposésécritsou oraux. En
1956la difficultéa été reconnuepar l'Unesco, dont le conseillerjuridique
a aviséle conseil des fonctionnaires intéressésque l'organisation trans-

mettrait directement à la Cour, sans en examiner le contenu, les observa-
tions et informations que ces fonctionnaires désireraient formuler. La
Cour a indiquéqu'elle ne voyait aucune objection àcette procédure et le
conseil des fonctionnaires a donnéson assentiment àl'Unesco. Ultérieu-
rement, la Cour a avisétous les Etats et organisations jugéssusceptibles
de fournir des renseignements sur la question portée devant elle qu'elle
n'envisageait pas de tenir d'audience en l'espèce.En mêmetemps, elle a
fixéun délaidans lequel des commentaires écritscomplémentaires pour-
raient lui êtreadressésetl'Unesco a informéle conseil des fonctionnaires
que l'organisation était disposéeà transmettre à la Cour toutes observa-
tions supplémentaires que les intéresséssouhaiteraient formuler. Vu la
procédureadoptée, la Cour a conclu que les exigences de l'égalitéavaient
étésuffisamment satisfaites pour lui permettre de répondre à la demande

d'avis. La Cour s'est expriméeainsi:
((11..a étépourvu [à la difficulté],d'une part, par le procédé con-
sistantà faire parvenirà la Cour les observations des fonctionnaires
par l'intermédiaire del'Unesco, d'autre part, en renonçant à toute
procédure orale. La Cour n'est pas liéepour l'avenir par l'assenti-
ment qu'elle a pu donner ou les décisions qu'ellea pu prendre au

sujet de la procédure ainsiadoptée. En l'espèce,la procédure suivie
n'a pas soulevéd'objections de la part des intéresséset elle a même
reçu l'assentiment du conseil des fonctionnaires bénéficiairesdes
jugements. Le principe de l'égalitéentre les parties découle des
exigences d'une bonne administration de la justice. Ces exigences
n'ont pas été compromisesen l'espècepar le fait que les observations
écrites formuléesau nom des fonctionnaires ont étéprésentéespar
l'intermédiairede l'Unesco. Enfin, bien qu'iln'y ait pas eu de pro-
cédure orale, la Cour constate qu'elle a reçu des informations
adéquates. Il semble qu'il n'yait pas, dans ces conditions, de motif
déterminant pour que la Cour refuse de prêter sonassistance à la
solution d'un problame qui se pose pour une institution spécialisée
des Nations Unies autorisée à demander à la Cour un avis consul-180 APPLICATIO FOR REVlEW (ADVISORO YPINION)

to ask for an Advisory Opinion of the Court. Notwithstanding the
permissive character of Article 65 of theStatute in the matter of ad-
visory opinions, only compelling reasons could cause the Court to
adopt in this matter a negative attitude which would imperil the

working of the régime established by the Statute of the Admini-
strative Tribunal for the judicial protection of officials. Any see-
ming or nominal absence of equality ought not to be allowed to ob-
scure or to defeat that primary object.''(I.C.J.Reports 1956,p. 86.)
35. In that Opinion, therefore,the Court took the viewthat any absence
of equality between staff members and the Secretary-General inherent
in the terms of Article 66 of theStatute of the Court is capable of being
cured by the adoption of appropriate procedures which ensure actual

equality in the particular proceedings. In those advisory proceedings,
institutedunder the Statute of the IL0 Administrative Tribunal, the
adoption of the appropriate procedures was entirely dependent upon
the will of the Organization concerned, Unesco; and yet the Court
considered that "any seeming or nominal absence of equality" inherent
in Article 66 ofthe Court'sStatute ought not to prevent it from complying
with the request for an opinion. True, certain judges considered that the
absence of oral proceedings constituted either an insuperable or a serious
obstacle to the Court's complying with the request for an advisory
opinion. But that view was not shared by the Court. Moreover, in the
present proceedings, instituted under the Statute of the United Nations
Administrative Tribunal, the procedural position of the staff member is
more secure. Paragraph 2 of Article 11 expressly provides that, when
the Committee requests an advisory opinion, the Secretary-General shall
arrange to transmit to the Court the views ofthe staff member concerned.
The implication is that the staff member is entitled to have his views
transrnitted to the Court without any control being exercised over the

contents by the Secretary-General; for otherwise the views would not in
a true sense be the views of the staff member concerned. Thus, under
Article 11,the equality of a staff member in the written procedure before
the Court is not dependent on the will or favour of the Organization,
but is made a matter of right guaranteed by the Statute of the Adminis-
trative Tribunal.

36. In resolution 957(X) the General Assembly sought also to remedy
the inequality in regard to the oral procedure between staff members, on
the one hand, and member States and the Secretary-General, on the
other, which exists in Article 66 of the Court'statute. In that resolution,
afteradopting the text of the new Article 11ofthe Statute of the Adminis-
trative Tribunal, it added the recommendation:

"...that Member States and the Secretary-General should not make
oral statements before the International Court of Justice in any tatif. Malgréle caractèrepermissif de l'article 65du Statut relatif aux
avis consultatifs, il faudrait des raisons décisivespour déterminer la

Cour à opposer un refus qui compromettrait le fonctionnement du
régimeétabli par le statut du Tribunal administratif en vue de la
protection juridictionnelle des fonctionnaires. Une absence d'égalité,
apparente ou théorique, ne doit pas obscurcir ou effacer cet objet
essentiel.(C.I.J.Recueil 1956,p. 86.)

35. Dans l'avis précitél,a Cour est donc partie du principe que toute

inégalitérésultantde l'article 66de son Statut entre lesfonctionnaireset le
Secrétaire généralpeut être corrigée par l'adoption de dispositions
appropriées, de nature à assurer une égalité effectivedans une instance
déterminée.Dans la procédure consultative alors engagéeen application
du statut du Tribunal administratif de l'OIT, l'adoption des dispositions
appropriées dépendait entièrement de la bonne volontéde l'organisation
intéressée,àsavoir l'Unesco; la Cour n'en a pas moins considéréqu'c,une
absence d'égalitéapparente ou théorique)), inhérente à l'article 66 du
Statut, ne devait pas l'empêcherde donner suite à la demande d'avis. 11
est vrai que, selon certains juges, l'absence de procédure orale constituait
un obstacle grave, voire insurmontable, empêchantla Cour de répondre
i la demande d'avis. Mais la Cour n'a pas partagé cette opinion. De plus,
en la présente instance, qui a étéintroduite conformément au statut du

Tribunal administratif des Nations Unies, la position du fonctionnaire au
regard de la procédure est plus solide. L'article 11, paragraphe2, de ce
statut prévoit expressémentque, quand le Comité demande un avis con-
sultatif, le Secrétairegénéralprend les dispositions voulues pour trans-
mettre à la Cour l'opinion du fonctionnaire intéress. elaimplique que le
fonctionnaire a droità ce que son opinion soit transmise à la Cour, sans
que le Secrétairegénéralen contrôle le contenu; s'il en allait autrement,
l'opinion en question ne serait pas àproprement parler la sienne. Ainsi,
en vertu de l'article1, la situation d'égalitédont un fonctionnaire béné-
ficie dans la procédure écritedevant la Cour ne dépendpas de la bonne
volontéou dela faveur del'organisation; ils'agitd'un droit garanti par le
statut du Tribunal administratif.

36. Par sa résolution957(X), l'Assemblée généraa leégalementcherché
à corriger l'inégalité crédensla procédureorale,entre lesfonctionnaires
d'une part et les Etats Membres et le Secrétairegénéralde l'autre, par
I'article 66 du Statut de la Cour. Après avoir adopté le texte du nouvel
article11 du statut du Tribunal administratif, l'Assembléegénéralere-
commande dans cette résolution :

«que les Etats Membres et le Secrétaire générals'abstiennent de
présenter des exposésoraux à la Cour internationale de Justice à proceedings under the new article II of the Statute of the Adminis-
trative Tribunal adopted under the present resolution".

As to this recommendation, the Court observes that, when under Article
66, paragraph 2, of its Statute written statements have been presented to
the Court in advisory proceedings, the further procedure in the case, and
in particular the holding of public hearings for the purpose of receiving
oral statements, is a matter within the discretion of the Court. In exer-
cising that discretion, the Court will have regard both to the provisions
of itsStatute and to the requirements of itsjudicial character. But it does
not appear to the Court that there is any general principle of law which
requires that inreviewproceedings the interested partiesshould necessarily
have an opportunity to submit oral statements ;f their case to the review
tribunal. General principles of law and the judicid character of the
Court do require that, even in advisory proceedings, the interested parties
should each have an opportunity, and on a basis of equality, to submit
al1the elements relevant to the questions which have been referred to the
review tribunal. But that condition is fulfilled by the submission of
written statements. Accordingly, the Court sees noreason to resile from
the position which it took in its Opinion in the Unesco case that, if the
Court is satisfied that adequate information has been made available to it,
the fact that no public hearings have been held is not a bar to the Court's
complying with the request for an opinion.

37. In the present proceedings, in accordance with Article 65, para-
graph 2, of the Statute of the Court, the Secretary-General supplied the
Court with a large dossier of relevant documents, including copies of
documents which were before the Administrative Tribunal and of those
submitted by Mr. Fasla to the Committee; he aiso submitted a written
statement to the Court, and subsequently submitted written comments
on the statementof the viewsof Mr. Fasla, together with some additional
documents. Mr. Fasla, on his side, was accorded every opportunity to
present his views to the Court in writing on a basis of equality with the
Secretary-General, and this opportunity he used to the full. First,through
the instrumentality of the Secretary-General, a written statement of his
views was transmitted to the Court, together with an annexed document.
Sometwo months later and byleaveof the President of the Court, Mr. Fasla
transmitted by the same channel a corrected, but at the same time much
amplified, statement of his views, together with further documents.
Finally, within a further time-limit fixed by the President, he transmitted
to the Court his written comments on the Secretary-General's written
statement, and to these comments, signed by his counsel, there were
appended a "persona1 statement" by Mr. Fasla and additional documents.
As to oral proceedings, by a letter of 6 October 1972the United Nations
and its member States were informed that it was not contemplated that
public hearings for the submission of oral statements would be held in
the case. Subsequently, by a letter dated 15 November 1972, that is, l'occasion d'une procédureengagéeconformément au nouvel article

11 du statut du Tribunal administratif adopté aux termes de la
présente résolution.
A propos de cette recommandation, la Cour fait observer que, quand des
exposés écritslui sont présentésen matière consultative conformément à
l'article 66, paragraphe 2, de son Statut, la suite de la procédure, en par-
ticulier la tenue d'audiences publiques consacrées à des exposésoraux,

relèvede son pouvoir discrétionnaire. Pour exercer ce pouvoir, la Cour
tient compte à la fois des dispositions de son Statut et des exigences de
son caractèrejudiciaire.IIne semble pas àla Cour qu'il existe unprincipe
généralde droit exigeant que, dans une procédure de réformation, la
possibilitésoit nécessairement donnée aux parties d'exposer oralement
leur cause devant le tribunal compétent. Ce qu'imposent les principes
généraux dedroit et le caractèrejudiciaire de la Cour, c'est que, mêmeen
matière consultative, la possibilitésoit fourniechacune des parties in-
téressées,dans des conditions d'égalité,de faire valoir tous les éléments
qui concernent la question portée devant le tribunal de réformation.
Cette condition est satisfaite par la présentation d'exposés éc. a Cour
ne voit ainsi aucune raison de se départirde l'attitude qu'elle a prise dans
son avis consultatif donnéà la demande de l'Unesco, àsavoir que, si elle
constate qu'elle a reçu des informations adéquates, le fait qu'aucune au-

dience publique n'ait été tenuene l'empêche pasde donner suite à la
demande d'avis.
37. En l'espèce,conformément à l'article 65, paragraphe 2, du Statut,
le Secrétaire générala fait tenir à la Cour un volumineux dossier
de documents pertinents comprenant des copies des pièces dont le
Tribunal administratif avait eu connaissance et de celles que M. Fasla
avait soumises au Comité; il a également présentéun exposé écrit et
communiquépar la suite des observations écritessur l'exposéde l'opinion
de M. Fasla ainsi que certains documents supplémentaires. M. Fasla
s'estvu accorder toutes les facilités vouluespour présenterson opinionà
la Cour par écritdans des conditions d'égalitéavec le Secrétairegénéral
et il en a uséau maximum. Un exposéécritde son opinion accompagné
d'une annexe a tout d'abord ététransmis à la Cour par l'intermédiairedu

Secrétaire généralD. eux mois plus tard environ,M. Fasla a transmis par
la même voie, avecl'autorisation du Président de la Cour, une version
corrigéeet beaucoup plus développéede cette opinion ainsi que divers
documents. Enfin, dans un nouveau délaifixépar le Président, M. Fasla a
communiqué a la Cour des observations écritessur l'exposédu Secrétaire
général signéedse son conseil, accompagnées d'une ((annexe personnelle)>
rédigéepar lui-même etde piècescomplémentaires. Pour ce qui est de la
procédure orale, l'Organisation des Nations Unies et ses Etats Membres
ont été informés palrettre du6 octobre 1972qu'il n'était pas envisagéde
tenir en l'affaire d'audiences publiques consacréesà des exposésoraux.
Par lettre du 15novembre 1972,c'est-à-dire avant de présenterla version
corrigéede son opinion, M. Fasla a demandé a la Cour l'autorisation deprior to submitting his corrected ststement, Mr. Fasla transmitted to
the Court a request to be permitted to make an oral statement. On
25January 1973the Court decided not to hear oral statements and on the
same date telegraphed its decision to the United Nations Legal Counsel.
Mr. Fasla having renewed hisrequest in a letter of 29 January 1973,the
Court adhered to its decision not to hold a public hearing for the purpose
of receiving oral statements.

38. In advisory proceedings, as previously mentioned, it lies within
the entire discretion of the Court to decide whether to obtain oral in
addition to written statements. It may be truethat in the present proceed-
ingsfor the reviewofan Administrative Tribunal Judgement the questions
submitted to the Court relate to acontentious casebetweena staffmember
and the Secretary-General. It may also be true that this aspect of the
proceedings is accentuated by the fact that Article 11, paragraph 3, of
the Tribunat's Statute provides that the Secretary-General shall either
give effectto the opinion of the Court or request the Tribunal to convene
specially in order that it shall confirm its original judgement, or give a
newjudgement, in conformity withthe opinion oftheCourt. Nevertheless,
the proceedings before the Court are still advisory proceedings, in which
the task of the Court is not to retry the case but to reply to the questions
put to it regarding the objections whichhave been raisedto the Judgement
of the Administrative Tribunal. The Court is, therefore, only concerned
to ensure that the interested parties shall havea fair and equal opportunity
to present their viewsto the Court respecting the questions on which its
opinion is requested and that the Court shall have adequate information

to enable it to administer justice in giving its opinion. The Court is
satisfiedthat theserequirements have beenmet inthe present proceedings.

39. Again, the fact that under Article 11,paragraph 3,of the Tribunal's
Statute the opinion given by the Court is to have a conclusiveeffectwith
respect to the matters in litigation in that case does not constitute any
obstacle to the Court's replyingto the request for an opinion. Such an
effect, it is true,es beyond the scope attributed by the Charter and by
the Statute of the Court to an advisory opinion. It results, however, not
from the advisory opinion itself but from a provision of an autonomous
instrument havingthe forceof lawforthe staffmembersandthe Secretary-
General. Under Article XII of the Statute of the IL0 Administrative
Tribunal the Court's opinion is expressly made binding. In alluding to
this consequence the Court, in the Unesco case, observed:
0
"It in no wise affects the way in which the Court functions; that
continues to be determined by its Statute and its Rules. Nor does
it affect the reasoning by which the Court forms its Opinion or the
content of the Opinion itself. Accordingly, the fact that the Opinion
of the Court is accepted as binding provides no reason why the
Request for an Opinion should not be complied with." (I.C.J.
Reports 1956,p. 84.)faire un exposéoral. Le 25janvier 1973,la Cour a décidé de ne pas en-
tendre d'exposésoraux et a télégraphié cette décisionle mêmejour au
conseillerjuridique de l'organisation des Nations Unies.. Fasla ayant
renouvelé sademande dans une lettre du 29 janvier 1973, la Cour a
confirmésa décisionde ne pas tenir d'audiences publiques consacrées à
des exposésoraux.

38. En matière consultative,laCour, ainsi qu'elle l'arappelé plushaut,
a le pouvoir discrétionnaire de dire si elle désireque des exposésoraux
complètent les exposés écritsS. ans doute,dans la présenteprocédurede
réformation d'unjugement du Tribunal administratif, les questions sou-
mises à la Cour ont-elles traià une affaire contentieuse entre un fonc-

tionnaire et le Secrétaire généralS.ans doute aussi cet aspect de la pro-
cédureest-il accentuépar le fait qu'aux termes de l'article 11,paragraphe
3, du statut du Tribunal le Secrétairegénéralou bien donne effeà I'avis
de la Cour, ou bien prie le Tribunal de se réunirspécialementpour con-
firmer son jugement initial ou rendre un nouveau jugement, confor-
mément à l'avisde la Cour. La procédurequi se dérouledevant la Cour
n'en demeure pas moins une procédure consultative, dans laquelle la
Cour a pour tâche non pas de refaire le procès maisde répondre aux
questions qui lui sont poséesau sujet des objections soulevéescontre le
jugement du Tribunal administratif. La Cour doit donc uniquement
veillerà ce que les parties intéresséesaient la possibilitéde lui exposer,
dans des conditions d'équitéet d'égalitél,eurs vues sur les questions
propos desquelles un avis lui est demandé,età ce qu'elle-mêmedispose

d'informations adéquatespour pouvoir rendre la justice en donnant son
avis consultatif. La Cour estime que cesconditions sont satisfaites dansla
présente procédure.
39. De plus, le fait qu'en vertu de l'article 11,paragraphe du statut
du Tribunal administratif l'avis rendu par la Cour doive avoir un effet
décisoireà l'égarddes questions en litigedans l'affaire ne metpas obstacle
à ce que la Cour répondeà la requête. Certes cetteconséquence dépassla
portée attachéepar la Charte et par le Statut de la Courn avis consul-
tatif. Elle résultecependant non pas de l'avis consultatif lui-mêmemais
d'une disposition contenue dans un instrument autonome qui a force de
loi pour les fonctionnaires et le Secrétairegénéral. L'articleu statut
du Tribunal administratif de'OIT confèreexpressémentforce obligatoire
à I'avisde la Cour. Traitant de cette conséquence,la Cour a dit, dans son

avisconsultatif donnéà la demande de l'Unesco :
«Elle n'affecte en rien le mode selon lequel la Cour fonctionne:
celui-cireste fixépar sonStatutet son Règlement. Elle n'affecte ni le
raisonnement par lequel la Cour formera son opinion, ni le contenu
de I'avislui-même.Par conséquent,le fait que l'avisde la Cour sera
acceptécomme ayant force obligatoire ne fait pas obstacleàce que
suitesoitdonnée àla demande d'avis.))(C.Z. RJecueil1956,p. 84.)183 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISORO YPINION)

Similarly, the special effect to be attributed to the Court's opinion by
Article 11of the Statute of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal
furnishes no reason for refusing to comply with the request for an opinion
in the present instance.
40. The Court has repeatedly stated that a reply to a request for an
advisory opinion should not, in principle, be refused and that only com-

pelling reasons would justify such a refusa1 (see, e.g., Juclgrnentsof the
Administrative Tribunal of the IL0 upon CornplaintsMade against Unesco,
Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1956, p. 86; Legal Consequences for
States of theContinztedPresence of South Africa in Namibia (South West
Africa) notwithstanding Security Council Resolution 276 (1970), Advisory
Opinion,I.C.J. Reports 1971,p.27).In thelight ofwhathas been saidabove,
it does not appear to theCourtthat there is anycompelling reason why it
should declineto replyto the request in the present instance. Onthe contra-
ry,asinthe 1956proceedings concerning the IL0 Administrative Tribunal,
the Court considers that itshould not"adopt inthis matter anegative atti-
tude which would imperil the working ofthe régimeestablished bythe Sta-
tute of the Administrative Tribunal for thejudicial protection of officials"
(I.C.J. Reports 1956,p. 86).Although the records show that Article 11was
not introduced into the Statute of the United Nations Administrative Tri-
bunal exclusively,or evenprimarily, to providejudicial protection for offi-
cials, they also show that steps were,nevertheless, taken to ensure that the
régime establislied by it should provide such protection. Moreover, it
has so far been officialsalone who have sought to invoke the régimeof

judicial protection established by Article 11. Accordingly, as already
indicated, although the Court does riot consider the review procedure
provided by Article 1 1as free from difficulty, it has no doubt that, in the
circumstances of the present case, it should comply with the request by
the Committee on Applications for Review of Administrative Tribunal
Judgements for an advisory opinion.

41. The scope of the questions on which, therefore, the Court has now
to advise is determined first,bj Article 11of the Statute of the Adminis-
trativeTribunal, which specifiesthe grounds on which ajudgement of the
Tribunal may be challenged through the medium of the advisory juris-
diction, and, secondly, by the terms of the request to the Court. Under
Article 11an application may be made to the Committeefor the purpose
of obtaining the review by the Court of a judgement of the Tribunal on
any of the following grounds, namely that the Tribunal has:
(i) "exceeded its jurisdiction or competence";
(ii) "failed to exercisejurisdiction vested in it";

(iii) "erred on a question of law relating to the provisions of the Charter
of the United Nations"; orDe même l'effet spécia qlue I'article 11du statut du Tribunal administratif

des Nations Unies attribue à l'avis de la Cour n'est pas une raison pour
refuser de donner suite a la demande d'avis consultatif en la présente
espèce.
40. La Cour a déclaré à maintes occasions qu'une réponse à une re-
quête pouravis consultatif ne devrait pas, en principe, êtrerefuséeet que
seules des raisons décisivespourraient motiver un refus (voir par exemple
Jugements du Tribunaladministratif de l'OIT sur requêtes contrle'Unesco,
avisconsultatif, C.I.J. Recueil 1956,p. 86; Conséquencesjuridiquesour les
Etats de laprésencecontinue del'Afrique du Sud en Namibie (Sud-Ouest
africain) nonobstant la résolution276 (1970) du Conseil de sécuritéa ,vis
consultatif, C.I.J. Recueil 1971, p. 27). Etant donné ce qui a étéexposé
plus haut, la Cour ne voit pas de raison décisivede refuser de répondre à
la demande d'avis en l'espèce. Aucontraire, et comme dans l'affaire de
1956qui concernait le Tribunal administratif de l'OIT, la Cour ne croit

pas devoir ((opposer un refus qui compromettrait le fonctionnement du
régimeétablipar le statut du Tribunal administratif en vue de la protec-
tion juridictionnelle des fonctionnaires)) (C.I.J. Recueil 1956, p. 86).
Certes les documents montrent que I'article 11n'a pas étéintroduit dans
le statut du Tribunal administratif des Nations Unies exclusivement, ni
mêmeprincipalement, pour assurer une protection juridictionnelle aux
fonctionnaires; il en ressort cependant que des mesures ont été prises
pour que le régime créé en vertu de cet article assure une telle protection.
De plus, jusqu'ici seuls lesfonctionnaires ont invoquéle régimede protec-
tion juridictionnelle établi par I'articleEn conséquence,comme on l'a
déjà indiqué,tout en considérant quela procédure deréformation établie
à I'article II n'est pas exempte de difficulté,la Cour n'estime pas douteux
que, dans les circonstances de l'espèce,elle doit donner suite la requête
pour avis consultatif présentéepar le Comitédes demandes de réforma-

tion dejugements du Tribunal administratif.

