ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL MEMBERS SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO HAVE APPROPRIATE LEGAL QUALIFICATIONS, SIXTH COMMITTEE TOLD

Press Release
GA/L/3092

ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL MEMBERS SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO HAVE APPROPRIATE LEGAL QUALIFICATIONS, SIXTH COMMITTEE TOLD

Members of the Administrative Tribunal of the United Nations should be required to have appropriate legal qualifications and should serve for longer terms, the Sixth Committee (Legal) was told this afternoon as it met to review the Statute of the Tribunal.

Another amendment to the Statute proposed by the representatives of France and the United Kingdom, the meeting's only two speakers, was for Tribunal decisions to be taken by all seven of its members instead of the current panel of three.

With the increasing complexity of the issues being placed before the Tribunal and the potentially significant impact which its decisions could have for United Nations and other staff members, it was essential that its members were legally qualified, the representative of the United Kingdom said. She also suggested that Tribunal members have a qualification in labour or administrative law, as that was the area of the law with which they primarily dealt. The representative of France recommended replacing the current terminology of "member" with "judge". Both suggested allowing a term of office of at least four years.

On the issue of Tribunal decisions, the representative of France said the Tribunal's rules should be amended to enable all seven Tribunal members to take a decision in cases, as such a provision would ensure a clear majority in its decisions.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 11 November, to begin its consideration of "measures to eliminate international terrorism".

Committee Work Programme

The Sixth Committee (Legal) met this afternoon to discuss a review of the Statute of the Administrative Tribunal of the United Nations. There is no documentation on the item, which was considered last year following a proposal by the Secretary-General.

At its fifty-second session, the General Assembly, by resolution 52/166 of 15 December 1997, amended article 13 of the Statute -- with effect from 1 January 1998 -- to enable the Tribunal to exercise its competence in respect of the staff of the Registry of the International Court of Justice. The Assembly noted that it was convinced of the desirability of reviewing more generally the provisions of the Statute of the Tribunal at an early date.

The Tribunal is competent to hear and pass judgement upon applications alleging non-observance of contracts of employment of United Nations Secretariat staff members or the terms of their appointment. Its competence may also be extended to specialized agencies.

Statements

FRANÇOIS ALABUNE (France) said his delegation believed that further amendment of the Statute of the Tribunal could provide opportunity to spell out the qualifications Tribunal members should possess, such as an appropriate legal background. His delegation would also support a proposal to extend their term of office, currently three years, to four. Their title should be changed to "judge" from the current terminology of "member", and the head of the Tribunal's Registry should be described as the Registrar.

Finally, he said, article 3 of the Statute and rule 6 of the Tribunal's rules should be amended to enable all seven Tribunal members to take a decision in cases, some of which might be particularly important, instead of the panel of three provided for under the Statute. [Article 3 of the Statute states that only three members of the Tribunal may sit in any particular case.] That provision could weaken the authority of the Tribunal, he said, and added that all seven Tribunal members should preside over a case to ensure a clear majority in its decisions.

SUSAN DICKSON (United Kingdom) said her country was particularly anxious that the Statute of the Tribunal be kept under review and updated as needed to assure efficient and expeditious functioning. While she was pleased with the General Assembly decision which extended the competence of the Tribunal, there were a number of other amendments which could be usefully made to the Statute.

The most important amendment would be to require that the members of the Tribunal have an appropriate legal qualification, he said. With the increasing complexity of the issues being placed before the Tribunal and the potentially

Sixth Committee - 3 - Press Release GA/L/3092 24th Meeting (PM) 10 November 1998

significant impact which its decisions could have for United Nations and other staff members, it was essential that its members were legally qualified. She noted that one might even ask whether the proposal should go so far as to suggest that Tribunal members have a qualification in labour or administrative law, which was, after all, the area of the law with which they were primarily dealing.

A second amendment would be to provide for a slightly longer term of office for the Tribunal's members, in keeping with the practice of other international courts and tribunals, she said. She suggested an increase to four or five years, with the option for renewal. As a final amendment, she suggested that decisions be taken by all seven members of the Tribunal instead of the current panel of three members. Although her delegation had originally hoped to take action in relation to those proposals this year, a deferral until next session might give other delegations time to reflect on the proposals and suggest other ideas for updating the Tribunal's Statute.

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