text: 3.An elected official of the Staff Union, fulfilling union activities, should not sit in the Advisory Panel in contravention of the Staff Regulations and Rules.- 5 - Whereas the Respondent's principal contentions are: 1.The grant of paid external study leave is discretionary. Consequently, a staff member cannot challenge the merits of a decision rejecting an application for such leave. 2.The modalities of considering staff for study leave are set out in an Administrative Instruction. Staff do not have a right to be considered by other methods of selection. The Tribunal, having deliberated from 30 April to 11 May 1990, now pronounces the following judgement: I.The Applicant's claim arises from his failure to obtain assistance under the external studies programme authorized by the General Assembly. ST/AI/281 of 17 June 1981 is the relevant Administrative Instruction, which states its purpose to be "to outline the procedures by which staff members may apply for assistance under the external studies programme authorized by the General Assembly in the interest of the Organization and to describe the conditions under which assistance will be granted" (emphasis added) (para. l). Para. 2 states inter alia that "Assistance will be granted only when the studies are clearly in the interest of the Organization". II.The Administrative Instruction therefore makes it quite clear that the primary purpose is to benefit the Organization, not to confer on the staff member a right to engage in external studies, though he seems likely to benefit incidentally from them. III.ST/AI/281 replaced ST/AI/243 of 15 April 1977, with no amendments material to the present case. ST/AI/243 was considered by the Tribunal in Judgement No. 263, Elmoznino (1980), in which the- 6 - view was expressed that "the Instruction did not confer a right to be granted assistance". The same conclusion must be reached with
analysis: The text appears to be related to the policies and regulations of an international organization, specifically regarding the granting of study leave to staff members. The language used is formal and bureaucratic, indicating a context of administrative decision-making. The discussion revolves around the interpretation of an Administrative Instruction and the Tribunal's judgment, suggesting a focus on the rules and procedures governing staff members' benefits.