41. La portée des questions sur lesquelles la Cour doit maintenaht
exprimer son avis dépend, en premier lieu, de I'article 11 du statut du

Tribunal administratif qui spécifie les motifspour lesquels un jugement
du Tribunal peut être contestépar la voie consultative et, en second lieu,
des termes de la requête adressée à la Cour. En vertu de I'article 11, une
demande tendant àla réformationd'unjugement du Tribunal par la Cour
peut êtreadresséeau Comitépour l'un quelconque des motifs suivants:

i) le Tribunal «a outrepassésajuridiction ou sa compétence));
ii) il «n'a pas exercésa juridiction;)

iii) i«a commis une erreur de droit concernant les dispositions de la
Charte des Nations Unies)); ou
71(iv) "committed a fundamental error in procedure which has occasioned
a failure of justice."

Consequently, the Committee is authorized to request, and the Court to
give, an advisory opinion only on legal questions which may properly be
considered as falling within the terms of one or more of those four
"grounds". Again, under Article 65of the Court's Statute, itscompetence
to give advisory opinions extends only to legal questions on which its
opinion has been requested. The Court may interpret the terms of the
request and determine the scope of the questions set out in it. The Court

may also take into account any matters germane to the questions
submitted to it which may be necessary to enable it to form its opinion.
But in giving its opinion the Court is, in principle, bound by the
terms of the questions formulated in the request (Voting Procedure on
Questions relating to Reports and Petitions concernitig the Territory
of South West Africa, Advisory Opinion,I.C.J. Reports 1955, pp. 71-72;
Judgments oftheAdministrative Tribunalof theIL0 uponConzplaintsMade
against Unesco,Advisory Opinion,I.C.J. Reports 1956,pp. 98-99). In the
present instance, the questions formulated in the request refer to only
two of the four "grounds" of challenge specified in Article 11 of the
Administrative Tribunal's Statute, namely, failure to exercisejurisdiction
and fundamental error in procedure. Consequently, it is only objections
to Judgement No. 158based on one or other of those two grounds which
are within the terms of the questions put to the Court.
42. The text of the request which is now before the Court has been set
out at the beginning of this Opinion.The two questions which it contains
read as follows:

"(1) Has the Tribunal failed to exercise jurisdiction vested in it as
contended in the applicant's application to the Committee on
Applications for Reviewof Administrative Tribunal Judgements
(A/AC.86/R.59)?
(2)Has the Tribunal committed a fundamental error of procedure
which has occasioned a failure of justice as contended in the
applicant's application to the Committee on Applications for
Review of Administrative Tribunal Judgements (AlAC.861
R.59)?"

The document mentioned in each question is Mr. Fasla's formal appli-
cation to the Committee in which he set out his grounds of objection
to Judgement No. 158and his contentions in support of those grounds.
Thus the questions are specifically limited to the grounds of objec-
tion and the contentions advanced by him in his application to the
Committee. He alsoformulated four questions at the end of hisapplication

with the request that they be submitted to the Court. These questions
referred only to two of the four grounds of objection envisaged by
Article 11of the Tribunal's Statute, namely failure to exercisejurisdiction
and fundamental error in the procedure having occasioned a failure ofiv) il «a commis, dans la procédure, uneerreur essentielle qui a provoqué
un mal-jugé. »

Il s'ensuit que le Comitén'est autoriséà demander, et la Cour à donner,
un avis consultatif que sur les questions juridiques qui peuventégitime-
ment êtreconsidéréescomme se rattachant à un ou plusieurs de ces
quatre motifs. De plus, en vertu de l'article 65du Statut, la compétence
de la Cour pour donner un avis consultatif se limite aux questions juridi-
ques sur lesquelles son avis est demandé. La Cour peut interpréter les
termes dela requêteet préciserla portéedes questions qui y sont posées.
Elle peut aussi tenir compte de tous les élémentsse rapportant à ces
questions qui peuvent lui êtrenécessairespour se former une opinion.
Mais, lorsqu'elle rend son avis, la Cour est en principe liéepar le libellé
des questions formuléesdansla requête (Procédure de vote applicable aux
questions touchant les rapports et pétitionsrelatifs au Territoire du Sud-
Ouest africain,avisconsultatif,C.I.J. Recueil955,p. 71-72;Jugements du

Tribunaladministratifde 1701Tsurrequêtescontrle'Unesco,avisconsultatif,
C.I.J. Recueil 1956, p. 98-99). En la présente instance, les questions for-
muléesdans la requêtene visent que deux des quatre motifs de contesta-
tion spécifiés l'article 11du statut du Tribunal administratifàsavoir le
non-exercice de lajuridiction et l'erreur essentielle dans la procédure.Par
conséquent, seules les objectionsà l'égarddu jugement no 158qui repo-
sent sur l'un ou l'autre de ces deux motifs entrent dans le cadre des
questions soumises à la Cour.
42. Le texte de la requêtepour avis consultatif dont la Cour est saisie
est reproduit au début du présent avis. Les deux questions qui y sont
formuléessont ainsi conçues :

«1. Le Tribunal a-t-il omis d'exercer sa juridiction ainsi que le
soutientle requérant dans sa demande présentéeau Comité des
demandes de réformation dejugements du Tribunal administra-
tif(A/AC.861R.59)?
2. Le Tribunal a-t-il commis, dans la procédure, uneerreur essen-
tielle qui a provoqué un mal-jugé,ainsi que le soutient le re-
quérant dans sa demande présentéeau Comité desdemandes de

réformation de jugements du Tribunal administratif (AlAC.861
R.59)?»
Le document visé dans chacune des deux questions est la deman-

de présentée officiellement par M. Fasla au Comité, où il indi-
que les motifs de ses objections au jugement no 158 et présente son
argumentation à l'appui. De la sorte, les questions sont expressément
limitéesaux motifs de contestation qu'il a invoquéset aux thèsesqu'il a
avancéesdans sa demande au Comité. M. Fasla formule en outre à la fin
de cette demande quatre questions qu'il souhaite voir soumettre à la
Cour et qui ne concernent que deux des quatre motifs de contestation
envisagés à l'articl11du statut du Tribunal,à savoir le non-exercice dela
juridiction et l'erreur essentielle dans la procédure ayant provoqué unjustice; the other two grounds recognized in Article Il-excess of
jurisdiction and error on a question of law relating to the provisions of
the Charter-were not raised by the applicant before the Committee.
The two grounds advanced by the applicant before the Committee are
therefore identical in substance withthose upon which the opinion of the
Court has been requested.

43. In order to determine the scope of the questions put to the Court
and theframework within whichthe Court hasto giveitsopinion, itis neces-
sary to have regard to Mr. Fasla's contentions before theCommittee. As,
however, the implications of these contentions can be appreciated only
in the context of the claims presented by him to the Administrative
Tribunal and of the disposal of those claims by the Tribunal, the Court
must first set out his claims before the Tribunal and the Tribunal's
decisions in regard to them.
44. Mr. Fasla instituted his proceedings against the Secretary-General
before the AdministrativeTribunal by an application, dated 31December
1970,in which he requested it "to order the following measures":

"(a) As a preliminary measure, production by the Respondent of
the report by Mr. Satrap, Chief, Middle East Area Division,
UNDP on his investigation of the UNDP office in Yemen in
February 1969.
(b) As a prelirninary measure, production by the Respondent of
the report by Mr. Hagen, Consultant to the UNDP Adminis-
trator, on his investigation of the UNDP office in Yemen in
March 1969.
(c) As a preliminary measure, production by the Respondent of
the report by Mr. Hagen, UNDP Special Representative in
Yemen, concerning the Applicant's performance, prepared at
the request of the UNDP in the summer of 1969.

(d) Rin May 1969, by extending the Applicant's last fixed-termling

appointment for a further two years beyond 31 December
1969, with retroactive pay of salary and related allowances;
alternatively, a payment by the Respondent to the Applicant
of three years' net base salary.

(e) Correction and completion of the Applicant's Fact Sheet
which is intended for circulation both within and outside the
UNDP, with al1the required Periodic Reports and evaluations
of work; alternatively payment by the Respondent to the
Applicant of two years' net base salary.

(f) Invalidation of the Applicant's Periodic Report covering hismal-jugé; les deux autres motifs énoncésà l'article 11 - excès de com-

pétenceet erreur de droit concernant les dispositions dela Chart- n'ont
pas été soulevés par le requérant devant le Comité. Les deux motifs in-
voqués par le requérant devant le Comité sont donc en substance iden-
tiques à ceux sur lesquels la Cour est consultée.

43. Pour déterminer laportée des questions poséesà la Cour et le cadre
dans lequel elle doit se placer pour donner son avis consultatif, il convient

de tenir compte des thèses présentéespar M. Fasla devant le Comité.
Cependant, leurs implications ne pouvant êtreappréciéesque par rapport
aux réclamations soumises par lui au Tribunal administratif et au sortque
celui-ci leur a réservé,la Cour doit tout d'abord rappeler quelles étaient
les réclamations présentéesau Tribunal et quelles décisions le Tribunal a

prises à leur sujet.
44. M. Fasla a introduit l'instance contre le Secrétaire généraldevant
le Tribunal administratif par une requêteen date du 31décembre 1970ou
il priait le Tribunal de bien vouloir ((prendre les décisionssuivantes)):

«a) A titre de mesure préliminaire, ordonner la production par le
défendeur du rapport de M. Satrap, chef de la Division géo-
graphique clu Moyen-Orient du PNUD, sur son enquête con-
cernant le bureau du PNUD au Yémenen février 1969.
6) A titre de mesure préliminaire, ordonner la production par le

défendeur du rapport de M. Hagen, consultant auprèsdu direc-
teur du PNUD, sur son enquête concernant le bureau du
PNU D au Yémen en mars 1969.
c) '4 titre de mesure préliminaire, ordonner la production par le
défendeur du rapport que M. Hagen, représentant spécial du
PNUD au Yémen, a établi à la demande du PNUD pendant
l'été1969au sujet de la valeur professionnelle du requérant.

d) Ordonner la réintégration du requérant dans la situation qui
étaitla sienne en mai 1969, en prolongeant son dernier engage-
nient de duréedéterminée pourune périodede deux ans à partir
du 31 décembre 1969,avec paiement rétroactif du traitement et
des indemnités y afférentes; ou, a défaut de réintégration, or-
donner au défendeur de verser au requérant une somme équiva-

lant au montant net de son traitement de base pour une période
de trois ans.
e) Ordonner au défendeur de rectifier et de compléter la fiche
analytique individuelle du requérant, qui est destinée à être
communiquée à la fois aux services du PNUD et à d'autres
organisations, ainsi que tous les rapports périodiques réglemen-

taires et les appréciations portées sur son travail; ou, à défaut,
ordonner au défendeur de verser au requérant une somme équi-
valant au montant net de son traitement de base pour une
périodede deux ans.
f) Invalider le rapport périodique relatif aux services du requérant service in Yemen, prepared in September 1970; alternatively,
payment by the Respondent to the Applicant of two years'net
base salary.

(g) Further serious efforts by the Respondent to place the

Applicant in a suitable post either within the UNDPor within
the United Nations Secretariat or within a UN Specialized
Agency; alternatively, payment by the Respondent to the
Applicant of two years' net base salary.

(h) As compensation for injury sustained by the Applicant as the
result of the repeated violation bythe Respondent of Adminis-
trative Instruction ST/AI/I 15, payment by the Respondent
to the Applicant of two years' net base salary.

(i) As compensation for injury sustained by the Applicant as the
result of the continuous violation by the Respondent of his
obligation to make serious efforts to find an assignment for
the Applicant, payment by the Respondent to the Applicant of
two years' net base salary.

(j) As compensation for injury sustained by the Applicant as the
result of prejudice displayed against him, payment by the
Respondent to the Applicant of fiveyears' net base salary.

(k) As compensation for the emotional and moral suffering
inflicted by the Respondent upon the Applicant, payment by
the Respondent to the Applicant of one Yemen rial.
(1) As compensation for delays in the consideration of the
Applicant's case, especially inview of the fact that no Joint
Appeals Board was in existence during the first four months
of 1969since the Respondent had failed to appoint a Panel
of Chairmen, payment by the Respondent to the Applicant of
one year's net base salary.

(m) Payment to the Applicant of the sum of $1,000.00for expenses
in viewof thefact that, although the Applicant wasrepresented
by a member of the Panel of Counsel, the complexity of the

case necessitated the Applicant's travel from California to
New York in May 1970as well as frequent transcontinental
telephone calls to the Applicant's Counsel before and after
that date.
(n) As compensation for the damage inflicted by the Respondent
onthe Applicant's professionalreputation and careerprospects
as the result of the circulation by the Respondent, both within
and outside the United Nations, of incomplete and misleadingauYémen,établien septembre 1970;ou, àdéfaut,ordonner au
défende~r de verser au requérant une somme équivalant au

montant net de son traitement de base pour une périodede deux
ans.
Ordonner au défendeurde continuer à chercher sérieusementà
affecter le requérant à un poste correspondant à ses aptitudes,
soit auPNUD, soit au Secrétariatdel'organisation desNations
Unies, soit dans rune des institutions spécialiséedes Nations
Unies; ou, à défaut,ordonner au défendeurde verser au requé-
rant une sommeéquivalantau montant net de son traitement de
base pour une périodede deux ans.
A titre de réparation du préjudice subi par le requérant en
raison de la violation répétéepar le défendeurde l'instruction
administrative ST/AI/115, ordonner au défendeurde verser au
requérant une somme équivalant au montant net de son traite-
ment de base pour une périodede deux ans.

A titre de réparation du préjudice subi par le requérant en
raison de la violation persistante par le défendeurde I'obliga-
tion qui lui incombe de s'efforcer sérieusementde trouver un
poste-au requérant, ordonner au défendeurde verser au requé-
rant une sommeéquivalantau montant net de sontraitement de
base pour une périodede deux ans.
A titre de réparation du préjudice subipar le requérant du fait
du parti pris dont il a étévictime, ordonner au défendeur de
verser au requérant une somme équivalant au montant net de
son traitement de base pour une périodede cinq ans.
A titre d'indemnisation des souffrances d'ordre affectifet moral
infligéesau requérant par le défendeur,ordonner à celui-ci de
verser au requérant un riyal yéménite.

A titre d'indemnité pour les retards apportés à l'examen de
l'affaire du requérant, et eu égard notamment au fait qu'il
n'existait pas de Commission paritaire de recours pendant les
quatre premiers mois de l'année1969,le défendeur n'ayant pas
établila liste des présidents,ordonner au défendeurde verser au
requérant une somme équivalant au montant net de son traite-
ment de base pour une périoded'un an.
Ordonner au défendeur de verser au requérantune somme de
1000dollars pour ses frais, eu égardau fait que, bien qu'il ait
été représentépar un fonctionnaire inscrit sur la liste des con-
seils,le requéranta dû, en raison de la complexitéde l'affaire, se
rendre de Californie à New York en mai 1970et échangerdes
communications téléphoniques transcontinentales fréquentes

avec son conseil avant et aprèscette date.
A titre deréparation du tort que la divulgation par le défendeur,
à l'intérieuretà l'extérieurde l'ONU, de renseignements in-
complets et fallacieux concernant le requérant a causé à ce
dernier sur le plan de sa réputation et de son avenir profession-187 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISOR OYPINION)

information concerning the Applicant, payment by the

Respondent to the Applicant of five years' net base salary."

011 11 June 1971 a supplement to the application was filed with the
Administrative Tribunal, whereby it was requested to order the following
additional measures :

"(a) As compensation for the further delay in the consideration of
the Applicant's caseearly in 1971,payment by the Respondent
to the Applicant of one year's net basesalary.

(6) Recalculation by the Respondent of the Applicant's salary and
allowances in Yemen on the basis of the actual duration of the
Applicant's assignment there, and payment to the Applicant of
the difference between the recalculatedmount and the amount
the Applicant received.

(c) As compensation for the illegal suspension of the Applicant
from duty, payment by the Respondent to the Applicant of
five years' net base salary."

45. Judgment was given by the Tribunal on 28 April 1972.In the body
of the Judgement the Tribunal noted that certain of Mr. Fasla's requests
had been met and made a number of findings, some of which were

favourable and others unfavourable to his case. The precise terms ofhese
findings are given later in this Opinion.
46. On 26 May 1972 Mr. Fasla subniitted an application to the
Committee, setting out his objections to the Judgement and asking the
Conimittee to request an advisoryopinion of the Court. In hisapplication,
as already mentioned, he objects that the Administrative Tribunal (1)
failed to exercisejurisdiction vested int and (2) committed fundamental
errors in procedure which occasioned a failure of justice. He supports
each of these objections by a number of contentions in regard to alleged
defects in the Judgement. These contentions, to which further reference
will be made later, he groups together under three main heads:compen-
sation for injury to his professional reputation and employment oppor-
tunitier: compensation for the costs incurred by him in presenting his
clainis to the Joint Appeals Board and the Administrative Tribunal;
recalculation of his rate of remuneration while posted to Yemen. The

contentions advanced before the Committee cover a wide area of the
case before the Administrative Tribunal. Consequently. the Court finds
no reason to adopt a restrictive interpretation of the questions framed in
the request.
47. Under Article II of the Statiite of the Tribunal, as already indi-
cated, the task of the Court is not to retry the case but to give its opinion
on the questions submitted to it concerning the objections lodged against
the Judgement. The Court is not therefore entitled to substitute its own nels, ordonner au défendeurde verser au requérant une somme
équivalantau montant net de son traitement de base pour une
périodede cinq ans. ))
LeTribunal administratifa été saislie 11juin 1971d'une requêteaddition-
nelle lui demandant en outre de prendre lesdécisionssuivantes:

«a) Ordonner au défendeur de verser au requérant une somme
équivalantau montant net d'une annéede traitement de base à
titre d'indemnité pourlenouveau retard intervenu dans l'examen
de son cas au débutde 197 1.

h) Ordonner au défendeur derecalculer le traitement et les indem-
nitésque le requérant aurait dû percevoir au Yémensur la base
de la duréeeffectivede son affectation dans ce pays et de verser
au requérant la différence entre cette nouvelle somme et la
somme qu'il a reçue.
c) Ordonner au défendeur de verser au requérant une somme
équivalantau montant net de cinq annéesde traitement de base
à titre d'indemnité pourla suspension illégaledont le requérant
a fait l'objet.

45. Le Tribunal a rendu son jugement le 28 avril 1972.11y notait que
certaines des demandes de M. Fasla avaient étésatisfaites et énonçait
diverses conclusions, dont certaines étaient favorables à l'intéresséet
d'autres défavorables. Le libelléde ces conclusions est reproduit plus
loin dans le présentavis.
46. Le 26 mai 1972, M. Fasla a saisi le Comité d'une demande où il
expose ses objectionsà l'encontre du jugement et prie le Comitéde sollici-
ter un avis consultatif de la Cour. II y fait valoir, ainsi que la Cour l'a

rappelé plus haut, que le Tribunal administratif 1) a omis d'exercer sa
juridiction et 2) a commis, dans la procédure, deserreurs essentielles qui
ont provoqué un mal-jugé. A l'appui de chacune de ces objections, il
soutient diverses thèses concernant les défauts quecomporterait lejuge-
ment. Ces thèses,sur lesquelles la Cour reviendra plus tard, sont groupées
par M. Fasla sous trois grandes rubriques: réparation du tort causé à sa
réputation et à son avenir professionnels; remboursement des frais qu'il
a exposés en présentant ses demandes à la Commission paritaire de
recours et au Tribunal administratif; nouveau calcul du taux de sa
rémunération pendant son affectation au Yémen. Les thèsesformulées
devant le Comité couvrent une grande partie de l'affaire soumise au

Tribunal administratif. La Cour ne voit doncaucune raison d'adopter une
interprétation restrictive des questions énoncéesdans la requête.

47. Comme elle l'adéjà indiqué,la Cour n'a pas pour mission, en vertu
de l'article1I du statut du Tribunal administratif, de refaire le procès
mais de donner son avis sur les questions qui lui sont soumises au sujet
des objections soulevéescontre le jugement. La Cour n'est donc pasopinion for that of the Tribunal on the merits of the case adjudicated
by the Tribunal. Its role is to determine if the circumstances of the case,
whether they relate to merits or procedure, show that any objection made
to the Judgement on one of the grounds mentioned in Article 11is well
founded. In so doing, the Court is not limited to the contents of the
challenged award itself, but takes under its consideration al1 relevant
aspects of the proceedings before the Tribunal as well as al1 relevant

matters submitted to the Court itself by the staff member and by the
Secretary-General with regard to the objections raised against that
judgement. These objections the Court examines on their merits in the
light of the information before it.
48. Furthermore, as the Court pointed out in its Advisory Opinion in
the Unesco case, a challenge to an administrative tribunal judgment on
the ground of unauthorized assumption of jurisdiction cannot serve
simply as a means of attacking the tribunal's decisions on the merits.
Speaking of Article XII ofthe Statute ofthe IL0 Administrative Tribunal,
which recognizes only unauthorized assumption of jurisdiction and
fundamental fault in the procedureasgroundsfor attacking thejudgments
of that tribunal, the Court said:

"The request for an Advisory Opinion under Article Xi..is not in the
nature of an appeal on the merits of the judgment. It is limited to a
challenge of the decision of the Tribunal confirming its jurisdiction
or to cases of fundamental fault of procedure. Apart from this,
there is no remedy against the decisions of the Administrative
Tribunal. A challenge of a decision confirming jurisdiction cannot
properly be transformed into a procedure against the manner in
whichjurisdiction has been exercised or against the substance of the
decision." (I.C.J.Reports 1956, pp. 98-99.)

