Changes to the system of administration of justice
The United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT) had previously recognized ICAO’s Advisory Joint Appeals Board (AJAB) as a valid mechanism for the review of staff member complaints pursuant to the UN-ICAO Agreement on access to the UN internal justice system (2010). However, a shift in UNAT jurisprudence in 2019 mandated that ICAO establish a new “first instance process” to adjudicate staff member appeals. Thus, in October 2020, the Council amended the ICAO Service Code to replace the previous “peer-based” AJAB system with an administrative Appeals Board. The Appeals Board is chaired by a non-staff member with legal and judicial expertise and serving in their personal capacity with full independence and who shall issue decisions on such cases. Expert jurists with appropriate experience were recruited and selected with the endorsement of the Council and in consultation with the ICAO Staff Association. The ICAO Staff Rules were revised accordingly and new Appeals Board rules of procedure were established in consultation with the ICAO Staff Advisory Committee and the newly recruited chairs of the Board. The reformed Appeals Board will hear its first appeal in January 2022.
