SECRETARY-GENERAL SEEKS JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS FOR

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000625

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AORC APER PREL UNGA UNGA UNGA
SUBJECT: SECRETARY-GENERAL SEEKS JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS FOR
NEW UN SYSTEM OF INTERNAL JUSTICE

REF: A. USUN 562

B. USUN 413

C. USUN/IO EMAIL (WILCOX/HACKETT)-04/18/08

D. USUN 491

E. STATE 37257

F. STATE 51372

BEGIN SUMMARY: 1. In connection with the UN General Assembly's
decision in resolution 62/228 to establish the new UN Dispute
Tribunal and UN Appeals Tribunal as of January 1, 2009, the
Secretary-General has asked UN Member States to nominate
judges for the new tribunals by July 21 (para 2). The
Secretary-General's request also included the UN's job
announcement for the judicial positions (para 3). END
SUMMARY.


2. BEGIN TEXT:

26 June 2008

Excellency,

I am writing to you in reference to the positions of judges
of the United Nations Dispute Tribunal and United Nations
Appeals Tribunal.

As you may recall, the General Assembly, in its resolution
62/228 of 22 December 2007, established the basic framework
of a new system of administration of justice in the United
Nations, to be in place as of 1 January 2009. It will
comprise a two-tier formal system with a first instance
United Nations Dispute Tribunal and a United Nations Appeals
Tribunal as an appellate instance. The United Nations
Dispute Tribunal shall be composed of three full-time judges,
to be located in New York, Geneva and Nairobi, and two
half-time judges. The United Nations Appeals Tribunal shall
be composed of seven judges.

By the same resolution, the General Assembly established a
five-member Internal Justice Council to, inter alia, provide
its views and recommendations to the General Assembly on two
or three candidates for each vacancy in the two new Tribunals
and to liaise with the Office of Human Resources Management
on issues related to the search for suitable candidates for
the positions of judges. Appointments of judges will be made
by the General Assembly.

The General Assembly further decided that judges for both
Tribunals shall be of high moral character and shall have
judicial experience in the field of administrative law or its
equivalent, within one or more national jurisdictions.
Judges are required to have at least 10 years of judicial
experience for the United Nations Dispute Tribunal and at
least 15 years of judicial experience for the United Nations
Appeals Tribunal.

With this in mind, the United Nations is soliciting
candidates for the United Nations Dispute Tribunal and the
United Nations Appeals Tribunal. In order to draw from a
wide pool of candidates for both Tribunals, a public vacancy
announcement is being issued, calling for interested
individuals to submit their applications by 21 July 2008 in
order to give sufficient time for the Internal Justice
Council to formulate its views and recommendations on
candidates, in line with General Assembly resolution 62/228.

I invite your Government to bring the vacancy announcement
attached to this letter to the attention of qualified
candidates from your country, including female candidates. I
would also note that the conditions of service of the judges
are subject to further decisions of the General Assembly on
the new system of administration of justice in the United
Nations, including the final adoption of the statutes of the
two Tribunals.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest
consideration.

Ban Ki Moon

END TEXT.


3. BEGIN TEXT:

Judges of the United Nations Dispute Tribunal (3 Full-Time &
2 Half-Time Judges)
located in New York, Geneva and Nairobi

JUDGES OF THE UNITED NATIONS APPEALS TRIBUNAL (7 JUDGES)
Sessions to be held at dates to be fixed by the rules of the
Appeals Tribunal

The United Nations is in the process of establishing a new
internal system for the administration of justice to resolve
employment-related disputes in cases, for example, of
discrimination, harassment, abuse of authority and
retaliation for reporting misconduct. The new system,
anticipated to commence operation as of 1 January 2009, will
include a two-tier judicial system composed of a first
instance United Nations Dispute Tribunal (UNDT) and an
appellate instance United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT).
The United Nations is inviting applications for:

--3 full-time judges, one each in New York, Geneva and
Nairobi, to constitute the UNDT
--2 half-time judges to complement the UNDT (location to be
determined)
--7 part-time judges of the UNAT, based in New York; sessions
to be determined by the rules of UNAT.

Persons applying to serve as judges of the Tribunals should
be of high moral character. In the case of the UNDT,
candidates should have at least 10 years, and in the case of
UNAT, 15 years, of judicial experience in the field of
administrative law, or the equivalent within one or more
national jurisdictions.

The Judges shall be appointed by the General Assembly from
candidates recommended by the United Nations Internal Justice
Council, an independent body established by the General
Assembly, comprising two members nominated by staff, two
nominated by the Administration and an independent
chairperson chosen by consensus by the other four members.
At UNDT level, candidates will have to preside over contested
trials. At the UNDT and UNAT levels, extensive judgment
writing will be required. In identifying candidates for
inclusion in the list to be presented to the General
Assembly, the Internal Justice Council will give due
consideration to questions of geographic and gender balance.

Applications: Interested candidates are invited to submit a
cover letter, including the preferred Tribunal and location,
and curriculum vitae by email to
internaljusticecouncil-application@un.org or by facsimile to
1-917-367-0524, to be received by 21st July 2008. The
curriculum vitae must include: the date of birth
nationality, gender, language skills, contact details,
including telephone numbers and an e-mail address at which
the candidate can be reached through March 2009, as well as a
full career and educational profile, an example of a judgment
delivered by the candidate, or a legal opinion or other
equivalent written work, and the names and e-mail addresses
of two senior legal professionals able to attest to the moral
character and standing of the candidate. A working knowledge
of English or French is required.

The appointment of all judges is subject to the approval by
the General Assembly of the Statutes of the Tribunal, which
have not yet been adopted. Delays in that approval may
affect the appointment process and proposed dates of
commencement. Prospective candidates should be aware that
until the Statutes are adopted, the Tribunals will not be
constituted and appointments cannot be made.

The Secretary-General has proposed to the General Assembly
that the UNDT judges be remunerated at a level equivalent to
D-2. (For indicative purposes, the annual net salary levels
at D-2 step IV single rate, including post adjustment, in
effect as from 1 May 2008 are as follows: US$164, 015 (New
York),US$ 191,396 (Geneva) and US $142,736 (Nairobi).
Additional allowances may apply). The Secretary-General has
also proposed to the General Assembly that the UNAT judges
receive an honorarium equivalent to that paid to the judges
of the International Labour Organization Administrative
Tribunal, currently CHF 3000 for each case for the
rapporteur, and CHF 750 for each judge signatory. The final
remuneration package for the UNDT and UNAT is subject to
approval by the General Assembly.

Queries concerning these positions may be addressed to the
above email address or fax number. End Text.
Khalilzad