So too, under Article 11of the Statute of the United Nations Adminis-
trative Tribunal a challenge to a decision for alleged failure to exercise
jurisdiction of fundamental error in procedure cannot properly be
transformed into a proceeding against the substance of the decision.
This does not mean that in an appropriate case, where the judgement has
been challenged on the ground of an error on a question of lawrelating to
the provisions of the Charter, the Court may not be called upon to
review the actual substance of the decision. But both the text of Article 11
and its legislative history make it clear that challenges to Administrative
Tribunal judgements under its provisions were intended to be confined to
the specificgrounds of objection mentioned in the Article.

49. Turning to the first question, the Court will now examinewhether
the Tribunal has failed to exercisejurisdiction vested in it, as contended

in the application to the Committee.
26habilitéeà substituer son opinion à celle du Tribunal sur le fond de l'af-
faire tranchée par celui-ci. Son rôle est de déterminer s'il ressort des

circonstances de l'espèce,concernant le fond ou la procédure, qu'une
contestation formuléecontre lejugement pour l'un des motifs mentionnés
à I'article Il est fondée.Ce faisant, la Cour ne s'entientàpla teneur de
la décisioncontestéeelle-mêmemais elleprend en considération tous les
aspects de la procédure qui s'est déroulée devantle Tribunal ainsi que
tous les élémentspertinents que le fonctionnaire et le Secrétairegénéral
lui soumettent au sujet des objections soulevéescontre le jugement. La
Cour examine ces objections au fond, compte tenu des renseignements
dont elle dispose.
48. De plus, ainsi que la Cour l'a soulignédans son avis consultatif
donné à la demande de l'Unesco, on ne saurait, par le simple biais d'une
contestation d'un jugement du Tribunal administratif, au motif que celui-
ci aurait outrepassésajuridiction, attaquer les décisionsdu Tribunal sur

le fond. A propos de I'article XII du statut du Tribunal administratif de
l'OIT, qui ne reconnaît comme motifs d'attaquer les jugements de ce
tribunal que l'excèsde compétenceet la fauteessertielle dansla procédure
suivie, la Cour a dit:
«La demande d'avis consultatif présentéeconformément à I'article
XII n'est pas un appel quant au fond du jugement. Elle se limite à

une contestation de la décisiondu Tribunal affirmant sa compétence
ou àdes cas de faute essentielledans la procédure.En dehors de cela,
il n'ya aucun recours contre les décisionsdu Tribunal administratif.
Une contestation de l'affirmation de compétencene peut êtretrans-
formée en une procédure contre la façon dont la compétence a été
exercéeou contre le fond de la décision.))(C.I.J. Recueil 1956, p.
98-99.)

De même,dans le cas de I'article 11du statut du Tribunal administratif
des Nations Unies, une contestation de la décisionfondéesur le non-
exercice de la juridiction ou une erreur procédurale essentielle ne peut
être transforméeen une procédurecontre le fond de la décision.Cela ne
veut pas dire que, le cas échéant,si un jugement étaitcontestéen raison
d'une erreurde droit concernant les dispositions dela Charte, la Cour ne
pourrait pas êtreappelée à examiner la décisionau fond. Mais le texte
de I'article 11comme l'historique de son élaboration démontrent quel'on
avait entendu limiter les possibilitésde contester lesjugements du Tribu-
nal administratifaux motifs précis envisagédsans l'article.

49. Passant à la première question, la Cour se propose maintenant
d'examiner si le Tribunal a omis d'exercer sa juridiction ainsi qu'il est
soutenu dans la demande présentéeau Comité. 50. Article XII of the Statute of the IL0 Administrative Tribunal
speaks only of a challenge to "a decision of the Tribunal confirming its
jurisdiction", anddoes not make any mention of a failure of the Tribunal
to exercise its jurisdiction. Similarly, in the draft of Article11 of the
United Nations Administrative Tribunal's Statute recommended to the
General Assembly bythe SpecialCommittee on Review of Administrative
Tribunal Judgements, a challenge on this ground was contemplated only
if the Tribunal had "exceeded its jurisdiction or competence". The
words "or that the Tribunal has failed to exercisejurisdiction vestedinit"
were added at the 499th meeting of the Fifth Committee on the proposa1
of the Indian delegation, who had explained that:

"According to the text of the proposed new article 11, a review
might be requested on the ground that the Tribunal had exceeded
its jurisdiction or competence. There might, however, be cases
where the Tribunal had failed to exercise thejurisdiction if possessed
under the law; cases of errors in the exercise ofjirrisdictioriwerr also
feasible. In Indian legislation reliefs analogous to review were
granted both where atribunal exercisedjurisdiction not vestedin it by

law and where it failed to exercise jurisdiction vested in it by law,
provision thus being made not only for cases of excess ofjurisdiction
but alsofor those of failure or neglect to exercisejurisdiction. (Em-
phasis added.)
This explanation appears to confirm that this additional ground for
challenging a judgement was regarded as having a comparatively narrow
scope; i.e., as concerned essentially with a failure by the Tribunal to put
into operation the jurisdictional powers possessed by it-rather than

with a failure to do justice to the merits in the exercise of those powers.
It further appears that in accepting failure to exercisejurisdiction as an
additional ground of challenge the General Assembly regarded it as
eiusderngeneris witli cases where the Tribunal had exceeded its juris-
diction or competence; and the Fifth Committee thus seems to have
viewed both excess and failure in the exerciseofjurisdic~ion as essentially
concerned with matters of jurisdiction or competence in their strict
sense. In a more general way, the comparatively narrow scope intended
to be given to failure to exercisejurisdiction as agroundof challenge is
confirmed by the legislative history of Article 11, which shows that the
grounds of challenge mentioned in the Article were envisaged as covering
only "exceptional" cases.

51. In the Court's view, therefore, this ground of challenge covers
situations where the Tribunal has either consciously or inadvertently
omitted to exercisejurisdictional powers vested in it and relevant for its
decision of the case or of a particular material issue in the case. Clearly,
in appreciating whether or not the Tribunal has failed to exerciserelevant

jurisdictional powers, the Court must have regard to the substance of
27 , 50. L'article XII du statut du Tribunal administratif de l'OIT envisage
seulement une contestation élevéecontre «une décision du Tribunal
affirmant sa compétence))et ne fait aucune mention d'un non-exercice de
sa juridiction par le Tribunal. De même,dans le projet d'article 11 du
statut du Tribunal administratif des Nations Unies recommandé à l'As-

sembléegénéralepar le Comitéspécialchargéd'étudier laquestion de la
réformation des jugements du Tribunal administratif, le seul motif de
contestation envisagétenait àce que le Tribunal avait ((outrepassé sa ju-
ridiction ou sa compétence)). Les termes «ou n'a pas exercésa juridic-
tion» ont étéaioutés 51la 499' séancede la Cinauième Commission sur

la proposition de la délégation indienne qui avait déclaréantérieure-
ment :

«Suivant le paragraphe 1 du projet d'article II, on pourrait certes
demander la réformation en alléguant que le Tribunal a outrepassé
sa juridiction ou sa compétence. Mais il se pourrait que le Tribunal
ait mar~qué a exercer sa conipétence légitime comnle ilse pourrait

qu'il1,ait PLIdes errpurs dans l'exercice de sa compétence. La Iégisla-
tion indienne prévoit un recours, analogue à la réformation, lors-
qu'un tribunal a, soit outrepassé,soit manquéàexercer sa compétence
légitime;on prévoit[ainsi] non seulement l'abus de compétence,mais
encore lecas où un tribunal ornet ou négliged'exercer sa compétence. >)

(Les italiques sont de la Cour.)

Cette explication paraît confirmer que ce motif supplémentaire de contes-
tation d'un jugement était considéré comme ayant uneportée relativement
étroite, autrement dit comme concernant essentiellement le cas où le
Tribunal s'abstient de mettre en Œuvre les pouvoirs juridictionnels qu'il
possèdeet non pas le casoù, dans l'exercicede ces pouvoirs, il aboutit àun

mal-jugé surle fond. II apparaît en outre que,en acceptant le non-exercice
de la juridiction comme niotif supplémentaire de contestation, I'Assem-
bléegénéraley a vu un cas du mêmegenre que ceux dans lesquels le
Tribunal excèdesa compétence ou sajuridiction; la Cinquième Commis-
sion semble donc avoir envisage que le fait d'outrepasser sajuridiction ou

de ne pas l'exercer soulève essentiellement des problèmes de juridiction ou
de compétence au sens strict. De manière plus générale,on trouve dans
l'historique de l'article11, montrant que les motifs de contestation men-
tionnés dans cette disposition ne devaient s'appliquer qu'a des cas

<<exceptionnels», la confirmation de la portée relativement étroite que
l'on a voulu donner au non-exercice de lajuridiction en tant que motif de
c,ontestation.
51. Selon la Cour, ce motif de contestation ne vise donc que les cas où,
soit sciemment soit par inadvertance, le Tribunal n'a pas exercé les

pouvoirs juridictionnels qu'il détient et qui lui permettent de statuer à
l'égardd'une affaire ou d'un élémentimportant d'une affaire. II est clair
que, pour déterminer si le Tribunal a exercédes pouvoirs juridictionnels
applicables en l'espèce, la Cour doit tenir compte de la substance et pasthe matter and not merelyto the form. Consequently, the merefact thatthe
Tribunal has purported to exercise its powers with respect to any particu-
lar material issue will not be enough: it must in fact have applied them to
the determination of the issue. No doubt, there may be borderline cases

where it may be difficult to assess whether the Tribunal has in any true
sense considered and determined the exercise of relevant jurisdictional
powers. But that does not alter the duty of the Court to appreciate in
each instance, in the light of al1pertinent elements, whether the Tribunal
did or did not in fact exercise with respect to the case the powers vested
in it and relevant to its decision.

52. The first contention in the application to the Committee is that
the Tribunal did not fully consider and pass upon the claim for damages
for injury to professional reputation and career prospects. The claim
referred to is that set out in plea(n) in the application to the Tribunal,
in the following words:

"As compensation for the damage inflicted by the Respondent
on the Applicant's professional reputation and career prospects
as the resiilt of the circulation by the Respondent, both within and
outside the United Nations, of incomplete and ~nisleadinginforma-
tion concerning the Applicant, payment by the Respondent to the
Applicant of fiveyears' net base salary."

In support of this contention Mr. Fasla invokes Articles 2 and 9 of the
Tribunal's Statute, maintaining that under their provisions the Tribunal
was competent and had jurisdiction to award compensation to him for
such injuries; andthat it failed to exercisesuchcompetenceandjurisdiction
in not awarding him either damages or specific relief. In support of that
proposition he maintains that a claim to compensation for damage to his
professional reputation and career prospects was specifically pleaded;
that such a claim fell within the Tribunal's competence under Article 2,
paragraph 1, of its Statute; that the Tribunal did not even discuss the
claim, although it found that his personnel record and fact-sheet had
been maliciously distorted; that the Tribunal had before it matters which
evidenced the damage flowing from that distortion; that the damage was
not remote but the direct and natural consequence of the distortion;
that the malicious distortion of his personnel record and fact-sheet was
a wrongful act attributable in law to the Secretary-General; and that the

Tribunal, having taken cognizance of the wrongful act and yet having
provided no remedy for the damage occasioned thereby, obviously
failed to exercise its jurisdiction.

53. The validity of this contention cannot be adequately considered
without taking account of al1the claims submitted by the applicant toseulement dela forme. Il ne suffitdonc D. .ue le Tribunal ait eu l'inten-
tion d'exercer ses pouvoirs a propos d'un élémentimportant, encorefaut-
ilqu'il lesait réellementexercésetsesoit prononcéàce sujet. Certes il peut
y avoir des cas marginaux où il est difficilede dire si le Tribunal a véri-
tablement envisagéet décidéd'exercer les pouvoirs juridictionnels ap-
propriés. Mais cela ne modifie pas l'obligation qu'a la Cour d'apprécier
dans chaque cas, comptetenu de tous les élémentspertinents, si le Tribu-
nal a utiliséen l'affaire lespouvoirs juridictionnels qu'il possédaitet qui
lui permettaient de statuer.

52. La première thèseformuléedans la demande au Comité est que le
Tribunal n'a pas examinépleinement la demande en dommages-intérêts
que le requérant a présentéeen raison du tort causéa sa réputation et à
son avenir professionnels et n'a pas pleinement statué sur cette demande.
Celle-ciest énoncéeen cestermes au paragraphe 8, alinéa n),delarequête
adresséeau Tribunal :

«A titre de réparation du tort que la divulgation par le défendeur,
à l'intérieuret a l'extérieurde l'ONU, de renseignements incomplets
et fallacieux concernant le requérant a causéà ce dernier sur le plan
de sa réputation et de son avenir professionnels, ordonner au défen-
deurde verser au requérant une sommeéquivalantau montant net de
son traitement de base pour une période decinq ans. »
A l'appui de cette thèse, M. Fasla invoque les articles 2 et 9 du statut du
Tribunal puis affirme qu'en vertu de ces dispositions le Tribunal était

compétentet avaitjuridiction pour lui allouer une indemnitéen raison du
tort qu'il avait subi et que le Tribunal n'a pas exercécette compétenceet
cette juridiction en ne lui accordant ni indemniténi réparation en nature.
Pour étayer cette proposition, M. Fasla souligne qu'il a expressément
réclaméune indemnité pour le tort causé à sa réputation età son avenir
professionnels; il affirme que cette demande relevait de la compétencedu
Tribunal aux termes de l'article 2, paragraphe 1, de son statut: que le
Tribunal n'a même pas examiné sa demande, bien qu'il eût reconnu que
son dossier et sa fiche analytique individuelle avaient étéfalsifiés;que le
Tribunal disposait d'élémentsqui prouvaient le préjudicerésultant decette
falsification; que ce préjudicen'étaitpas indirect, mais était laconséquen-
ce naturelle et directe de la falsification; que la falsification de son
dossier et de sa fiche analytique individuelle étaitun acte dommageable
imputable en droit au Secrétairegénéralet que le Tribunal, ayant eu con-
naissance de l'acte dommageable et n'ayant accordé néanmoins aucune
réparation pour le tort causé dece fait, n'avait manifestement pas exercé
sa juridiction.

53. On ne saurait examiner comme il convient le bien-fondéde cette
thèsesans prendre en considérationl'ensemble desdemandes soumisesauthe Administrative Tribunal and the latter's disposal of those claims. In
all, as previously indicated, the applicant had presented no less than 17
separate pleas. Three of those were of a preliminary character, requesting
the production of certain reports; the remaining 14 sought substantial

reliefinthe form either of a specificremedy or of monetary compensation.
As to the three pleas of a preliminary character, the Tribunal in its
Judgement :

(i) noted that the respondent had produced the first report;
(ii) noted that the second report was in the applicant's "official status
file" and therefore available to the counsel of the parties; that a
letter, which the applicant had explained he had had in mind when
he requested the production of "Mr. Hagen's report", had been

supplied confidentially to the Tribunal; and that the Tribunal had
made available to the applicant the few lines of the letter which it
had held to be relevant;
(iii) stated that, the Tribunal having requested the production of the
third report, the respondent had replied that it did not have such
areport inthe filesof thebody concerned; andthat theTribunal could
only take note of that reply.

As to the pleas for substantial relief, the Tribunal gave two decisions in
the applicant's favour, namely:
"1. The Respondent shail pay the Applicant a sum equal to six
inonths' net base salary:
2. The periodic report prepared for the period June 1968to March
1969 is invalid and shall be treated as such."

ln a third decision, while not upholding the applicant's claim to recal-
culation of his emoluments during his period of service in Yemen, the
Tribunal took note in paragraph XV of its Judgement of the respondent's
agreement, pursuant to a recommendation of the Joint Appeals Board, to
make the applicant "an e.ugvatia payment in the amount of any losses
that he could show he had suffered as a result of his precipitate recall
from Yemen". On this point, after declaring that the applicant was
entitled to take advantage of'the possibility thus offered. the Tribunal
made forma1provision for giving effect to that decision:

"3. Any requests for payment made in accordance with paragraph
XV above shall be submitted, together with the necessary
supporting evidence, by the Applicant to the Respondent,
within a period of two months from the date of thisjudgement."

The Tribunal concluded its Judgement withacomprehensive rejection of
the applicant's other claims, stating that:

"4. The other requests are rejected."Tribunal administratif et la suite que celui-ci leur a donnée. Au total,

comme on l'a indiquéprécédemment,le requérant n'a pas formulé moins
de dix-sept demandes distinctes. Trois d'entre elles avaient un caractère
préliminaire puisqu'elles réclamaient la production de certains rapports;
les quatorze autres tendaient à obtenir une réparation soit sous la forme
d'une mesure corrective soit sous la forme d'un dédonimagement pécu-
niaire. Pour ce qui est des trois demandes préliminaires, on peut relever
que, dans son jugement, le Tribunal a

i) constaté que le défendeur avait produit le premier rapport;
ii) constaté que le deuxième rapport se trouvait dans le ((dossierperson-
nel» du requérant et était donc à la disposition des conseils des

parties, qu'une lettre que, d'après ses explications, le requérant enten-
dait viser quand il avait demandé la production du ((rapport de
M. Hagen)) avait étésoumise au Tribunal à titre confidentiel et que le
Tribunal avait communiqué au requérant les quelques lignes qui lui
avaient paru pertinentes;
iii) déclaré que,invitépar le Tribunal à produire le troisième rapport, le

défendeur avait fait savoir que ce rapport ne se trouvait pas dans les
dossiers du service intéressé, affirmationdont le Tribunal n'a pu que
prendre acte.

Pour ce qui est des demandes tendant à obtenir une réparation. le Tribu-
nal a pris deux décisionsen faveur du requérant :

«1. Le défendeur versera au requérant le montant net de son traite-
ment de base pour une période de six mois;
2. Le rapport périodique établipour la périodede juin 1968 a mars
1969est entaché de nullitéet doit êtretraitécomme tel. »

Dans une troisième décision, sans faire droit à la réclamation du requé-
rant tendant àce que ses émoluments pour sa période de service au Yémen
soient recalculés,le Tribunal a note (paragraphe XV du jugement) que le
défendeur avait accepté à la suite d'une recommandation de la Commis-

sion paritaire de recours, «de verser au requérant, à titre gracieux, une
somme égaleau montant du préjudice qu'ilpourra prouver avoir subi du
fait de son rappel précipitédu Yémen)).Sur ce point, après avoir déclaré
que le requérant était en droit d'user de la faculté qui lui était ainsi ou-
verte, le Tribunal a prévuformellement un moyen de donner effet à cette
décision en précisant:

((3.Les demandes éventuelles de remboursement visées au para-
graphe XV ci-dessus devront être présentées avec les justifica-
tions nécessairespar le requérant au défendeur dans un délaide

deux mois àcompter du présentjugement. »
Le Tribunal aconclu, à la fin de sonjugement, à un rejet global des autres

demandes du requérant et s'est expriméen ces termes:
((4. Les autres demandes sont rejetées.)) 54. The first contention must also be considered in the light of three
other factors. First, there was a considerable degree of overlap in the
14claimsto substantial relief, in theensethat a number of them appeared
to be claims to different relief founded on the same act or omission.
Yet the staff member did not indicate whether and, if so,to what extent
the claims were to be considered as alternative or cumulative. Secondly,
in its Judgement the Tribunal set out al1 his claims, recited the facts of

the case at considerable length and gave a detailed summary of the
contentions of both parties. Moreover, the recital of facts included a
comprehensive account of the two proceedings before the Joint Appeals
Board in which there had been extensiveconsideration of various aspects
of the case. Thirdly, the Tribunal's own analysis of the case was substan-
tial, even if it did not deal specificallywith each of the claimspresented.
In its analysis it concentrated on what it considered to be the relevant
issues and those in regard to which it found substance in these clairns,
namely (i) that the Staff Rules concerning periodic reports had not been
properly complied with and that, bywayofconsequence, the commitment
of the Secretary-General to rnake serious efforts to place the applicant in a
suitable post had not been correctly fulfilled (paras. IV-VI1of the Judge-
ment), and (ii)that a report filed in 1970as aresult ofthe recommendations
oftheJoint AppealsBoard wasrnotivated byprejudiceagainst theapplicant
(paras. VIII-XII). After that examination of the main contentions of the
applicant concerning the violation of Staff Rules and the prejudice
evidenced in the 1970report on his performance in Yemen, the Tribunal,
in paragraph XII1 of the Judgement, examined the question of the
damages to be awarded as compensation, in lieu of the specific perfor-
mance of the obligations which the respondent had failed to observe. The

remainder of the substantive part of the Judgement related to the
additional claims filed in a supplementary application concerning
recalculation of remuneration and alleged illegal suspension from duty
(paras. XIV and XV), the claim for damages as a result of delays in
considering the case (para. XVI) and, finally, the question of costs
(para. XVIZ).

55. In organizing the structure of its Judgement, the Administrative
Tribunal followed the logical sequence of examining the existence of
violations of substantive law beforeentering into the question of compen-
sation for damage. Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Tribunal's Statute gives
it jurisdiction "to hear and pass judgement 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". This same paragraph adds: "The words 'contracts'
and 'terms of appointment' include al1pertinent regulations and rules
in force at the time of alleged non-observance, including the staff pension
regulations." A subsequent Article refers successivelyto the specificrelief 54. La première thèse doit également êtreexaminéecompte tenu de
trois autres facteurs. En premier lieu, les quatorze demandes en répara-
tion faisaient en grande partie double emploi, en ce sens que certaines
d'entre elles, tout en correspondant à un mêmeacte ou à une même
omission, tendaient à des réparations diverses. Or le fonctionnaire inté-
ressén'a pas indiqué si et dans quelle mesure on devait considérer ces
demandescomme cumulatives ou alternatives. En second lieu, le Tribunal
a énoncédans son jugement toutes les demandesdu requérant, rappelé
longuement les faits de la cause et donné un résumécomplet des argu-
ments des deux parties. En outre l'exposédes faits contenait un résumé
détaillé desdeux procédures qui s'étaientdérouléesdevant la Commis-
sion paritaire de recours, ou divers aspects de l'affaire avaient étéexa-
minésde façon approfondie. En troisième lieu, le Tribunal a consacré
lui-même à l'affaire ilne analyse poussée, sans traiter expressément de

chacune des réclamations présentées. Il s'y est attachésurtout aux ques-
tions qu'il considérait comme pertinentes, cellesà l'égard desquellesil
estimait les réclamations fondées,et qui concernaient i) le fait que les
dispositions du règlement du personnel relatives aux rapports périodi-
ques n'avaient pas été convenablement appliquées, desorte que le
Secrétairegénéral n'avaitpas exécutécomme il fallait l'engagement pris
par lui de s'efforcer sérieusement de trouver au requérant un emploi
correspondant à ses aptitudes (paragraphes IV-VI1du jugement) et ii) le
fait que le rapport établien 1970 à la suite des recommandations de la
Commission paritaire de recours manifestait du parti pris contre le re-
quérant (paragraphes VIII-XII). Ayant ainsi étudiéles principales thèses
du requérant sur la violation du règlement du personnel et le parti pris
dont témoignaitle rapport de 1970sur ses services au Yémen,le Tribunal

a examiné,au paragraphe XII1 de son jugement, la question de I'indem-
nité à octroyer à titre de réparation au lieu et place de l'exécutionde
l'obligation dont le défendeur nes'étaitpas acquitté. Le reste des motifs
du jugement concerne les demandes introduites dans une requête addi-
tionnelle relativesn nouveau calcul dela rémunération et àune suspen-
sion de fonctions prétendument illégale(paragraphes XIV et XV), la
demande en réparation pour le tort subi du fait de retards apportés à
l'examen de l'affaire (paragraphe XVI) et enfin, la question des dépens
(paragraphe XVII).
55. Dans le plan qu'il a donné à son jugement, le Tribunal adminis-
tratif a suivi l'ordre logique qui consisteaminer si le droit applicable
a étévioléavant d'aborder la question de la réparation du préjudice subi.
L'article2, paragraphe 1, du statut du Tribunal lui donne en effet com-

pétence «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)). Lemêmeparagraphe ajoute: «Les termes «con-
trat» et ((conditions d'emploi)) comprennent toutes dispositions perti-
nentes du statut et du règlementen vigueur au moment de l'inobservation
invoquée, y compris les dispositions du règlement des pensions du per- 193 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISORY OPINION)

which may be granted by the Tribunal and to the award of monetary
compensation to be paid in lieu of such specific relief (Art. 9). The
Tribunal first determines the non-observance of contracts of employment
or of staff regulations before it examines the question of rescission of a
decision, or specificperformance of an obligation.The latter questions in
their turn take priority over the fixing of monetary compensation. The
sequencefollowed by the Administrative Tribunal in the Judgement under

consideration thus corresponds to the provisions of its Statute. It can
hardly be denied, however, that in this particular case the structure
adopted created the difficulty that some of the applicant's pleas, though
covered by the general consideration of the basic questions of non-
observance of regulations, of rescission and of damage, were not expressly
mentioned or specifically dealt with in the paragraphs in which the
Tribunal developed its reasoning and analysed what it deemed to be the
pertinent issues.

56. To find that such a difficulty has arisen in the present case does not
signify that, as contended by the applicant, there has been on the part
of the Tribunal a failure to exercise its jurisdiction with respect to those
pleas whch were not expresslymentioned nor specificallydealt with in the
substantive part of the Judgement. The test of whether there has been a
failure to exercise jurisdiction with respect to a certain submission can-
not be the purely forma1 one of verifying if a particular plea is men-
tioned eo nominein the substantive part of ajudgment :the test must be

the real one of whether the Tribunal addressed its mind to the matters
on which a plea was based, and drew its own conclusions therefrom as
to the obligations violated by the respondent and as to the compensation
to be awarded therefor. Such an approach is particularly requisite in a
case such as the present one, in which the Tribunal was confronted with
a series of claims for compensation or measures of relief which to a con-
siderable extent duplicated or at least substantially overlapped each other
and which derived from the same act of the respondent: the circulation
of an incomplete fact-sheet annexed to the enquiry concerning new em-
ployment for the applicant. This act, which was identified by the Tri-
bunal as the cause of the inadequate performance by the respondent of
the comrnitment to seek new employment for the applicant, also consti-
tuted the basis for the claim that the applicant's professional reputation
and career prospects had been damaged.
57. While the claim for damage to professional reputation and career
prospects was couched by the applicant in broad terms, to the effect that
it resulted from "the circulation by the Respondent, both within and

outside the United Nations, of incomplete and rnisleading information
concerning the Applient", the record shows that the only act attributable
to the respondent which could fa11within that description consisted
precisely in thatsame distribution to the United Nations central recruit-
ment service, to three specialized agencies, to two UNDP resident
representatives, and to several other services of the United Nations, of a
31sonnel.))Un autre article, l'article 9, traite successivement de l'annulation
ou de l'exécutionque le Tribunal est habilité à ordonner puis de l'in-
demnitéqui peut êtreversée à défaut.Le Tribunal déterminedonc s'ily a
eu inobservation du contrat d'engagement ou des dispositions du règle-
ment du personnel avant d'envisagerl'annulation d'une décisionou l'exé-
cution d'une obligation. Ces dernières mesuresdoiventàleur tour prendre
le pas surla fixation éventuelled'une réparation pécuniaire. L'ordresuivi
par le Tribunal administratif dans le jugement considéré estdonc con-
forme aux dispositions de son statut. On ne saurait cependant nier qu'en

l'espècela présentation adoptée a causéune difficulté,en ce sens que, si
certaines des demandes du requérantont été envisagéesdans le cadre d'un
examen d'ensemble des questions fondamentales touchant à l'inobserva-
tion du règlement, à l'annulation et au préjudice, elles n'ont pas été
viséesexpressément, ni traitées une à une, dans les paragraphes où le
Tribunal a exposé sesmotifs et analyséles questions qu'il a jugéesperti-
nentes.
56.Constater l'existence de cette difficulté en l'espècene revient àas
dire que, comme le soutient le requérant, le Tribunal ait omis d'exercer sa
juridictionà propos des demandes qu'il n'a ni expressément viséesni
traitées uneà une dans les motifs du jugement. Pour savoir si le Tribunal

a exercésajuridiction relativementà une certainedemande, on ne saurait
recourir au critère purement formel qui consisteàs'assurer qu'elle figure
nommément dans les motifs du jugement: on doit appliquer ce qui est le
vrai critère et déterminer si le Tribunal a fait porter sa réflexionsur les
bases de la demande et en a tiréses propres conclusions quant aux obliga-
tions que le défendeuraurait enfreintes et l'indemnitéàaccorder encon-
séquence.Cette méthode s'impose en particulier lorsque, comme c'était
le cas en l'espèce,le Tribunal se trouve saisi d'une sériede demandes
d'indemnisation ou de réparation qui se recouvrent ou du moins se
chevauchent dans une large mesure et qui résultentd'un seulet mêmeacte
du défendeur: la diffusion d'une ficheanalytique incomplète annexée aux

lettres envoyéespour chercher un nouveau poste au requérant. C'est sur
cet acte qui, selon le Tribunal, est la cause de l'exécutiondéfectueusepar
le défendeur del'engagement qu'ilavait pris de rechercher un nouvel em-
ploi au requérant, que se fonde aussi la demande concernant l'atteinte
portée à laréputation etàl'avenir professionnelsde ce dernier.

57. Sila demandeen réparation pour préjudicecausé à la réputation et
à l'avenir professionnels du requérant a été formuléepar l'intéresséen
termes généraux, puisqu'il y est dit que ce préjudice résultede «la divul-
gation par le défendeur,à l'intérieureà l'extérieurde l'ONU, de rensei-

gnements incomplets et fallacieux concernant le requérant)),le dossier
montre que le seul acte imputable au défendeur qui répondrait à cette
description consiste précisément à avoir transmis au service central de
recrutement des Nations Unies, à trois institutions spécialiséàsdeux
représentants résidentsdu PNUD et à divers autres services des Nationsfact-sheet which, while containing information reflecting valid periodic
reports, did not include statements in rebuttal by the staff member nor
reports concerning other periods of employment, which, contrary to
Staff Regulations, had not been prepared or incorporated. Since this act
of the respondent was at the same time both the cause of the inadequate
performance of the commitment to seek a new assignment and the source
of the claimed harm to reputation and career prospects, Mr. Fasla him-
self, in his explanatory ;tatement to the Administrative Tribunal,did not
develop the argument in support of the two pleas separately. It was
reasonable in these circumstances for the Administrative Tribunal, in one
and the same part of its Judgement, to consider and dispose of al1the

allegations ofinjury to the applicant resulting from thatparticularconduct
of the respondent.

58. In his application to the Committee, however, Mr. Faslacontends
that the award of damages made by the Tribunal "was solelyin compen-
sation for Respondent's failure to take al1reasonable steps to fulfill its
legal obligation to find another position for Applicant". Inshort he refers
to the particular plea filed by him as plea (i) in his application to the
Tribunal (para. 44 above). Since, as already indicated, the Tribunal did
iiot pronounce on each specific head of claim, but examined on a global
basis and in succession the questions of violation of staff rules or regu-
lations, of specific relief and of monetary compensation for the injury
sustained, there is no suggestion in the terms of the Judgement that the
Tribunal's decision awarding dainages was connected with only one
among the inter-related pleas filed by the applicant.

59. The preceding observations show that it was not unreasonable for
the Tribunal to consider jointly and make a single award for the damage
to the professional reputation and career prospects of the applicant
together with the damage resulting from the inadequate observance of
the commitment to seek new employment for him. The question however
remains whether the Tribunal, in awarding damages, did in fact consider
and take into account both aspects of his case. From the text of paragraph
XII1 of the Judgement it appears that in awarding damages the Tribunal

based itself on the following consideration among others:

"Havitlg regard to the Jindings of the Joint Appeals Board inits
report of 3 Jirne 1970 (paragraph 45) and to the fact that UNDP
refused tomakefurther efforts to findan assignment for the Applicant
after agreeing to correct the fact sheet ..."(Emphasis added.)

The reasoning of the Judgement thus incorporates by reference the
findings of the Joint Appeals Board in paragraph 45 of its report. Para-
graph 45 contains the follnwiiig sub-paragraph:Unies une fiche analytique qui, tout en contenant des renseignements

tirésde rapports périodiquesvalables, ne faisait pas étatdes réfutations
du fonctionnaire ni de rapports concernant d'autres périodes d'emploi,
lesquels n'avaient pas ététablisou reproduits,contrairement au statut du
personnel. Cet acte étantà la fois la cause de l'exécution défectueupar
ledéfendeurde l'engagement qu'ilavait pris de chercher un nouveau poste
au requérant etla source dutort prétendument causé àla réputation et à
l'avenir professionnels de celui-ci, M. Fasla lui-même,dansson mémoire
explicatif au Tribunal administratif, n'a pas exposéséparémentles argu-
ments avancés à l'appui des deux demandes. Dans ces conditions, le
Tribunal administratif pouvait raisonnablement examiner et trancher
dans la même partiedu jugement toutes les allégationsrelatives au préju-
dice subi par le requérant du fait du comportement du défendeursur ce
point précis.
58. Dans sademande au Comité, M. Fasla soutient néanmoins que le

Tribunal n'a accordé d'indemnité«qu'à titre de réparation pour le fait
que le défendeur n'avait pas exécutédans des conditions raisonnables
l'obligation juridique qu'il avait assuméede procéderàla recherche d'un
poste pour le requérant». Bref il se réfèrela demande i)qu'il avait for-
muléedans sa requête auTribunal (paragraphe 44 ci-dessus). Ainsi qu'on
l'a déjà indiqué,le Tribunal ne s'est pas prononcé sur chaque demande
une à une, mais a examinéen bloc, et successivement, les questions con-
cernant la violation du statut ou du règlementdu personnel, la réparation
en nature et le dédommagement pécuniairepour le tort subi; il s'ensuit
que rien, dans le texte du jugement, ne donne à penser que l'indemnité
octroyéepar le Tribunal ne se rattachait qu'à une seule des demandes in-
terdépendantes du requérant.
59. Les observations qui précèdentmontrent qu'il n'étaitpas déraison-

nable, de la part du Tribunal, d'envisager conjointement et de réparerpar
un versement unique le tort causé àla réputation età l'avenir profession-
nels du requérant et le préjudice tenant à ce que l'engagement de lui
chercher un nouvel emploi n'avait pas étérempli dans des conditions
satisfaisantes. II reste néanmoinsà savoir si le Tribunal, en fixant cette
indemnité,a effectivementexaminéet pris en considération sous ses deux
aspects la réclamation du requérant. 11ressort du paragraphe XI11 du
jugement que, pour accorder une indemnité, le Tribunal s'est fondéen
particulier sur l'élémentsuivant:

«Prrnant en considération les constatationsde la Commissionpari-
taire de recours dansson rapport du 3,jui1970 (paragraphe 45) ainsi
que le fait que le PNUD a refuséde chercher à nouveau un poste au
requérant après avoir accepté de corriger la fiche analytique indivi-
duelle..»(Les italiques sont de la Cour.)

Lejugement reprend donc indirectement dans ses motifs les constatations
énoncéespar la Commission paritaire de recours au paragraphe 45 de son
rapport. Ceparagraphe contient l'alinéasuivant:195 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISOR OYPINION)

"(e) UNDP's efforts to assign the appellant elsewhere were
inadequate especially since the fact sheet was incomplete.
It is the view of the Board that, as a result of these facts, the
performance record of the appellant is incomplete and mis-

leading and that this seriously aflected /lis candidac.~,for a
furtlier extension of'his contract or jbr employment by other
agencies." (Emphasis added.)

From the concluding sentence of this sub-paragraph, which the Tribunal
reproduced in its Judgement, it is clear that in making the award the
Tribunal considered and took into account, it~teralia,the damage inflicted
on the professional reputation znd career prospects of the applicant

by the circulation of the fact-sheet; for the Tribunal clearly recognized
that the circulation of that fact-sheet had "seriously affected hiscandidacy
for a further extension of his contract or for employment by other
agencies". In short, the Tribunal applied its mind to the basic act of the
respondent which gave rise to the claimfor damages-the circulation ofan
incomplete fact-sheet-and not merely to one of its consequences,
namely, that the efforts to seek a new position for the applicant had, for
that very reason, not been fully adequate. Thus the Tribunal went to the
root of the matter and, in accordance with its Statute (Art. 9), fixed the
amount of compensation to be paid to the applicant in lieu ofspecific
performance, taking into account the "injury sustained" by him resulting
from the refusal to circulate an appropriately corrected fact-sheet to
potential employers.

60. It is necessary to add certain observations which confirm this

conclusion. Article 9, paragraph 1, of the Tribunal's Statute, which
governs the power of the Tribunal to award compensation, begins by
providing that theTribunal, if it finds that the applicationwellfounded,
"shall order the rescinding of the decision contested or the specific
performance of the obligation invoked". An order of this kind normally
constitutes the basic content of a decision of the Tribunal in favour of an
applicant. The immediately following sentence of Article 9, paragraph 1,
adds that:

"At the same time the Tribunal shall fix the amount of compen-
sation to be paid to the applicant for the injury sustained should
the Secretary-General, within thirty days'of the notification of the
judgement, decide, in the interest of the United Nations, that the
applicant shall be compensated without further action being taken
in his case; .."
Thus, the damages to be awarded by the Tribunal are of a subsidiary

character, inthe sensethat they are grantedin lieu of specificperformance.
The power of the Tribunal to award damages in lieu of specific perfor-
mance has been interpreted by the Tribunal as also empowering it to «e) Le PNUD n'a pas fait tous les efforts voulus pour trouver un

autre poste au requérant étant donné,en particulier, que la fiche
analytique individuelle du requérant était incomplète. La Com-
mission estime qu'en raison de ces faits, le dossier du requérant
est incomplet et trompeur,et quecelaagravement compromisses
chances d'obtenir une prolongation de son contrat ou de faire
accepter sa candidature à unposte dansd'autres organisations.»
(Les italiques sont de la Cour.)

II ressort clairement du dernier membre de phrase de cet alinéa,reproduit
par le Tribunal dans sonjugement, que l'un des élémentsque le Tribunal
a examinéset pris en considérationpour allouer une indemnitéest le tort
causé à la réputation età l'avenir professionnels du requérant par la dif-
fusion dela ficheanalytique individuelle; le Tribunal a nettement reconnu
en effet que la diffusion de cette fiche avait ((gravement compromis [les]
chances [du requérant] d'obtenir une prolongation de son contrat ou de
faire accepter sa candidature à un poste dans d'autres organisations)).
Bref le Tribunal a fait porter son examen sur l'acte fondamental du
défendeurqui est à l'origine de la demande en réparation - la diffusion
d'une fiche analytique individuelle incomplète - etnon sur une seule des

conséquences de cet acte, à savoir que les démarches faites en vue de
trouver un autre poste au requérantn'ont pas étép , our cette raison même,
tout à fait suffisantes. Le Tribunal est alléainsi au cŒurdu problème et,
conformément à sonstatut (article 9), il a fixé lemontant de l'indemniàé
verser au requérant au lieu et place de l'exécutionde I'obligation, compte
tenu du ((préjudice subi)) par l'intéresàéla suite du refus d'adresser aux
employeurs éventuelsune fiche analytiquedûment corrigée.
60. Certaines observations s'imposent qui confirment cette conclusion.
L'article 9, paragraphe 1, du statut du Tribunal, qui habilite celui-ci à
accorder une indemnité, commence par stipuler que, s'il reconnaît le
bien-fondéde la requête, «le Tribunal ordonne l'annulation dela décision
contestée, ou I'exécutionde I'obligation invoquée». C'est là, normale-

ment, l'essentiel de la décision du Tribunal lorsqu'il se prononce en
faveur d'un requérant. La phrase suivante de l'article 9, paragraphe 1,
précise:

«En mêmetemps, le Tribunal fixe le montant de l'indemnitéqui

sera verséeau requérant pour le préjudicesubi si, dans un délaide
trente joursà compter de la notification du jugement, le Secrétaire
général décided ,ans l'intérêdt e l'organisation des Nations Unies,
deverser une indemnitéau requérant, sans qu'une nouvelleprocédure
soit nécessaire;..))
Ainsi les indemnités que le Tribunal peut allouer ont un caractère sub-

sidiaire, en ce sens qu'elles remplacent I'exécutionde I'obligation. Cette
faculté d'octroyer des indemnitésen remplacement de I'exécution de
I'obligation a étéinterprétéepar le Tribunal comme l'autorisant égale-award damages when it finds that it is not possibletoremedy thesituation
by ordering the rescinding of the decision contested or specific perfor-
mance of the obligation invoked.
61. In the present case the "specific performance" which could have
been ordered by the Tribunal was not merely that further, undefined,
efforts should be made to obtain a position for the applicant but that
those efforts should consistin the circulation to the personnel departments
of the United Nations and specialized agencies of a completed and
corrected fact-sheet giving a fuller picture of the applicant's past perfor-
mance as an officialof the United Nations.This is implicit inthe statement
made in paragraph XII1 of the Judgement that in assessing damages the
Tribunal had had regard "to the fact that UNDP refused to make further
efforts to find an assignment for the Applicant after agreeing to correct
the fact sheet bytaking into consideration the periodic reports which were
previously missing .. .".

62. The Tribunal held in the present case that, in view of the negative
position taken by the respondent as to the possibility or usefulness of
making further efforts for obtaining a new position for the applicant,
compensation was due without waitingfor a new decision bythe Secretary-
General within the 30-day period referred to in Article 9, paragraph 1.
The payment of compensation to an applicant depends on a decision by
the Secretary-General that no further action shall be taken in his case, and
in this particular instance the Tribunal already had before it such a
decision. Ttwould have served no purpose and indeed not have been in
the applicant's interest to await the repetition of that decision. In the
circumstances, this was not an unreasonable way of applying Article 9,
paragraph 1, of the Tribunal's Statute.
63. Compensation was therefore awarded, as the Judgement states,
"in lieu of specific performance", such compensation to constitute
"sufficient and adequate relief" for the injury sustained. lt follows that
the amount awarded as compensation did not merely seek to provide,
as contended by the applicant, relief for the non-execution of the obli-
gation to seek a new post for him, but was also intended to cover
that particular form of restitution which would have consisted in the
circulation of a completed and corrected fact-sheet. Such a circulation
among the recipients of the original letters would have provided specific
relief forthe harmful effects resulting for the applicant from the previous
circulation of the incomplete fact-sheet. This confirms that the award
of damages was also intended to comprise compensation for the injury
to the applicant's professional reputation and career prospects.

64. In his application to the Committee the applicant asserts that the
Tribunal's decision constituted a woefully inadequate judgement. This
could be interpreted as a disagreement with the adequacy of the amount
awarded. The hypothesis of a failure to exercise jurisdiction on accountment à accorder des dommages-intérêtsquanu il constate qu'il n'est pas
possible de porter remède à la situation en annulant la décisioncontestée
ou en ordonnant l'exécutionde l'obligation invoquée.
61. En l'espèce, ((l'exécutiode l'obligation» qui aurait pu êtreordon-

née par le Tribunal ne consistait pas simplement à entreprendre des
démarchesnouvelles et non précisées en vue de reclasser le requérantmais
a communiquer aux services du personnel de l'organisation des Nations
Unies et des institutions spécialisées une ficheanalytique individuelle
complétéeet rectifiée,décrivant sans omission les états de service du
requérant en tant que fonctionnaire des Nations Unies. C'est ce qui
ressort implicitement du paragraphe XII1du jugement, où il est souligné
que, pour fixer lemontant de l'indemnité,le Tribunal a pris en considéra-
tion «le fait que le PNUD a refuséde chercher à nouveau un poste au
requérant aprt's avoir acceptéde corriger la fiche analytique individuelle
en tenant compte des rapports périodiquesqui manquaient jusqu'alors».
62. Le Tribunal a considéréqu'en l'occurrence, et étant donnél'atti-
tude négativedu défendeurquant àla possibilitéouà l'utilitéde nouvelles
démarchesen vue de trouver un autre emploi au requérant, il convenait

d'octroyer une indemnité sans attendre que le Secrétairegénéralprenne
une nouvelle décisiondans le délai de trente jours prévu à l'article 9,
paragraphe 1. Le versement d'une indemnitéau requérant dépendde la
décisiondu Secrétairegénéralde ne plus agir, et en l'espècele Tribunal
était déjà informéd'une telle décision.11n'aurait servà rien et il n'aurait
d'ailleurs pas étéde l'intérêdtu requérant d'en attendre la confirmation.
Dans ces conditions, l'application ainsi faite de l'articleparagraphe 1,
du statut du Tribunal n'était pas déraisonnable.

63. Une indemnité adonc étéoctroyée«au lieu et place de l'exécution
de l'obligation)), comme le précisele jugement, cette indemnité consti-
tuant «une réparation suffisante et adéquate)) du préjudice subi. Il en
découleque l'indemnité allouéene visait pas seulement a réparer, comme

l'affirme le requérant, l'inexécution de l'obligation de lui chercher un
nouveau poste; elle devait aussi englober la modalité particulière de
remise en l'étatqu'aurait étéla diffusion d'une fiche analytique complétée
et rectifiée.Une telle communication aux destinataires primitifs aurait
constitué une réparation en nature propre à effacer les effets préjudicia-
bles quepouvait avoirentraîné, pour le requérant, la diffusion antérieure
d'une fiche analytique incomplète. Cela confirme que I'indemnitéaccor-
déevisait aussi à réparerle tort causéà la réputation età l'avenir profes-
sionnels du requérant.

64. Dans sa demande au Comité,le requérant prétendque la décision
du Tribunal est un jugement des plus contestables. On peut interpréter

cela comme signifiant que le requérant estime insuffisant le montant de
I'indemnité allouée.La question du non-exercice de la juridiction en197 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISOR OYPINION)

of the extreme paucity of an award would only arise in the event of there
being such a discrepancy between the findings of a tribunal and the
remedy granted that the award in question could be viewed as going
beyond the exercise of reasonable discretion. On such a hypothesis, the
obvious unreasonableness of the award could be taken into account in

determining whether there had been a "failure to exercise jurisdiction",
within the meaning givento this term by the Courtin paragraphs 50and 51
above; and it might lead to the conclusion that the Tribunal had not in
substance and in fact exercised its jurisdiction with respect to the issue
of compensation. But except in such an extreme case, once a tribunal
has pronounced on the amount of compensation to be paid for a wrongful
act, it has exercised its jurisdiction on the matter, regardless of whether
it allows the fullmount claimed or allows only in part the compensation
requested.
65. In the present case the Administrative Tribunal found itself in the
situation of havingto translate the injury sustained by the applicant into
monetary terms. In this respect the Tribunal possesses a wide margin of
discretion within the broad principle that reparation must, as far as
possible, wipe out al1the consequences of the illegal act and re-establish
the situation which would, in al1probability, have existed if that act had
not been committed. This power of appreciation of the Tribunal is
subject to the rule provided for in the concluding words of paragraph 1
of Article 9 of its Statute:

"...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,rder the payment
of a higher indemnity. A statement of the reasons for the Tribunal's
decision shall accompany each such order."

This rule does iiot require the Tribunal to state in every judgement
whether or not it is confronted with an exceptional case, but only to do
so in judgements in which it has decided to "order the payment of a
higher indemnity". Moreover, even under this rule, the discretion given
to the Tribunal is a wide one. If the Court were acting in this case as a
court of appeal, it might be entitled to reach its own conclusions as to the
amount of damages to be awarded, but this is not the case. In view of the
gi'ounds of objection upon which the present proceedings are based, and
of the considerations stated above, the Court must confine itself to
concluding that there isno such unreasonableness intheaward as to make
it fa11outside the limits of the Tribunal's discretion. This being so, the
Tribunal cannot be considerec: as having failed to exercise its jurisdiction
in this respect. In reaching this conclusion the Court has taken account

of the fact that in paragraph XII1 of the Judgement, when fixing the
amount of compensatior,, the Tribunal referred to "the circumstances
of the case". Regard must therefore be had to various circumstances DEMANDE DE RÉFORMATION (AVIS CONSULTATIF) 197

raison de l'extrêmeinsuffisanced'une indemniténe pourrait se poser que
dans l'hypothèseou il y aurait une telle disproportion entre les constata-
tions faites par un tribunal et la réparation accordéeque celle-ci pourrait
être considérée comme ne correspondant pas à l'exercice raisonnable du
pouvoir discrétionnaire. Dans une telle hypothèse, on pourrait tenir
compte du caractère manifestement déraisonnable de I'indemnitépour
déterminers'il ya eu ((noi-i-exercicede lajuridiction)), au sens que la Cour
a donné à cette expression aux paragraphes 50 et 51 ci-dessus, et l'on
pourrait conclure que le Tribunal n'a pas exercén substance et en fait sa
juridictionh l'égard de laquestion du dédommagement. Mais sauf dans
un casextrême dece genre, dèslors qu'un tribunal a statué sur le montant
de l'indemnité à verser en raison d'un acte dommageable, il a exercé
sacompétence, qu'ilaccorde la totalitéde la somme demandéeou n'alloue
qu'une partie de la réparationsollicitée.

65. En l'espèce,le Tribunal administratif s'est trouvé dans la situation
de devoir traduire en termes pécuniairesle préjudicesubi par le requérant.
A cet égard,le Tribunal possède une marge d'appréciation considérable
en vertu du principe général selon lequel laréparation doit, autant que
possible, effacer toutes les conséquences de l'acte illicite et rétablir l'état
qui aurait vraisemblablement existési ledit acte n'avait pastécommis.
Ce pouvoir d'appréciation du Tribunal est subordonné à la règleénoncée
à la finde l'artic9,paragraphe 1,de son statut:

«cette indemniténe peut êtresupérieure au montant net du traite-
ment de base du requérant pour une période de deux ans. Cepen-
dant, le Tribunal peut, dans des cas exceptionnels, lorsqu'il juge
qu'il a lieu de le faire, ordonner le versement d'une indemnitéplus
élevée.Un exposé des motifs accompagne chaque décision de ce
genre prise par le Tribunal.

Cette règle n'oblige pas leTribunal à indiquer dans tous ses jugements
s'ilse trouve ou non devant un cas exceptionnel; elle l'oblige seulement
le faire s'il décided'«ordonner le versement d'une indemnité plus éle-
vée».De plus, mêmecompte tenu de cette règle, le pouvoir discrétion-
naire conféréau Tribunal est considérable. Si la Cour jouait en l'espèce
le rôle d'une cour d'appel, elle aurait peut-êtrele droit de formuler ses
propres conclusions sur le montant de l'indemnité à allouer. Mais tel
n'est pas le cas. Vu les motifs de contestation sur lesquels la procédure
actuelle se fonde et les considérations indiquéesplus haut, la Cour doit se
borner à conclure que I'indemnité n'a riende si déraisonnable qu'elle se
situe hors des limites du pouvoir discrétionnaire du Tribunal. Cela étant,

on ne saurait considérerque le Tribunal a omis d'exercer sa juridiction
cet égard. Pour conclure ainsi, la Cour tient compte de ce qu'au para-
graphe XII1du jugement le Tribunal a fait étatdes circonstances existant
«en l'occurrence» pour fixer le montant de l'indemnité. 11faut donc
prendre en considérationles divers élémentsde fait ressortant de laocu-of fact appearing from the documentation before the Tribunal which
may have been relevant for its determination. Among them the following
may be noted:

(1) The report on the applicant's service in Yemen, which the Tribunal
invalidated, was not circulated, and remained intheUNDP Personnel
Division.
(2) While the Joint Appeals Board qualified the performance record as
"incomplete and misleading", the Tribunal described the fact-sheet
in its own words as "incomplete, if not inaccurate" and the infor-
mation as having "serious gaps". The three ratingscirculated included
a favourable onein which the applicant was described as "an efficient
staff member giving complete satisfaction", but also two in which
he was described as "a staffmember who maintains only a minimum
standard".
(3) The Tribunal found that the applicant had raised no objection to,
and had no grounds for contesting, the decision to grant him special
leave with pay from 10 September 1969 till the expiration of his
contract on 31 December 1969.
(4) The Judgement itself, which is a public United Nations document,
vindicated in several respects certain claims of the applicant.

Account has also to be taken of the fact that the number of months of
salary by reference to which the Tribunal determined the amount of its
award was the same as the number of months of salary adopted by the
Joint Appeals Board as the measure of the ex gratia payment which it
had recommended in its report of 3 June 1970.

66. The second contention in the application io the Committee is that
the Tribunal failed to exercise itsjurisdictionecause, although it found
that the respondent had not performed his legal obligations with respect
to the applicant, it

"...nevertheless unjustifiably refused to fully consider Applicant's
request for the reimbursement of the unavoidable and reasonable
costs in excess of normal litigation costs involved in presenting his
claims to the Joint Appeals Board and the Administrative Tribunal,
and refused to order compensation therefor".

The claim referred to is set out in plea (m) in the application to the
Tribunal in the followingwords:

"Payment to the Applicant of the sum of $1,000.00for expenses
in view of the fact that, although the Applicant was represented by
a member of the Panel of Counsel, the complexity of the casementation soumise au Tribunal qui ont peut-êtrecontribué à sa décision.
On peut relevernotamment lessuivants:

1) Le rapport sur les services du requérant au Yémen,annulé par le

Tribunal, n'a pas étédiffuséet n'est passorti de la division du person-
nel du PNUD.
2) Sila Commission paritaire de recours a qualifiéledossierd'«incomplet
et trompeur)), le Tribunal a de son côtédéclarque la ficheanalytique
individuelle du requérant était((incomplète, sinon inexacte)) et que
les informations concernant ses services comportaient de ((graves
lacunes». Parmi les trois appréciationsreproduites, le requérant était
considéré dans un cas comme un «fonctionnaire de valeur. , L donne
entière satisfaction))et dans deux cas comme un ((fonctionnaire qui
atteintà peine le niveau requis».
3) Le Tribunal a constaté que,n'ayant faitaucune objection à la décision
par laquelleil étaitmis en congé spéciaàl plein traitemenà partir du

10septembre 1969et jusqu'à l'expiration de son contrat le 31décem-
bre 1969,lerequérantn'était pasfondé àla contester.
4) Le jugement lui-même,qui est un document des Nations Unies de
caractère public, considère comme justifiées à plusieurs égards cer-
taines des demandes du requérant.
On doit aussi tenir compte du fait que le nombre des mois de traitement

par rapport auquel le Tribunal a fixéle montant de l'indemnitéétaitégal
au nombre des mois de traitement retenu par la Commission paritaire de
recours pour déterminerla somme dont elle a recommandéle versement
à titre gracieuxdans son rapportdu 3juin 1970.

66. La deuxième thèseformuléedansla demande au Comitéest que le
Tribunal n'a pas exercésajuridiction parce que, bien qu'ayant conclu que
le défendeurne s'étaitpas acquitté deses obligationsjuridiques àl'égard
du requérant,il

«n'en a pas moins refusé d'une manière injustifiable d'examiner
pleinement la demande de remboursement des dépensinévitableset
raisonnables que le requéranta dû exposer en sus des frais normaux
de procédurepour soumettre son affaire à la Commission paritaire
de recours et au Tribunal administratif et il a refuséd'ordonner le
versement d'une indemnité àce titre)).

La demande dont il s'agit est énoncéeen ces termes au paragraphe 8,
alinéam),de la requête adressée auTribunal:
«Ordonner au défendeur deverser au requérant une somme de
1000dollars pour ses frais, eu égardau fait que, bien qu'il ait été
représentépar un fonctionnaire inscrit sur la liste des conseils, le199 APPLICATION FOR REVlEW (ADVISOR OYPINION)

necessitated the Applicant's travel from California to New York
in May 1970as well as frequent transcontinental telephone calls to
the Applicant's Counsel before and after that date."

67. ln support of his second contention Mr. Fasla invokes, interalia,
general principles of law and the case law of the Tribunal itself; as
establishing itsjurisdiction and competence to award costs to a successful
applicant. He then maintains that the Tribunal failed to address itself
fully to the question of costs: for the Judgement, although mentioning
costs in a summary fashion, rejected a demand for counsel's fees which
had never been made, but made no reference to the actual costs prayed

for. Rkcalling his success before the Tribunal in obtaining an award of
compensation and the invalidation of the periodic report on his service in
Yemen, he maintains that these and other elements of the decision showed
that he was justified in pursuing his claims. This being so, he further
maintains that the Tribunal refused fully to consider his request for the
reimbursement of expenses; for, without stating any standards or reasons,
the Tribunal said simply that it saw no justification for the request and
rejected it. As to theexpenses in question, he refers to the complexity
of the case, the longuration of the appellate process, the necessity of his
residing in California andthe consequential expenses involved in commu-
nicating and consulting with his counsel. These expenses, he maintains,
werereasonable, could not have been avoided otherwise than byextremely
inefficient and ineffectiveeans, and were in excess of normal litigation
costs before the Tribunal. Referring to what he calls a consistent pattern
in previous Judgements of awarding costs to successful applicants, he

stresses that he was not claiming costs for the assistance ofide counsel
such as had been disallowed in the more recent practice of the Tribunal.
However, he maintains that the costs, other than counsel's fees, which
he incurred were necessary, unavoidable andin exsessof normal litigation
expenses before the Tribunal;and that the Tribunal has previously found
that it had jurisdiction to award such costs.

68. The claim to costs was mentioned by theTribunal at the beginning
of its Judgement among the applicant's claims to substantial relief. The

Tribunal's decision in regard to costs was, no doubt, somewhat laconic
(para. XVII of the Judgement):
"The Applicant requests payment of one thousand dollars for
exceptional costs in preparing the case. Since the Applicant had the DEMANDE DE RÉFORMATION (AVIS CONSULTATIF) 199

requérant a dû, en raison de la complexitéde l'affaire, serendre de

Californieà New York en mai 1970et échangerdes communications
téléphoniques transcontinentales fréquentes avecson conseil avant et
après cette date.
67. A l'appui de cette thèse,M. Fasla invoque notamment les principes
générauxde droit et la jurisprudence du Tribunal lui-mêmeétablissant
que le Tribunal est compétent pour ordonner le remboursement des
dépens à un requérant qui obtient gain de cause. Il soutient ensuite que le

Tribunal s'est abstenu d'examiner pleinement la question des dépens; en
effet, tout en traitant sommairement de cette question, le jugement a
rejetéune demande en remboursement visant les honoraires d'un conseil
- alors qu'une telle demande n'a jamais étéfaite - mais n'a pas men-
tionné les frais dont le remboursement était effectivement demandé.
Rappelant qu'il a eu gain de cause devant le Tribunal puisqu'il a obtenu
une indemnité et l'annulation de son rapport périodique relatif à ses
services au Yémen, l'intéressé prétend que ces élémentsde la décision,
parmi d'autres, suffisent prouver qu'il a exercé sesrecoursà bon droit.
Cela étant, il soutient aussi que le Tribunal a refuséd'examiner pleine-
ment la demande tendant au remboursement des dépens puisque, sans
indiquer les règlesou les motifs sur lesquels il se fondait, il s'est contenté
de déclarer qu'il ne voyait pas de justificationà cette demande et l'a
purement et simplement rejetée. A propos des dépens en question,
M. Fasla évoque la complexitéde I'affaire, la duréede la procédure de

recours, la nécessité oùil s'est trouvé de retourner en Californie et les
dépenses qu'il a dû faire en conséquence pour consulter son conseil et
communiquer avec lui. Selon lui ces frais étaient raisonnables; il était
impossible de les éviter, sauf en prenant des dispositions peu utiles et
inefficaces,et leur montant dépassaitlesfraisqu'entraîne normalement la
soumission d'un différend au Tribunal. Après s'êtreréféré a ce qu'il
appelle une ligne de conduite suivie dans lesjugements précédents,con-
sistantà ordonner le remboursement des dépens aux requérants ayant
obtenu gain de cause, M. Fasla souligne qu'il ne réclamait pas le rem-
boursement des honoraires d'un avocat qu'il aurait engagéen dehors des
Nations Unies, remboursement qui n'était pasaccordédans la pratique
plus récentedu Tribunal. JIn'en soutient pas moins que, en dehors des
honoraires d'un conseil, il a engagéd'autres dépens qui étaientnéces-
saires, inévitables,et dont le montant dépassaitles frais qu'entraîne nor-

malement la soumission d'un différendau Tribunal et que le Tribunal
avait lui-mêmeestimédans le passé qu'ilétait compétentpour ordonner le
remboursement de tels dépens.
68. Le Tribunal a citéau débutde sonjugement, parmi les réparations
sollicitées, lademande en remboursement des dépens. La décision du
Tribunal en ce qui concerne les dépensest sans doute assez laconique
(paragraphe XVII du jugement) puisqu'elle se réduità ceci:

«Le requérant demande l'octroi de mille dollars pour frais excep-
tionnels dans la préparation de I'affaire. Le requérant ayantbéne-
37 assistance of a member of the panel of counsel, the Tribunal finds

this request unfounded and rejects it."

This decision has, however, to be read in the light of the history of the
question of the award of costs by the Tribunal. Although not expressly
empowered by its Statute to award costs, the Tribunal did so in some of

itsearly cases on the basis of what it considered to be an inherent power.
In 1950, this power was questioned by the Secretary-General, who
contended that: (a) the Tribunal was without authority under its Statute
to tax costs against the losing party and (b) even if the Tribunal decided
that it had competence to assess costs they should be sGictly limited and
not include al1 types of actual costs. After consideration of the legal
issues involved the Tribunal formally adopted on 14 December 1950a
statement of policy on the matter which, inter alia, provided:

"4. In view of the simplicity of the proceedings of the Adminis-
trative Tribunal, as laid down in its rules, the Tribunal will not, as
a general rule, consider the question of granting costs to applicants
whose claims have been sustained by the Tribunal.

5. In exceptional cases, the Tribunal may, however, grant a
compensation for such costs if rhey are demotlstrated to llave been
irnavoidable,if they are reasonablein amount, and if the!. exceed
tlie normal expenses of litigation before the Tribunal.

6. In particular, it will not be the policy of the Tribunal to award
costs covering fees of legal counsel with respect to cases which do

not involve special difficulties." (Emphasis added.)

To this it may be added that the Secretariat has established a panel of
counsel in disciplinary and appeal cases. The counsel, drawn from the
Secretariat, are assigned to assist applicants as part of theirfficialduties
and receive secretarial assistance and other support services. This assis-
tance is available to staff members without cost. As recognized by Mr.

Fasla, it has been the normal practice of the Tribunal, since the creation
of the panel of counsel, not to award costs for the assistance of outside
counsel.
69. Mr. Fasla cornplains that the Judgement rejected a demand for
counsel's fees which had never been made but did not mention the
actual costs prayed for, namely his exceptional costs. But this reading
of the Judgement does not appear to be correct. The Tribunal first
recalled expressly that he had requested compensation for "exceptional
costs in preparing the case" and went on to state: "since the applicant
had the assistance of a member of the panel of counsel, the Tribunal

38 ficiéde I'assistance d'un fonctionnaire figurant sur la liste des con-
seils, le Tribunal ne voit pas dejustification cette demande, qui est
rejetée.))

11faut interprétercette décisioncomptetenu de l'historique de la question
du remboursement des dépensdevant le Tribunal. Bien que son statut ne
l'y autorise pas expressément, le Tribunal a alloué des dépens dans cer-
taines de ses premières décisionssur la base de ce qu'il estimait êtreun
pouvoir intrinsèque. Ce pouvoir a étémis en doute en 1950par leSecré-
taire généralqui a soutenu que: a) le statut du Tribunal ne conférait
nullement à celui-ci le droit de condamner la partie perdante aux dépens,
et que b) mêmesileTribunal se reconnaissait compétent pour condamner
aux dépens,ceux-ci devraient êtrestrictement limitéset ne devraient pas
comprendre tous les frais exposéspar les requérants. Après examen des
questions juridiques en jeu, le Tribunal administratif a officiellement
adoptéle 14décembre1950une déclaration de principe sur la questionoù

il affirmait entre autres:
((4. En raison de la simplicitéde la procédure du Tribunal ad-
ministratif telle qu'elle a été établipar son règlement, le Tribunal,

en règlegénérale,n'examinerapas la questiondu remboursementdes
dépens auxdemandeurs dont il a reconnu que les requêtes étaient
valides.
5. Dans des cas exceptionnels, le Tribunal pourra toutefois ac-
corder une indemnitépour ces dépens s'il est prouvé qu'il n'a pasté
possible de leséviter,si leur montant est raisonnableet s'ils dépassent
les frais qu'entraîne normalet~ientla soumission d'un diférend au
Tribunal
6. En particulier, le Tribunal n'aura pas pour principe d'accorder
des dépens correspondant aux frais d'assistance juridique pour les
affaires qui ne présentent pas de difficultés spéciales. (Les italiques
sont de la Cour.)

On peut ajouter à cela que le Secrétariata établiune liste de conseils pour
les affaires de discipline et les recours. Les conseils, qui sont des fonc-
tionnaires du Secrétariat, sont chargés d'assister les requérants dans le
cadre de leur activitéofficielleet bénéficientdes services dactylographi-
ques et autres services d'appoint nécessaires.Cette assistance est fournie
gratuitement au personnel. Ainsi que M. Fasla le reconnaît, la pratique

normale du Tribunal, depuis quela liste des conseils a étéétabliee,st de ne
pas accorder de dépenspour l'assistance d'un conseilde l'extérieur.
69. M. Fasla se plaint de ce que lejugement ait rejetéune demande en
remboursement visant les honoraires d'un conseil alors qu'une telle de-
mande n'avait jamais été faite, mais qu'iln'ait mêmepas mentionné les
frais dont le remboursement avait effectivement étédemandé, à savoir les
frais exceptionnels. Cette interprétation du jugement ne paraît pas exacte.
En effet le Tribunala d'abord rappelé expressémentque le requérant de-
mandait le remboursement de ((frais exceptionnels dans la préparation de

38finds this request unfoundedand rejects it" (emphasis added). This would
seem to be simply a terse, and somewhat oblique, way of saying that the
Tribunal did not find the case one for the award of exceptional costs.
Furthermore, under the Tribunal's Statement of Policy adopted on

14December 1950,referred to above, it is clear that the award of costs is
a matter within its discretion; and that there is always an onusprobandi
upon the applicant to demonstrate that the costs have been unavoidable,
reasonable in amount and in excess of the normal expenses of litigation
before the Tribunal. The question of costs istherefore very much a matter
for the appreciation of the Tribunal in each case.

70. In the circumstances the Court does not think that the contention
that the Tribunal failed to exercisejurisdiction vested in it with respect
to costs is capable of being sustained. The Tribunal manifestly addressed
its mind to the question and exercised itsjurisdiction by deciding against
the applicant'sclaim. Thereforethiscontention turns out to concern not a
failure by the Tribunal to exerciseitsjurisdiction butan appeal against its
decision on the merits. In so far as this contention is a challenge to the
Judgement on the ground of any inadequacy in the motivation of the
decision, it falls to be considered not in the present context ofafailure to
exercisejurisdiction but in that of the second question put to the Court

as to whether there has been a fundamental error in procedure which has
occasioned a failure ofjustice (see paras. 97-98 below.)

71. The third contention in the application to the Committee is that
the Tribunal failed to exercise its jurisdiction in that it did not directthe
Secretary-General to recalculate the applicant's rate of remuneration
while posted to Yemen on the basis of the actual duration of his assign-
ment there. The claim referred to is set out in the supplementary appli-
cation to the Administrative Tribunal, in the following words:

"(b) Recalculation by the Respondent of the Applicant's salary
and allowances in Yemen on the basis of the actual duration
of the Applicant's assignment there, and payment to the
Applicant of the difference between the recalculated amount
and the amount the Applicant received."
In support of that contention Mr. Fasla invokes Article 9, paragraph 1,
of the Tribunal's Statute. He refers to his posting to Yemen in September
1968and his precipitate recall to Headquarters in May 1969;the payment

of his salary and allowances while in Yemen at the lower rate of a staff
member assigned to a post for longer than one year; the Secretary-
General's admission before the Joint Appeals Board that they would
have been recalculated if he had been assigned to another post within the
39l'affaire)) puis il a déclaré:((Le requérant ayant bénéficde l'assistance
d'un fonctionnaire figurant sur la liste des conseils, le Tribunal ne voit pas
de ,justijcatioà cette demande, qui est rejetée))(les italiques sont de la
Cour). IIsemble que ce soit là simplement une manière concise, et un peu
indirecte,de direque, de l'avisdu Tribunal, il n'yavait pas lieu d'accorder
le remboursement de frais exceptionnels en l'espèce.De plus, il ressort
clairement de la déclaration de principe adoptéepar le Tribunal le 14dé-
cembre 1950et mentionnéeplus haut que l'octroi des dépensrelèvede son
pouvoir discrétionnaire et que c'est toujours au requérant qu'il incombe
de prouver que les frais ont étéinévitables, d'unmontant raisonnable et
ont dépasséceux qu'entraîne normalement la soumission d'un différend
au Tribunal. La question des dépens relèvedonc très largement de l'ap-
préciation du Tribunal dans chaque cas d'espèce.

70. Dans ces conditions, la Cour ne pense pas que la thèse selon la-
quelle le Tribunal n'a pas exercé sajuridiction en ce qui concerne les
dépenssoit admissible. Le Tribunal a manifestement examiné la question
et il a exercésajuridiction en déboutant le requérant. Ce n'est donc pas le
non-exercice de sa juridiction par le Tribunal que cette thèse concerne
mais un recours contre la décision qu'ila prise sur le fond. Dans la me-
sure où ellerevientà contester lejugement pour insufisance de motifs, elle
doit êtreexaminée non pas à propos du non-exercice de la juridiction
mais à propos de la deuxième question posée àla Cour, celle de savoir si
une erreur essentielle ayant provoquéun mal-jugéa étécommise dans la
procédure (voirparagraphes 97et 98ci-après).

71. La troisième thèse présentéedans la demande au Comitéest que
le Tribunal n'a pas exercésajuridiction en n'ordonnant pas au Secrétaire
généralde recalculer le taux de la rémunération du requérant pendant son
séjourau Yémenen fonction de la duréeréellede son affectation dans ce
pays. La réclamation dont il s'agit est énoncéeen ces termes dans la re-
quêteadditionnelle au Tribunal :

«b) Ordonner au défendeur derecalculer le traitement et les indem-
nitésque le requérant aurait dû percevoir au Yémensur la base
de la duréeeffectivede son affectation dans ce pays et de verser
au requérant la différenceentre cette nouvelle somme et la
somme qu'il a reçue. »
A l'appui de cette thèse, M. Fasla invoque l'article 9, paragraphe 1, du
statut du Tribunal. II expose qu'il a étéaffectéau Yémenen septembre

1968et rappelé précipitamment ausiègeen mai 1969; que son traitement
et ses indemnités lui ont étépayéspendant qu'il étaitau Yémenau taux
inférieur applicable aux fonctionnaires affectés un poste pour plus d'un
an; que, selon ce que le Secrétairegénérala reconnu devant la Commis-
sion paritaire de recours, son traitement et ses indemnités auraient étéyear; the Secretary-General's argument that the applicant had never

been reassigned from Yemen; and the rejection of that argument by the
Joint Appeals Board, which found that his duty station had been changed
on 22 May 1969. The Tribunal, in Mr. Fasla's view, failed to draw the
necessary legal conclusion from these circumstances and, by not granting
the sameform ofrecognition and remedy asinthe caseof the respondent's
obligation to seek a new post for him, failed to exerciseitsjurisdiction.

72. The claim under this head was recited at the beginning of the
Judgement. Subsequently the Tribunal summarized the history of this
claim before the Joint Appeals Board, which made no recommendation
on it, because it was not covered by the Staff Regulations or Rules or by
administrative instructions, but recommended an ex gratia payment in
the amount of any losses that the applicant could show that he had
suffered as a consequence of his precipitate recall from Yemen. The

Judgement also transcribed the dissenting opinion which the member of
the Joint Appeals Board elected by the staff had made in support of the
claim. After summarizing the applicant's and respondent's arguments on
the question, the Tribunal devoted paragraph XV of its Judgement to
dealing with this claim. The Tribunal set out the text of Staff Rule 103.22
(c), invoked by the applicant, and stated:

"The Tribunal observes that this text leaves the Respondent a
margin of discretion with respect to the payment of an assignment
allowance: it is possible for the allowance to be paid for a stay of
less than one year. In addition, the text lays down a very strict rule:
the subsistence allowance is payable only where an assignment
allowance has not been paid. In the present case, however, the
Applicant received an assignment allowance and is therefore not
entitled,under the Staff Rules, to a subsistence allowance."

In the light of this statement it is difficult to perceive the basis for the
contention made in the application to the Committee that the Tribunal
did not consider or discuss the matter, since it specificallydealt with this
particular claimin paragraph XV of itsJudgement and reached a concrete
decision rejecting it as ill-founded.
73. In the same paragraph XV of the Judgement, the Tribunal also
referred to the Joint Appeals Board recommendation for an ex gratia

payment in the amount of any losses that the applicant could show to
have resulted from his recall and to the fact that the Secretary-General
had agreed to make such an ex gratiapayment, and added:

"...in view of the above decision concerning the subsistence allow-

ance, the Applicant is entitledto take advantage of the possibility DEMANDE DE RÉFORMATION (AVIS CONSULTATIF)
202

recalculéss'ilavait été affecàéun autre poste dans l'année;il mentionne
aussi l'argument du Secrétairegénéral selonlequel il n'ajamais été affecté
à un autre poste après son départ du Yémen et le rejet de cet argument
par la Commission paritaire de recours qui a estimé que le lieu d'affecta-
tion du requérant avait été changé à partir du 22 mai 1969. M. Fasla
estime que le Tribunal n'a pas tiréles conséquencesjuridiques nécessaires
de cette situation et, en ne la reconnaissant pas et en n'y portant pas
remède de la mêmemanièreque dans le cas de l'obligation incombant au

défendeurde lui chercher un nouveau poste, n'a pas exercésajuridiction.
72. La demande présentée en la matiéreest citéeau débutdujugement.
Le Tribunal a exposébrièvement ensuite ce qu'il était advenu de cette
demande devant la Commission paritaire de recours, qui n'avait formulé
aucune recommandation à son sujet faute d'avoir trouvéune indication
sur ce point dans le statut ou le règlement du personnel ou dans lesins-
tructions administratives, mais avait recommandé le versement à titre
gracieux d'une somme égaleau montant de tout préjudiceque le requé-
rant pourrait prouver avoir subi du fait de son rappel précipitédunien.
Lejugement reproduit aussi l'opinion dissidente du membre de la Com-
mission paritaire de recours élupar le personnel, qui appuyait la réclama-
tion. Après avoir résumé lesarguments pertinents du requérant et du

défendeur, le Tribunal a consacréle paragraphe XV de son jugement à
l'examen de la demande en question. II a citéle texte de la disposition
103.22 c) du règlement du personnel, invoquée par le requérant, et
déclaré:

«Le Tribunal constate que ce texte laisse au défendeurune marge
d'appréciation s'agissant de l'octroi de l'indemnitéd'affectation: il
est possible que celle-ci soit octroyée pour un séjourde moins d'un
an. Par ailleurs, le texte pose une règletrès précise:I'indemnitéde
subsistance n'est due que si I'indemnité d'affectation n'a pas été
accordée. Or, dans l'espèce,le requérant a reçu I'indemnitéd'affec-
tationet n'est donc pas en droit de recevoir l'indemnité de subsistance
selon les dispositions du règlementdu personnel.

Vu cette déclaration, il est difficilede saisir ce quipeut justifier l'affirma-
tion figurant dans la demande adressée au Comité, selon laquelle le
Tribunal n'a pas examinéla que~tion, alors qu'il en traite expressément
au paragraphe XV de son jugement et décideconcrètement de la rejeter
comme non justifiée.

73. Au mêmeparagraphe XV du jugement, le Tribunal a fait en outre
état dela recommandation dela Commission paritaire de recours tendant
à ce que le requérantbénéficidu versement, à titre gracieux, d'une somme
égaleau montant du préjudice qu'ilpourrait prouver avoir subi du fait de
son rappel et signaléque le Secrétairegénéralavait accepté de faire ce
versement àtitre gracieux puis il a ajouté:

«eu égard à la &cision ci-dessus concernant I'indemnitéde subsistan-
ce, le requérant estn droitd'user de la facultéouverte par le défen- offered by the Respondent withiil a reasonable period of time from

this judgement ..."(eniphasis added).
To give effect to this decision the Tribunal. in the operative part of the
Judgement, provided that:

"3. An? requests for paynieiit made in accordance witli paragraph
XV abobe shall be submitted, together with the necessary supporting
evidence. by the Applicai-itto the Respondent within a period of two
nioiiths froni the date of this judgement."
Having regard to the applicant's initiation of review proceedings, the

Court is of the opinioii that this terni of two nionths should not be
regarded as expired but should be considered to ruii only from the date
when the Judgement becomes final in accordance with paragrapli 3 of
Article II of the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal.
74. Accordingly, the contention that the Tribunal failed to exercise
its jurisdiction with respect to the claini for recalculation of the rate of
remuneration is not sustainable on the face of the Judgement. The
Tribunal nianifestly addressed its mind to the applicant's claim, referred
specifically to it and exercised its jurisdiction by deciding to reject it.
The complaint tlius again turnsout to concern nota failure bythe Tribunal
to exercise its jurisdiction but an appeal agaii~st its treatrnent of the
rnerits of the claiin.

75. In his application to the Committee, Mr. Fasla alleges that the
Tribunal did not order the correction of his fact-sheet and that gaps in
his employment record which were still in existence had not been filled.
This allegation may be interpreted as a complaint tliat the Tribuilal
failed to exerciseitsjurisdiction with respect to plea (r/ in the application

to the Tribunal, which reads as follows:
"Correction and completion of the Applicant's Fact Sheet which
is intended for circulation both within and outside the UNDP, with
al1 the required Periodic Reports and evaluations of work; alter-
natively, payment by the Respondent to the Applicant of two years'
net base salary."

In the written statement of his views submitted to the Court, Mr. Fasla
specifically complains that the Tribunal failed to exercise its jurisdiction
with respect to this particular plea among others.
76. The Tribunal, while not mentioning this plea specifically, applied
its mind to itby stating, in paragrapli VI11of the Judgement:

"The preparation of a corrected fact sheet becomes ineailingless deur pendant un délai raisonnable à compter du présent jugement »
(les italiques sont de la Cour).
Pour donner effet à cette décision,le Tribunal statue ainsi dans le dispo-

sitif deson jugement:
((3. Les demandes éventuelles de remboursement viséesau para-
graphe XV ci-dessus devront être présentées avec les justifica-
tions nécessairespar le requérant au défendeurdans un délaide
deux mois à compter du présentjugement. »

En raison de la procédure de réformation engagéepar le requérant, la
Cour est d'avis quece délaide deux mois ne doit pas êtreconsidérécomme
étantexpiréet doit recommencer à courirà partir du moment où lejuge-
ment deviendra définitifconformément à l'article Il, paragraphe 3, du
statut du Tribunal administratif.
74. Cela étant, la thèse selon laquelle le Tribunal a omis d'exercer sa
juridictionà l'égardde la demande tendant à un nouveau calcul du taux
de rémunérationest inacceptable si l'on considère le libellédu jugement.
Le Tribunal a manifestement examinéla demande du requérant, l'a men-

tionnéeexpressémentet a exercésa juridiction en décidantde la rejeter.
IIapparaît donc que, là encore, cen'estpaslenon-exercicedesajuridiction
par leTribunal que cette thèseconcerne mais un recours contre la décision
qu'il a prise sur le fond.

75. Dans sa demande au Comité,M. Fasla allègueque le Tribunal n'a
pas ordonné la rectification de sa fiche analytique individuelle et que les
lacunes qui subsistaient dans son dossier n'ont pas été comblées. n peut
considérer qu'en formulant cette allégation ie requérant se plaint de ce
que le Tribunal ait omis d'exercer sajuridictionà l'égardde la demande
e) de la requêteau Tribunal qui est ainsi conçue:

((Ordonnerau défendeur derectifier et de compléter la fiche ana-
lytique individuelle du requérant, qui est destinéà êtrecommuni-
quée àla fois aux servicesdu PNUD et à d'autres organisations, ainsi
que tous les rapports périodiques réglementaireset les appréciations
portées sur son travail; ou, à défaut, ordonner au défendeur de
verser au requérant une somme équivalant au montant net de son
traitement de base pour une périodede deuxans. »

Dans l'exposéde son opinion transmis à la Cour, M. Fasla se plaint ex-
pressémentde ce que le Tribunal ait omis d'exercer sa juridiction en par-
ticulierà l'égardde cette demande.
76. S'il n'apas mentionné expressémentcette demande, le Tribunal ne
l'a pas moins examinée, comme l'indique le paragraphe VI11 du juge-
ment, où il a déclar:

((L'établissementd'une ficheanalytique rectifiée n'aguère de sens once UNDP decided not to take the necessary further steps to find
the Applicant a new assignment."

The obvious inference from the Tribunal's statement is that to allow the
specific relief claimed would no longer serve any useful purpose. Thus
to state its conclusion by implication is one of the ways in which a
tribunal may, and not infrequently does, exercise its jurisdiction with
respect to a particular plea.

77. In his a~~lication to the Committee Mr. Fasla also contends that
Article 9, pa;agraph 3, of the Tribunal's Statute imposes upon the
Tribunal the duty to award compensation when the wrong cannot be
provided forin paragraph 1 of ~rticle 9. In support
remedied bythe relief
of this contention he invokes the text of paragraph3,which provides that,
where applicable, "compensation shall be fixed by the Tribunal". After
noting the use of the imperative "shall", he submits that the correct
construction of paragraph 3 deprives the Tribunal of any discretion to
refrain fromawarding compensation where the wrong cannot be remedied
by the rescinding of the decision or the specific performance of the obli-
gation. This is an interpretation to which the Court cannot subscribe.
Paragraph 3 inay not be interpreted in isolation from paragraph 1.The
introductory words of paragraph 3, "in al1applicable cases", refer back
to paragraph 1 and only comprise tliose cases in which compensation
must be awarded under that first paragraph. This interpretation is
confirmed by the text of paragraph 3 in other officia1languages. Thus
the paragraph does not impose an obligation or confer a power on the
Tribunal to award compensation in circumstances other than those
provided for in paragraph 1.

78. The Court will now proceed to consider the basic contentions ad-
vanced by Mr. Fasla in the statement of his viewssubmitted to the Court
which concern the exercise of the discretionary powers of the administra-
tion and dlege the existence in this case of improper motives constituting
a misuse of power. It may be open to doubt how far these contentions,
which were not fully adduced in the application presented to the Com-
mittee, faIl strictly within the contentions referred to in the first question
put to the Court. The Court, however, as it has previously stated,does not
consider that it should adopt a restrictive interpretation of the question.
It will therefore examine those contentions and, in deciding to do so, it

takes particular account of the fact that in the application to theCom-
mittee, and with regard to the ground of failure to exercisejurisdiction,
reference was made to "misuse of powers with improper motive".
79. In his statement of views Mr. Fasla contends that it was as a con- du moment que le PNUD a décidéde ne plus faire les démarches
nécessairesen vue de trouver un nouvel emploi au requérant.»

Cette assertion du Tribunal revient évidemment à dire qu'il n'aurait plus
servià rien d'accorder laréparationen nature réclaméeC . ette manièrede
sous-entendre la conclusion a laquelle il parvient est pour un tribunal un
moyen - et un moyen dont l'usage n'est pasrare - d'exercer sajuridic-
tion àl'égard d'unedemande particulière.

77. M. Fasla affirmedans sa demande au Comitéque l'article 9,para-
graphe 3, dustatut du Tribunal imposea celui-ciI'obligationd'allouer une
indemnitélorsquele mode de réparationprévu à l'article 9,paragraphe 1,
ne permet pas de porter remèdeau préjudicesubi. Pour étayer cette affir-
mation, il invoque le texte du paragraphe3, selon lequel, lorsqu'ily a lieu
à indemnité,((celle-ciest fixéepar le Tribunal)).Notant le caractère im-
pératifde cette disposition, il soutient que, correctement interprété, le
paragraphe 3 ne laisse au Tribunal d'autre choix que d'accorder une in-
demnité lorsque l'annulation dela décisionou l'exécutionde I'obligation
ne permettent pas de remédierau préjudice subi. C'est là une interpréta-
tion à laquelle la Cour ne peut souscrire. On ne saurait interpréter le
paragraphe 3 indépendamment du paragraphe 1. Les premiers mots du
paragraphe 3,« Lorsqu'ily a lieuà indemnité)), seréfèrentau paragraphe

1 et concernent uniquement les cas où une indemnitédoit êtreoctroyée
par application de ceparagraphe. Cetteinterprétation est confirméepar la
manièredont le paragraphe 3 est rédigédans d'autres langues officielles.
Ainsi donc ce paragraphe n'impose pasau Tribunal I'obligation et ne lui
confère pasle pouvoir d'allouer uneindemnitédans desconditions autres
que cellesqui sont prévuesau paragraphe 1.

78. La Cour en vient maintenant à l'examen des thèses essentielles
présentéespar M. Fasla dans l'exposéde son opinion transmis à la Cour,
qui concernent l'exercicedu pouvoir discrétionnairede l'administration
et allèguentl'existenceen l'espècede motifs illicitesconstituant un abus
de pouvoir. On peut sedemander dans quelle mesure ces thèses,qui n'ont
pas étépleinement exposéesdans la demande adresséeau Comité,font a
proprement parler partie de cellesque visela premièrequestion posée à la
Cour. Celle-cia déjàeu l'occasiond'indiquer qu'elle ne s'estime pastenue
d'adopter une interprétation restrictive de la question. Elle examinera
donc ces thèses et, en décidant de le faire, elle tient particulièrement
compte de ce que, dans la demande au Comitéet à propos du grief con-
cernant le non-exercicede lajuridiction, ilest fait état d'«abusde pouvoir
motivépar des considérationsillicites)).

79. Dans l'exposéde son opinion, M. Fasla soutient que c'est poursequence of his reporting serious administrative irregularities in the
UNDP office in Yemen that he was recalled from his post there; he
further contends that the failure of the Secretary-General to renew his
fixed-term contract was "an intentional or negligent consequence" of the
efforts made by Mr. Fasla, particularly in a report dated 17January 1969,

to deal with the conditions existing in that office. He points out in this
respect that, intaking this action and informing his superiors of what he
felt was an unsatisfactory situation, he was fulfilling his duties under the
Staff Regulations, since by accepting an appointment with the United
Nations, he had pledged hiinselfto discharge hir functions and to regulate
his conduct "with the interests of the United Nations only in view". He
then asserts that the failure of the United Nations Administrative Tribu-
nal to investigate the link between his efforts in the Yemen office and the
decisions concerning his recall and non-renewal of contract constituted
what he describes as the most fundamental failure of the Administrative
Tribunal to exercisethe jurisdiction vested in it.
80. The allegations thus advanced assume that the two basic adminis-
trative decisions which vitally affected Mr. Fasla in 1969, his recall from
Yemen and the non-renewal of his fixed-term contract, were the reaction
of the administration to the attitude which he had taken in denouncing
serious administrative irregularities.This impliesthe assertion that he was
persecuted not only for having exercised his rights but for having per-
formed his obligations in the interests of the United Nations; it also
implies that those administrative decisions were determined by improper

or extraneous motivation.

81. The adoption by the General Assembly of the Statute of the Ad-
ministrative Tribunal and the jurisprudence developed by this judicial
organ constitute a system ofjudicial safeguards which protects officialsof
the United Nations against wrongful action of the administration, in-
cluding such exercise of discretionary powers as may have been deter-
mined by improper motives, in violation of the rights or legitimate
expectations of a staff member. tn view of the existence of this system of
judicial safeguards, and in line with the position now taken before the
Court, it would have been the proper course for Mr. Fasla to have chal-
lenged before the United Nations Administrative Tribunal the validity
of the two decisions, of recall and non-renewal, on the grounds alleged,
namely, that they violated his rights, interfered with the performance of
his duties to the Organization, and wereinspired byimproper motivation.
82. However, in his application to the United Nations Administrative
Tribunal, Mr. Fasla did not request the Tribunal to rescind, on the
grounds of illegality or improper motivation, the decisions concerning
his recall from Yemen and the non-renewal of his fixed-term contract.
Under the Rules of Procedure of the Tribunal each application must
specify "the decisions which the applicant is contesting and whose rescis-

sion he is requesting under Article 9, paragraph 1, of the Statute". The
pleas submitted to the Administrative Tribunal, transcribed in paragraphavoir signalédes irrégularités administrativesgraves commises au bureau
du PNUD au Yémenqu'il a étérappelé; il affirme en outre que, si le
Secrétaire généraln'a pas renouvelé son contrat de durée déterminée,
c'est«une conséquence,délibéréo eu résultantd'une simple négligence)),
des efforts qu'il a déployés,notamment dans un rapport du 17janvier
1969,pour remédier à la situation dans laquelle se trouvait le bureau en
question. M. Fasla fait observerà cet égardque, en agissant de la sorte et
en attirant l'attention de ses supérieurssur ce qu'ilconsidéraitcomme une
situation regrettable, il ne faisait que son devoir aux termes du statut du
personnel, attendu qu'en acceptant un poste à l'organisation des Nations
Unies, il s'étaitengagéà remplir ses fonctions et a régler saconduite «en

ayant exclusivement en vue les intérêts del'Organisation». II affirme par
suite que, en omettant d'examiner le lienentre les efforts déployéspar lui
au bureau du Yémenet les décisions relatives à son rappel et au non-
renouvellement de son contrat, le Tribunal administratifa commis le plus
grave manquement qui soit au devoir qu'ilavait d'exercer sajuridiction.
80. Les allégationsainsi formuléespartent de l'idéeque les deux déci-
sions administratives fondamentales aui ont eu une imoortance cruciale
pour M. Fasla en 1969 - son rappel du Yémenet le non-renouvellement
de son contrat de duréedéterminée - traduisaient la réaction de I'ad-
ministration devant l'attitude de l'intéressé,qui avait dénoncéde graves
irrégularités administratives. C'est donner à croire qu'il a étépersécuté
non seulement pour avoir exercé sesdroits mais encore pour avoir rempli

ses obligations dans l'intérêt des Nations Unies;c'est donner à croire
aussi que ces décisionsadministratives ont été inspiréep sar des motifs
illicites ou non pertinents.
81. De l'adoption par l'Assemblée généraldeu statut du Tribunal ad-
ministratif et de la jurisprudence de cet organe judiciaire résulte un
système de garanties judiciaires qui protège les fonctionnaires des Na-
tions Unies contre les actes dommageables de l'administration, notam-
nient le cas où l'exercicedu pouvoir discrétionnaire serait motivépar des
considérationsillicites,au méprisdes droitsou expectatives légitimesd'un
fonctionnaire. Etant donné l'existence de ce système de garanties judi-
ciaires et conformément à ce qui est maintenant soutenu devant la Cour,
M. Fasla aurait dû contester devant leTribunal administratif des Nations

Unies la validitédes deux décisions de rappel et de non-renouvellement
pour les raisons alléguées,à savoir que ces décisionsportaient atteinte à
ses droits, l'empêchaientde remplir ses obligations à l'égardde I'Organi-
sationet étaient inspirées pardes motifs illicites.
82. C'est un fait que, dans la requêtequ'il a adressée au Tribunal
administratif des Nations Unies, M. Fasla n'a pas priéle Tribunal d'an-
nuler pour cause d'illégalité oude motivation illicite les décisionsrela-
tives àson rappel du Yémenet au non-renouvellement de soncontrat de
duréedéterminée.En vertu du règlementdu Tribunal, toute requête doit
spécifier«les décisionscontestéesdont le requérant demande l'annulation
conformémentau paragraphe 1de l'article 9 du statut)).Or les demandes
soun~isesau Tribunal administratif, et reproduites au paragraphe 44 ci-44 above, do not however refer to these two basic decisions, and this
indicated that they werenot disputed by the applicant. Thus, with respect

to the recall from Yemen, the specificplea submitted as plea (b) of the
supplementary application only concerned certain economic conse-
quences of his recall from Yemen. The other pleas for rescission or
specificperformance were submitted on the assumption that the original
fixed-term contract had expired, since pleas (e) and (g) concerned the
non-fulfilment of the obligation assumed by the Secretary-General to
make efforts to seek a new position for Mr. Fasla. Prejudice was invoked
not as a basis for the rescission of any administrative decision but as a
ground for compensation (plea (j)). The only request for rescission with
respect to which the claim of prejudice was relevant was plea (f), con-
cerning the invalidation of the report prepared in September 1970. As
to plea (d) its scope will be examined separately. Al1 the other pleas
claimed only compensation (pleas (h), (i),(k), (1), (m), (il),and pleas
(a) and (c) of the supplementary application). In other words, the ap-
plicant was;basing his claim before the Administrative Tribunal on the

inadequacy of the efforts of the Secretary-General to obtain for him a
newcontract,but not ontheillegality or improper motivation of the decis-
ions to recall him from Yemen and not to renewhis fixed-term contract.
83. In these circumstances, the Administrative Tribunal was justified
in finding, as it did in paragraph III of its Judgement, that although the
applicant had requested the Tribunal (in plea (d)) to order the Secretary-
General to restore hm to the status quoante, such a claim was not based
on the right to have his contract extended. In the same paragraph the
Tribunal found that the request concerning further employment depended
on the pleas that the Secretary-General be ordered to correct and com-
plete Mr. Fasla's fact-sheet and make serious efforts to place him in a
suitable post.

84. The explanatory statement accompanying the pleas confirms the
correctness of this conclusion of the Tribunal. In the arguments then
advanced in support of the pleas, frequent reference was made to irregu-
larities inthe Yemenoffice, but it wasneverasserted, as is now vigorously
contended before the Court, that it had been as a consequence of the
efforts displayed by Mr. Fasla to correct such irregularities that he had
been recalled from Yemen and that his contract had not beenprolonged.
On the contrary, that explanatory statement mentioned that Mr. Fasla
had requested on his own initiative to be recalled from Yemen before the
expiry of his assignment.
85. Inasmuch as the applicant had not sought from theAdministrative
Tribunal the rescission of the decisions of recall and non-renewal on the
grounds of their illegalityand improper motivation, it is obvious that the
Administrative Tribunal could not have been expected to go into these
issuesproprio motu, or proceed on its own account to an examination ofdessus, ne se rapportent pas à ces deux décisionsfondamentales, ce qui
indique que le requérant n'en contestait pas la validité.C'est ainsi qu'en
ce qui concerne son rappel du Yémenla demande 6) de la requêtead-
ditionnelle visait uniquement certaines conséquences économiquesde ce
rappel. Les autres demandes tendant àune annulation ou àune exécution
supposaient que le contrat initial de durée déterminéeétaitvenu à ex-
piration, puisque les demande e) et g) concernaient l'inexécution de
l'obligation assuméepar le Secrétairegénéralde s'employer àtrouver un

nouveau poste à M. Fasla. Le parti pris étaitinvoquénon pour justifier
l'annulation d'unedécisionadministrativequelconque mais pour réclamer
une indemnité(demande j)). La seuledemanded'annulation pour laquelle
le grief de parti pris était pertinent était lademandeconcernant I'inva-
lidation du rapport établien septembre 1970. En ce qui concerne la de-
mande d), sa portéesera examinéeséparément.Toutesles autres deman-
des ne visaient qu'une indemnisation (demandes h), i)k), I),m), n) ainsi
que les demandes a) etc) de la requêteadditionnelle). Autrement dit,
le requérant se fondait devant leTribunal administratifsur l'insuffisance
des efforts tentéspar le Secrétaire généralpour lui procurer un nouveau
contrat, mais non sur l'illégalitéou la motivation illicite des décisions
qui avaient étéprises de le rappeler du Yémenet de ne pas renouveler
son contrat de duréedéterminée.

83. Dans ces conditions, le Tribunal administratif était fondéà con-
clure, comme il l'a fait au paragraphe III de sonjugement, que bien que le
requérant ait priéle Tribunal (dans la demande d)) d'ordonner au Secré-
taire généralde le réintégrerdans la situation qui était lasienne aupara-
vant, cette demande n'étaitpas fondéesur le droit d'obtenir la prolonga-
tion de son contrat. Le Tribunal a estimé,dans le mêmeparagraphe, que
la demande visant un emploi ultérieur dépendait des demandes intro-
duites en vue de faire ordonner au Secrétairegénéralde rectifier et de
compléter la fiche analytique individuelle de M. Fasla et de procéder à
des recherches sérieuses en vuede l'affecter à un poste correspondant à
ses aptitudes.
84. Le mémoireexplicatif qui accompagne les demandes du requérant

confirme l'exactitude de cette conclusion du Triburil. Dans l'argumen-
tation avancée à l'appui des diverses demandes, il étaitfréquemment fait
mention d'irrégularitéscommises au bureau du Yémen, mais il n'était
affirmé nullepart, ce que l'on soutient maintenant avec énergiedevant la
Cour, que c'étaient les efforts déployép sar M. Fasla pour éliminer ces
irrégularitésqui avaient entraîné son rappel du Yémenet la non-prolon-
gation de son contrat. Il était notéau contraire dans ce mémoire que
M. Fasla avait sollicitéspontanément son rappel du Yémenavant I'expi-
ration de son affectation.
85. Dès lors que le requérant n'a pas demandéau Tribunal administra-
tif d'ordonner l'annulation des décisionsde rappel et de non-renouvelle-
ment pour illégalitéet motivation illicite, il est évident que l'on ne pou-

vait attendre du Tribunal qu'il aborde ces questions de sa propre initia-
tive ou procède de lui-même àun examen ou àune enquêteenla matière.or inquiry into these matters. While the Administrative Tribunal under
its Statute and in accordance with itsjurisprudence examines the alleged-
ly improper motivation of an administrative decision, and under its
Rules of Procedure may arrange any measures of inquiry as may be

necessary, it results from its character as "an independent and truly
judicial body" (I.C.J. Reports 1954,p. 53)that it can only proceed to in-
quiries of that kind on the basis of a plea from the aggrieved party for
rescission of the contested decision and a specificallegation by that party
that that decision has been inspired by improper or extraneous motiva-
tion. Equally, it would not have been appropriate for the Court to proceed
on its own to such an inquiry under Articles 48 to 50 of its Statute. The
Court's abstention from carrying out an inquiry into the administrative
situation in Yemen or into the motives of the decision to recall the
applicant from there does not mean that, in review proceedings, the
Court regards itself as precluded from examining in full liberty the facts
of the case or from checking the Tribunal's appreciation of the facts.
Such an inquiry would have beendirected to facts and allegations invoked
to substantiate claims and submissions not advanced by the applicant
before the Administrative Tribunal. An inquiry into those matters could
have no place in review proceedings designed to determine whether the
Tribunal had failed to exercise its jurisdiction, a question which neces-
sarily relates only to claims and submissions presented to the Tribunal.

86. Furti-rermore the documentation before the Tribunal permitted it
to verify the motivation which had determined the decision of recall.
After having received the applicant's denunciations of irregularitiesin the
management of the Yemen office, the administration had in February
1969sent a senior officia1to visit that officeand report on the measures
to be taken. His report, the submission of whch to the Tribunal was in-
sisted upon by the applicant in his plea (a), and which contained favour-
able comment on Mr. Fasla's efforts in Yemen, dealt in its conclusions
with the management of the Yemen office. On this point the report
advised that Mr. Fasla could "continue in charge of the office during the
immediate period of [the Resident Representative's] absence"; at the
same time, however, it recommended that "in the interest of competent
field representation and operation it would be advisable to move him out
of the Yemen Arab Republic as well".
87. These circumstances suffice to explain why the Court isunable to
accept the contention that the Administrative Tribunal failed to exercise
its jurisdiction in that it did not enquire into the situation in the Yemen
office. No tribunal can be fairly accused of failure to have exercised the
jurisdiction vested in it on the ground that it failed to make an inquiry or
a finding of fact which was not required in order to adjudicate on the case
presented to it,ad which none of the parties asked it to make. One must

bear in mind the principle previously recalled by the Court, that it is the
duty of an international tribunal 'bot only to reply to the questions as
stated in the final submissions of the parties, but also to abstain fromSi en vertu de son statut et conformément à sa jurisprudence le Tribunal
administratif examine les motifs illicites imputés une décisionadminis-
trative, et s'il peut, aux termes de songlement, ordonner toute mesure
d'instruction qu'il juge utile, en sa qualité de «corps indépendant et
véritablement judiciaire))(C.I.J. Recueil 1954, p. 53), il ne peut entre-
prendre une enquête dece genre que lorsque la partie léséedemande
l'annulation de la décision contestée et allègue expressément que la
décisionen cause a été inspirée pardes considérations illicites ou non
pertinentes. De même,iln'aurait pas étéopportun que la Cour procède
d'elle-même à une telle enquêteconformémentaux articles 48 et 50 de son

Statut. Le fait que la Cour s'est abstenue d'enquêtersur la situation ad-
ministrative au Yémenou sur les motifs de la décision par laquelle le
requérant a étérappeléne signifie pas que, dans une procédure de réfor-
mation, la Cour s'estime empêchéd e'examiner les faits de la cause en
toute libertéou de contrôler l'appréciation des faits par leibuiial. Une
telle enquête aurait porté sur des faits et des allégations invoqués à
l'appui de demandes et de conclusions que le requérant n'avait pasfor-
muléesdevant le Tribunal administratif. Uneenquêtesur cesquestions ne
saurait trouver place dans une procédure de réformation visant àdéter-
miner si le Tribunal a omis d'exercersa juridiction, question qui ne peut
que se rattacher aux demandeset conclusions dont leTribunal a été saisi.

86. De plus, grâce àla documentation dont ildisposait, le Tribunal a
pu vérifier lesconsidérations ayant motivéla décisionde rappel. Après
avoir étésaisi des dénonciations du requérant relatives aux irrégularités
commises dans la gestion du bureau du Yémen,l'administration a, en
février 1969, chargéun haut fonctionnaire de se rendre sur place et de
faire rapport sur les mesuresà prendre. Son rapport, dont le requérant a
sollicité avec insistance la productiondevant leTribunal dans sa demande
a) et qui contenait des élogessur lesefforts qu'ilavait déployau Yémen,
traitait, dans ses conclusions, de la gestion du bureau du Yémen.S'il y
était dit ce sujet que M. Fasla pouvait «continuer às'occuper du bureau

pendant la toute première périoded'absence [dureprésentant résident] »,
le rapport n'en faisait pas moins la recommandation suivante: «dans I'in-
térêt d'unereprésentation et d'une administration locales compétentes,
son rappel de la Républiquearabe du Yémenserait souhaitable aussi)).
87. Ces élémentssuffisent à expliquer pourquoi la Cour n'est pas en
mesure d'accepter la thèse selonlaquelle le Tribunal administratif a omis
d'exercer sa juridiction parce qu'il n'a pas procédéà une enquêtesur la
situation qui existait au bureau du Yémen. On nesaurait équitablement
accuser un tribunal d'avoir omis d'exercer sajuridiction parce qu'il n'a
pas ordonné une enquête oudes mesures d'instruction qui n'étaientpas
indispensables pour statuer sur une affaire dont il étaitsaisi, alors qu'au-
cune des parties ne l'avait priéde le faire. On se souviendra du principe

rappelé précédemmenp tar la Cour, à savoir qu'un tribunal international
a le devoir «de répondre aux demandes des parties telles qu'elles s'ex-deciding points not indicated in those submissions" (I.C.J. Reports

1950, p. 402).

88. The Court must now take up the second question in the request for
advisory opinion, which requires it to determine whether the Tribunal
has committed a fundamental error in procedure which has occasioned a
failure ofjustice as contended in the application to the Committee.

89. The contentions in the above document with regard to "a funda-
mental error in procedure which has occasioned a failure ofjustice" may
be summarized as follows. First, Mr. Fasla contends that the "failure of
justice" was apparent from the facts he had alleged with regard to failure
to exercise jurisdiction and from the information contained in the an-
nexes to his application; and that a woefully inadequate judgement had
resulted from the failure of the Tribunal to utilize its establishedproce-
dure and method of dealing with applications. Secondly, he contends
that the Tribunal had not proceeded "to fully consider and pass upon"
various pleas and requests, contrary to its normal practice and to what he
termed the well-established general principle that a court ofjustice must

analyse and decide al1claims properly brought before it, with a reasoned
explanation of its conclusions and factual support therefor. Thirdly, he
contends that the failure even to mention claims was a deviation from
normal judicial procedure constituting fundamental error.

90. Under this question the Court has to determine, first, what is the
meaning and scope of the provision in Article 11 which allows a judge-
ment to be challenged on the ground "that the Tribunal.. .has committed
a fundamental error in procedure which has occasioned a failure of
justice"; and, secondly, in what respects, if any, the facts before itclose
such a fundamentalerror in procedure in the present case.
91. "A fundamental fault in the procedure" is one of the two grounds
of challenge contained in Article XII of the Statute of the ILOAdmini-
strative Tribunal, and it was in a similar forrn-"fundamental error in
procedure"-that this ground was incorporated in the draft of a new
Article 11 of the Statute of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal
recommended to the General Assembly by the Special Committee on
Review of Administrative Tribunal Judgements in 1955. The words
"which has occasioned a failure of justice" were introduced at the
499th meeting of the Fifth Committee on the proposa1 of the Indian

delegation, who had stated that:
"Another ground for review provided in the proposed new Article
11 was the commission of a fundamental error in procedure. Thepriment dans leurs conclusions finales, mais aussi celui de s'abstenir de
statuer sur des points non compris dans lesdites demandes ainsi expri-
mées)) (C.I.J. Recueil1950,p. 402).

88. La Cour doit maintenant examiner la seconde question poséedans
la requêtepour avis consultatif, par laquelle elle est priéede dire si le
Tribunal a commis, dansla procédure,une erreur essentielle qui a provo-
qué un mal-jugé,ainsi qu'il est soutenu dans la demande présentéeau
Comité.
89. Les thèsesformuléesdans la demande adresséeau Comité à propos
«d'une erreur essentielle dans la procédure qui aprovoqué un mal-jugé))
peuvent se résumer comme suit. En premier lieu, M. Fasla affirme que ce
«mal-jugé))ressort des faits alléguésrelativement au non-exercice de la
juridiction et des renseignements contenus dans les annexes jointes à sa
demande et que le Tribunal a rendu unjugement des plus contestables en

ne suivant pas la procédure et les méthodesqu'il applique habituellement
pour connaître des requêtesdont ilest saisi. En second lieu, il soutient que
le Tribunal «n'a pas procédé à un examen complet de l'affaire et ne s'est
pas prononcé))sur plusieurs prétentions et demandes, contrairement à la
pratique qu'il suit habituellement etàce que le requérant appelle le prin-
cipe général bienétabliselon lequel un tribunal doit examiner toutes les
demandes dont il a étérégulièrementsaisi et se prononcer sur elles en
exposantles motifs de ses conclusions et lesfaits sur lesquels il s'estfondé
pour y arriver. En troisième lieu, M. Fasla signale que le fait de ne pas
mêmementicnner certaines demandes est contraire à 1~procédure judi-
ciaire normaleetconstitue une erreur essentielle.
90. Pour répondre à cette question, la Cour doit déterminer premiè-
rement le sens et la portée de la disposition de l'articlequi autorise à
contester un jugement en alléguant«que le Tribunal ..a commis, dans la

procédure, une erreur essentielle qui a provoquéun mal-jugé))et, deuxiè-
mement, en quoi les faits qui lui sont soumis révéleraient éventuellement
une erreur essentielle de cette nature en l'espèce.
91. «Une faute essentielle dans la procédure)) estl'un des deux motits
de contestation prévus àl'article XI1 du statut du Tribunal administratif
de l'OIT, et c'est avecun libellé trèsproche- ((erreur essentielle dans la
procédure)) - que ce motif a étéintroduit dans le projet d'article II du
statut du Tribunal administratif des Nations Unies recommandé à l'As-
semblée généralp ear le Comitéspécialchargé d'étudierla question de la
réformation des jugements du Tribunal administratif en 1955. Les mots
«qui a provoqué un mal-jugé» ont étéajoutés à la 499" séancede la
Cinquième Commission sur la proposition de la délégation indienne
qui avait déclaréantérieurement:

«Le paragraphe 1prévoitun autre motif de réformation : l'erreur
essentielle dans la procédure. En employant le mot «essentielle», on use of the word 'fundamental' was intended to preclude review on
account of trivial errors in procedure or errors that were not of a
substantial nature. Inorder to make the intention clearer, the Indian
delegation would suggest that the phrase 'which has occasioned a

failure of justice' should be inserted after the words 'fundamental
error in procedure' in the text of the article."

The additional phrase was not, therefore, intended to alter the scope of
this ground of challenge, still less to create an independent ground of
objection, but merely to provide an indication as to the meaning of the
word "fundamental"; and in accepting the Indian proposa1 the Fifth
Committee seems to have assumed that it did not involve any change in
the substance of the original draft. One delegate indeed observed that "a
fundamental error in procedure clearly implied a failure of justice".
92. It may not be easy to state exhaustively what is involved in the
concept of "a fundamental error in procedure which has occasioned a
failure ofjustice". But the essence of it, in the cases before the Adminis-
trative Tribunal, may be found in the fundamental right of a staffmember
to present his case, either orally or in writing, and to have it considered by
the Tribunal before it determines his rights. An error in procedure is
fundamental and constitutes "a failure of justice7'when it is of such a
kind as to violate the oficial's right to a fair hearing as above definedand
in that senseto deprive him ofjustice. To put the matter in that way does

not provide a complete answer to the problem of determining precisely
what errors in procedure are covered by the words of Article 11.Butcer-
tain elementsoftheright to afair hearing are well recognized and provide
criteria helpful in identifying fundamental errors in procedure whichhave
occasioned a failure of justice: for instance, the right to an independent
and impartial tribunal established by law; the right to have the case
heard and determined within a reasonable time; the right to a reasonable
opportunity to present the case to the tribunal and to comment upon the
opponent's case; the right to equaiity in the proceedings vis-à-vis the
opponent; and the right to a reasoned decision.
93. Mr. Fasla, both in his application to the Committee and in his
written statement and comments transmitted to the Court, to a large
extent pleads failure to exercise jurisdiction and fundamental error in
procedure as alternative or joint grounds upon which to formulate what
appear to be essentially the same complaints concerning the Tribunal's
handling of his case. In consequence, many of the considerations which
apply to his contentions in regard to the former ground apply also to his
contentions concerning the latter. For the most part, these contentions
appear to be complaints against the Tribunal's adjudication of the merits
of the claims, rather'than assertions of errors in procedure in the proper

sense of that term. In so far as they may be said to touch matters of
procedure, they appear, with one exception, to be dealt with in the next
paragraph, to express disagreement with the Tribunal's determinations
of the procedure to be followed in the light of itsappreciation ofthe facts a voulu écarterles demandes de réformation fondéessur des erreurs
mineures ou sans conséquences. Afin de précisercette intention, la
délégationindiennepropose d'insérer,dans le texte de ce paragraphe,
les mots ((qui a provoquéun mal-jugé))aprèsles mots ((erreur essen-
tielle dans la procédure)).

L'insertion de ces quelques mots n'avait donc pas pour objet de modifier
la portéede ce motif de contestation et encore moins d'en créerun qui soit
indépendant,mais tendait simplement à préciserle sens d'«essentielle» et,
en acceptant la proposition indienne, la Cinquième Commission paraît
avoir pensé qu'ellene changeait rien, en substance, au projet initial. Un

délégué a même souligné ((qu'uneerreur essentielle dans la procédure im-
plique incontestablement un mal-jugé».
92. Sans doute n'est-il pas facile d'énoncer tout ce que recouvre la
notion d'«erreur essentielle dans la procédure qui a provoqué un mal-
jugé». Mais dans les affaires dont connaît le Tribunal administratif,
l'idéede base est qu'un fonctionnaire a le droit fondamental d'exposer sa
cause, soit oralement soit par écrit,et d'être assque le Tribunal l'étu-
dieraavant de statuersur ses droits. Une erreur procédurale estessentielle
et constitue«un mal-jugé))si elleaboutità violer le droit du fonctionnaire
à êtreimpartialement entendu comme il est indiquéci-dessus et, en ce
sens, empêcheque justice lui soit faite. En présentant les choses ainsi, on
ne résoutpas complètement le problèmeque pose la définition précise des
erreurs procéduralesvisées à l'article 11, mais certains élémentsdu droit
d'être impartialemententendu sont cependant bien connus et fournissent

d'utiles critèrespour déterminerlescas d'erreurs procéduralesessentielles
ayant provoqué un mal-jugé:on peut citer, par exemple, le droit d'avoir
accès à un tribunal indépendant et impartial établi par la loi; le droit
d'obtenir une décision de justice dans un délai raisonnable; le droit
d'avoir, dans des conditions raisonnables, la facultéde présentersa cause
au tribunal et de commenter les thèsesde l'adversaire; le droit l'égalité
avec celui-ci dansla procédure; et le droit d'obtenir une décisionmotivée.
93. Aussi bien dans sademande au Comitéque dans son opinion et ses
observations transmises à la Cour, M. Fasla rattache fréquemment soit
au non-exercice de la juridiction soit l'erreur essentielle dans la procé-
dure soit aux deux motifs à la fois des griefs qui sont fondamentalement
les mêmesquant à la façon dont le Tribunal a traitél'affaire. En consé-
quence, nombre de considérations qui s'appliquent aux griefs se rappor-
tant au premier motif s'appliquent aussi aux griefs concernant le second.

Ces griefs visent pour la plupart la manièredont le Tribunal a tranchéau
fond les réclamations,et non des erreurs de procédureau sens propre de
l'expression. Dans la mesure où on peut les considérercomme serappor-
tant à des questions de procédure,les griefs du fonctionnaire intéressà,
une exception prèsqui sera étudiéeau paragraphe suivant, paraissent ne
pas se fonder sur des erreurs de procédure au sens de l'article 11 mais
traduire un désaccordsur la façon dont le Tribunal a réglé laprocédureà

47and merits of the case, rather than to allegeerrors in procedure within the
meaning of Article 11.This is shown, for instance, in the complaint that
the Tribunal failed to exercise its jurisdiction and committed an error in

procedure when it declared relevant to the case only one part of the
document production of which was requested by the applicant in his
plea (b), and limited itself to taking note of the declaration of the re-
spondent with respect to the document requested in plea (c). Subject to
the one question which now requires separate examination, Mr. Fasla's
contentions do not raise matters whch constitute errors in procedure in
the true sense of that term.

94. The one exception is the complaint that the Tribunal's decisions
rejecting the claims were not supported by any adequate reasoning. This
complaint does, in the opinion of the Court, concern an alleged error in
procedure in the proper sense of the term, and is of a kind to cal1 for
consideration under the provision in Article 11relating to a fundamental
error in procedure which has occasioned a failure of justice. The Secre-

tary-General, in his written statement, contends that a failure to state the
reason on whichevery part of ajudgement of the Administrative Tribunal
is based is not a ground included among serious departures from a
fundamental rule of procedure, for although the Secretary-General
explicitly mentioned the possibility of including this among the grounds
for review when Article 11of the Tribunal's Statute was drafted, this was
not done. The Court is unable to accept this contention. The fact that
failure to state reasons was not expresslymentioned in the list of grounds
for review does not exclude the possibility that failure to state reasons
may constitute one of the errors in procedure comprised in Article 11.
Not only is it of the essence of judicial decisions that they should be
reasoned, but Article 10, paragraph 3, of the Tribunal's Statute, which
this Court has found to be a provision "of an essentiallyjudicial char-
acter" (I.C.J. Reports 1954, p. 52), requires that: "the judgements shall
state the reasons on which they are based."
95. While a statement of reasons is thus necessary to the validity of a
judgement of the Tribunal, the question remains as to what form and
degree of reasoning will satisfythis requirement. Theapplicantappears to

assume that, for a judgment to be adequately reasoned, every particular
plea has to be discussed and reasons given for upholding or rejecting each
one. But neither practice nor principle warrants so rigorous an interpreta-
tion of the rule, which appears generally to be understood as simply
requiring that a judgment shail be supported by a stated process of
reasoning. This statement must indicate in a general way the reasoning
upon which the judgment is based; but it need not enter meticulously into
every claim and contention on either side. While a judicial organ is
obliged to pass upon al1the forma1submissions made by a Party, itis notsuivre,compte tenu de son appréciation des faitset du fond. Cela ressort
par exemple du grief selon lequel leTribunal a omis d'exercer sajuridic-
tion et commis une erreur dans la procédureen déclarantpertinente en
l'espèceune partie seulement du document dont la production avait été
réclamée par le requérant dans la demande 6) eten se bornant à prendre
acte de la déclarationdu défendeur à propos du document dont la pro-
duction avait étérequise dans la demande c). Sous réserved'une excep-
tion, qu'il convient d'examiner maintenant à part, les contestations de
M. Fasla ne visent rien qui constitue une erreur de procédure à propre-
ment parler.

94. L'exception en question concerne le grief suivant lequel les déci-
sions du Tribunal rejetant les demandes n'&aient pas suffisamment mo-

tivées.La Cour estime que ce grief concerne bien une erreur dans la
procédureau senspropre de l'expressionet doit êtrepris en considération
en vertu de la disposition de l'article11 relativeà l'erreur procédurale
essentielle qui a provoquéun mal-jugé.Dans son exposéécrit, le Secré-
taire généralsoutient que, si le Tribunal ne'motive pas toutes les parties
de son jugement, cela ne constitue pas un manquement à une règlede
procédure essentielle car, bien que le Secrétaire généraa lit mentionné
expressémentla possibilitéd'inclure l'absence de motivation parmi les
causes de réformation lors de l'élaborationde l'article 11 du statut du
Tribunal, cela n'a pasété fait.La Cour ne peut admettre cette thèse. Si
l'absencede motivation ne figure pas expressémentdansla liste des causes
de réformation, cela n'exclut pas la possibilitéque cette lacune puisse
constituer une des erreurs de procédurevisées à l'article 11. Non seule-
ment il est de l'essencedes décisions judiciairesd'êtremotivées, maisen

outre l'article 10,paragraphe3, du statutdu Tribunal, qui a été considéré
par la Cour comme une disposition «de caractère essentiellement judi-
ciaire)) (C.I.J. Recueil 1954,p. 52), stipule que «les jugements sont mo-
tivés~.

95: S'ilest acquis qu'un exposédesmotifs estindispensable pour qu'un
jugement du Tribunal soit valable, reste la question de savoir sous quelle
forme et jusqu'à quel point cet exposédoit êtredétaillépour satisfaireà
cette condition. Lerequérantsemblepartir de l'idéeque,pour qu'unjuge-
ment soit suffisamment motivé,chacune des demandesdoit êtreexaminée
séparémentet les raisons de son acceptation ou de son rejet doivent être
fournies. Or ni la pratique niles principes n'autorisentà interpréter de
façon si rigoureuse cette règle,quiparaît êtrecomprise en généraclomme
exigeant simplement qu'unjugement s'appuiesur un raisonnement et que
celui-cisoit exposé.Cet exposédoit indiquer en termes générauxla moti-
vation, mais n'a pas à reprendre dans le détail chacune des demandeset

des thèsesdes deux parties. Siun organejudiciaire doit statuer sur toutes
48obliged, in framingits judgment, to develop its reasoning in the form of a
detailed examination of each of the various heads of claim submitted.
Nor are there any obligatory forms or techniques for drawing up judg-
ments: a tribunal may employ direct or indirect reasoning, and state

specificor merely implied conclusions, provided that the reasons on which
thejudgment is based are apparent. The question whether ajudgment isso
deficient in reasoning as to amount to a denial of the right to a fair
hearing and a failure of justice, is therefore one which necessarily has to
be appreciated in the light both of the particular case and ofthe judgment
as a whole.

96. The general nature of the Judgement in the present case has al-
ready been indicated. The applicant's claims are set out scriatin? ar.d
every one of them is thus mentioned; there is an extensive review of what
the Tribunal considered to be the pertinent facts; there is a substantial
summary of what the Tribunal regarded as the pertinent parts of the
proceedings beîore the Joint Appeals Board; there is a substantial sum-
mary of the arguments of both the applicant andthe respondent; there is
an extensive statement of the reasoning and the conclusions of the
Tribunal in regard to those closely related matters and issues which it
identified as requiring substantial examination. In selecting those matters
and issues the Tribunal followed the pattern of the applicant's explana-
tory statement,which didnot analyseeach pleaseparatelybutconcentrated
on the substantive legal issues. The sequence in the Tribunal's reasoning
thus corresponded in broad lines to the one followed by the applicant

himself in developing his legal grounds in his explanatory statement.
There is, finally, in the Judgement, an operative part making three
affirmative findings and, in accordance with a usual practice of the
Tribunal, rejecting al1 other requests in a single provision. No doubt a
judgment framed in this manner relies to a certain extent on inference and
implication for the understanding of its reasoning in regard to some
particular issues. It is possible however to identify and determine with
precision those parts in the reasoning of the Judgement where each one of
the claims of the applicant is considered. In any event, the question at
issue is not whether the Tribunal might have used different forms or
techniques, or whether more elaborate reasoning might have been con-
sidered as preferable or more adequate. The question is whether the
Judgement was sufficiently reasoned to satisfy the requirements of the
rule that a judgement of the Administrative Tribunal must state the
reasons on which it is based. Having regard to the form and content of
the Judgement, the Court concludes that its reasoning does not fa11short
of the requirements of that rule.

97. Particular consideration is required, however, of the decision re-
49les conclusions d'une partie, il n'est pas tenu, quand il rédigeson juge-

'ment, de donner à l'exposédes motifs la forme d'un examen détailléde
chacun des chefs de demande présentés.Il n'existe pas non plus de mo-
dèle, ni de technique obligatoire, pour la rédaction des jugements: un
tribunal peut exposer ses motifs directement ou indirectement et énoncer
des conclusions expresses ou implicites,àcondition que les motifs de la
décisionapparaissent nettement. La question de savoir si les motifs d'un
jugement sont àce point déficientsqu'on peut y voir la négationdu droit
d'êtreéquitablemententendu etun mal-jugéne peut donc être appréciée
que compte tenu à la fois du cas d'espèceet du jugement dans son en-
semble.
96. Le caractère généraldu jugement rendu en l'espècea déjà été in-
diqué. Les demandes du requérant y sont toutes énuméréee st chacune
d'elles est donc mentionnée; on y trouve un exposé étoffé de ce que le
Tribunal considéraitcomme les faits pertinents; il y a un résuméassez
détailléde ce qui constituait,d'après leTribunal, les aspects pertinents de

la procéduredevantla Commission paritaire de recours; lesarguments du
requérantet du défendeursont résuméscomplètement; vient ensuite un
long énoncédes motifs et des conclusions du Tribunal sur les questions et
les points étroitement liésqui lui ont paru appeler un examen détaillé.
Pour choisir ces questions et ces points, le Tribunal a suivi le plan du
mémoireexplicatif du requérant qui n'analyse pas les demandes une à
une mais s'attache aux questions juridiques essentielles. L'ordre adopté
par leTribunal dans l'exposé desmotifs correspond doncdans sesgrandes
lignes àcelui que le requérant lui-mêmeavait suivi pour développerson
argumentation juridique dans son mémoire. Le jugement comprend
enfinun dispositif qui énonce trois conclusionsaffirmativeset, suivant une
pratique usuelle du Tribunal, rejette l'ensemble des autres demandes en
une formule unique. Certes, un jugement ainsi rédigéfait appel dans une
certaine mesure à des déductionset à des suppositions sans lesquelles on

ne saurait comprendre les motifs sur tel ou tel point particulier. Il n'en
est pas moins possible d'identifier et de préciser les passagesdes motifs
où chacune des demandes est examinée.Quoi qu'il en soit, la ques-
tion n'est pas de savoir si le Tribunal aurait pu recourir à une autre
méthodede rédaction, ni si une motivation plus détailléeaurait pu être
considéréecomme préférabloeu mieux appropriée. Il s'agitde savoir si le
jugement était suffisamment motivé pour satisfaire à la règle suivant
laquelle un jugement du Tribunat administratif doit énoncerles raisons
sur lesquelles il se fonde. Eu égaàdla forme età la teneur du jugement,
la Cour conclut que sa motivation ne contrevient pas aux exigences de
cette règle.

97. Il convient toutefois d'accorder une attention particulière illa
49jecting the claim for exceptional costs, which has already been described
as somewhat laconic. The Tribunal merely asserted that the claim for
exceptional costs was unfounded, without indicating the reasons why it
reached that conclusion. The applicant's complaint in this respect is that
the Tribunal, without stating any standards or reasons, said simply that
it did not see anyjustification for the request and flatly rejected it. In this
respect, however, the Statement of Policy adopted by the Tribunal on
14 December 1950 should be taken into account, since it sets the stan-
dards applicable by the Tribunal on the subject. The declaration that the

request for exceptional costs was unfounded must be understood, in the
light of that general statement, as signifying that the applicant, upon
whom lay the orlusprobandi, had not demonstrated that such exceptional
costs had been unavoidable and reasonable inamount.

98. Account must also be taken of the basic principle regarding the
question of costs in contentious proceedings before international tribu-
nals, to the effect that each party shall bear its own in the absence of a
specific decision of the tribunal awarding costs (cf. Article 64 of the
Statute of the Court). An award of costs in derogation of this general
principle, and imposing on one of the parties the obligation to reimburse
expenses incurred by its adversary, requires not only an express decision,
but alsoa statement of reasons insupport. Onthe other hand, the decision
merely to allow the general principle to apply does not necessarily require
detailed reasoning, and may even be adopted by implication. It follows
that on this point also the Judgement of the Administrative Tribunal
cannot be said to be open to challenge on the basis of inadequate reason-

ing, as contended by the applicant.

99. As to Mr. Fasla's request for costs in respect of the review pro-
ceedings, first before the Committee and afterwards before the Court,
there is no occasion for the Court to pronounce upon it. The Court con-
finesitself to the observation that when the Committee finds that there is a
substantial basis for the application, it may be undesirable that any
necessary costs of review proceedings under Article 11 of the Statute of
the Administrative Tribunal should have to be borne by the staffmember.

100. After having stated its conclusions on the questions referred to it,
the Court wishes to reaffirm the opinion which it expressed in paragraph
73above, namely that Mr. Fasla isentitled, in accordance with paragraph
XV of the Administrative Tribunal's Judgement, to a payment in the
amount of any losses suffered as a result of his precipitate recall from DEMANDE DE RÉFORMATION (AVISCONSULTATIF) 212

manière dont le Tribunal a motivéle rejet de la demande de rembourse-

ment pour frais exceptionnels, qui a déjà étqualifiée d'assezlaconique.
Le Tribunal a simplement déclaréqu'il estimait cette demande injustifiée,
sans indiquer les raisons pour lesquelles il arriàcette conclusion. Le
grief du requérantà cet égardest que le Tribunal, sansindiquer les règles
ou les motifs sur lesquels il se fondait, s'estcontentéde déclarerqu'il ne
voyait pas de justificationcette demande et l'a purement et simplement
rejetée.Mais à ce sujet il convient de tenir compte de la déclaration de
principe adoptée par le Tribunal le 14 décembre 1950, qui définit les
règles applicables par le Tribunal en la matière. L'affirmation suivant
laquelle la demande de remboursement pour frais exceptionnels étaitin-
justifiéedoit êtreinterprétée, eu égardà cette déclaration de principe,

comme signifiant que le requérant, à qui incombait le fardeau de la
preuve, n'a démontréni qu'il avait étéimpossible d'éviter ces dépens
exceptionnels ni que leur montant étaitraisonnable.
98. 11faut tenir compte aussi du principe fondamental en matière de
dépensqui s'applique au contentieux devant lestribunaux internationaux,
à savoir que chacune des parties supporte ses propres fràimoins que le
tribunal n'en décideautrement par une décision expresse (voir l'article
du Statutde la Cour). Une telle décision, priseen dérogationdu principe
généralet imposant à l'une des parties l'obligation de rembourser les
frais de son adversaire, ne doit pas seulement êtreexpresse, elle doit
énoncersesmotifs. En revanche, la décisionpar laquelle on laissejouer le
principe général n'a pafsorcément à êtremotivéeen détailet elle peut

mêmeêtre sous-entendue.II en résulteque, sur ce point non plus, l'on ne
saurait considérerlejugement comme pouvant êtrecontestépour insuf-
fisancede motifs ainsi que le soutient le requérant.

99. En ce qui concerne la deniande de M. Fasla relative au rembour-
sement des dépens afférents à la procédure de réformation, devant le
Comité d'abord, devant la Cour ensuite, la Cour n'a pasà se prononcer.
La Cour se borne à noter que, dans les cas où le Comitéestime que la
demande repose sur des bases sérieuses, ilne serait peut-êtrepas sou-

haitable de faire supporter au fonctionnaire intéreles frais nécessaires
qu'entraîne une procédure de réformation engagéeconformément à l'ar-
ticle 11du statut du Tribunal administratif.

100. Ayant énuméré ses conclusions sur les questions qui lui ont été
posées,la Cour tientà réaffirmerce qui est dit au paragraphe 7à,savoir
qu'enapplication du paragraphe XVdujugement du Tribunal administra-
tif M. Fada est en droit d'obtenir le versement d'une somme égaleau
montant de tout préjudice subidu fait de son rappel précipitédu Yémen213 APPLICATION FOR REVIEW (ADVISOR OYPINION)

Yemen, and that the period of twomonths fixedin this connection by the
Administrative Tribunal, having been suspended for the duration of the
review proceedings, is to be calculated fromthe date when the Judgement
becomes finalin accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 11of the Statute
of the Tribunal.

101. For these reasons,

by 10 votes to 3,

to comply with the request for an advisory opinion;

with regard to Question 1,
by 9 votes to 4,

that the Administrative Tribunal has not failed to exercisethejurisdic-
tion vested in it as contended in the applicant's application to the Com-
mittee on Applications for Review of Administrative Tribunal Judge-
ments ;

with regard to Question II,

by 10votes to 3,
that the Administrative Tribunal has not committed a fundamental
error in procedure which has occasioned a failure ofjustice as contended
in the applicant's application to the Cornmittee on Applications for

Review of Administrative Tribunal Judgements.

Done in English and in French, the Englishtext being authoritative, at
the Peace Palace, The Hague, this twelfth day ofJuly, one thousand nine
hundred and seventy-three, 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) Manfred LACHS,

President.

(Signed) S. AQUARONE,
Registrar.et que, la périodede deux mois fixéepar le Tribunal administratif à cet
égardayant été suspendue pendantla duréede la procédurede réforma-
tion, elle doit êtrecalculéà partir du moment où lejugement deviendra
définitifconformémenta l'article 11,paragraphe 3,du statutdu Tribunal
administratif.

101. Par ces motifs,

par dix voix contre trois,
de donner suite à la requête pouravis consultatif;

LACOUR EST D'AVIS,

Concernant la question 1,
par neuf voix contre quatre,

que le Tribunal administratif n'a pas omis d'exercer sajuridiction ainsi
que le soutient le requérant dans sa demande présentéeau Comitédes
demandes de réformationdejugements du Tribunaladministratif;

Concernant la question II,

par dix voix contre trois,

que le Tribunal administratif n'a pas commis, dans la procédure, une
erreur essentielle qui a provoqué un mal-jugé,ainsi que le soutient le
requérant dans sa demande présentéeau Comitédes demandes de réfor-
mation de jugements du Tribunal administratif.

Fait en anglais et en français, le texte anglais faisant foi, au palais de
la Paix, LaHaye,ledouzejuillet milneufcent soixante-treize,endeuxexem-
plaires, dont l'unrestera déposauxarchivesdela Cour etdont l'autre sera
transmis au Secrétaire généra dlel'organisation des Nations Unies.

Le Président,
(SignéM )anfred LACHS.

Le Greffier,
(Signé)S. AQUARONE. President LA CH^ makes the following declaration:

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

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

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

Judges FORSTE and NAGENDR SINGH make the following declaration:

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

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

vues et controversesjuridiques.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 Hereafterfor conveniencecalledthe Coinmittee.

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

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

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

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

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

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

to be indicated to cover al1eventualities.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

juridiction inférieure et ses conclusions quant aux réparationà accorder.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Tribunal, having reached the conclusion that the

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Initialled)M.L.

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Paraphé)M.L.
(Paraphé)S.A.

Document file FR
Document Long Title

Advisory Opinion of 12 July 1973

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