Sixth Committee (Legal) — 80th session
Administration of justice at the United Nations (Agenda item 146)
- Authority: resolution 79/254
- List of speakers
Documentation
- A/80/136 — Report of the Secretary-General on administration of justice at the United Nations
- A/80/135 — Report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services
- A/80/131 — Report of the Internal Justice Council on administration of justice at the United Nations
Summary of work
Background (source: A/80/100/Add.1)
At its sixty-second session, the General Assembly established: (a) a two-tier formal system of administration of justice, comprising a first instance United Nations Dispute Tribunal and an appellate instance United Nations Appeals Tribunal; (b) the Office of Administration of Justice, comprising the Office of the Executive Director and the Office of Staff Legal Assistance, as well as the Registries for the United Nations Dispute Tribunal and the United Nations Appeals Tribunal, the Registries to be overseen by the Principal Registrar; (c) a single integrated and decentralized Office of the Ombudsman for the United Nations Secretariat, funds and programmes with branches in several duty stations and a new mediation division; (d) the Internal Justice Council; and (e) the Management Evaluation Unit in the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Management (resolution 62/228).
At its sixty-third session, the Assembly adopted the statutes of the United Nations Dispute Tribunal and the United Nations Appeals Tribunal and decided that the Tribunals would be operational as of 1 July 2009 and that all persons who had access to the Office of the Ombudsman under the previous system would also have access to the new informal system (resolution 63/253). The statutes have been amended at subsequent sessions (resolutions 66/237, 69/203, 70/112, 71/266, 73/276, and 78/248).
Consideration of the item in the Sixth Committee
At the seventy-ninth session, as set out in a letter from the Chair of the Sixth Committee (see A/C.5/79/21, annex), the Sixth Committee considered the legal aspects of the reports of the Secretary-General and of the Internal Justice Council on the administration of justice at the United Nations and the report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services. The Sixth Committee drew the attention of the Fifth Committee to a number of specific issues relating to the legal aspects of those reports.
Consideration at the eightieth session
At the 2nd plenary meeting of its eightieth session, on 12 September 2025, the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the General Committee, referred the agenda item to both the Fifth and the Sixth Committees.
Consideration of the item in the Sixth Committee
The Sixth Committee considered the item at its 22nd and 38th meetings, on 21 October and 21 November 2025. The Sixth Committee considered the legal aspects of the report of the Secretary-General on the administration of justice at the United Nations (A/80/136), the report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services (A/80/135), and the report of the Internal Justice Council (A/80/131). Following past practice, the views of the Sixth Committee on specific issues relating to the legal aspects of such reports were reflected in a letter from the Chair of the Sixth Committee transmitted to the Fifth Committee (see A/C.5/80/14, annex).
Statements were made by the representatives of Cameroon (on behalf of the African Group), the European Union (also on behalf of its member States (the candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia, as well as Armenia and Monaco, aligned themselves with this statement)), New Zealand (on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand), France, the United States of America, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mexico, Sierra Leone, China, Switzerland, Romania, Sudan, Greece and Kenya.
Delegations generally welcomed the reports of the Secretary-General and the Internal Justice Council. Several delegations stressed the importance of an independent, impartial, transparent, professionalized and adequately resourced administration of justice system within the United Nations. The value of a decentralized system was also emphasized. Delegations expressed support for continued efforts to strengthen the system of administration of justice, emphasizing the importance of a fair, effective, victim-centered and universally accessible system for upholding the commitment of the Organization to the right of equal access to justice and the rule of law. Delegations welcomed the newly constituted Internal Justice Council and commended its efforts to promote independence, professionalism and accountability in the administration of justice. Some delegations emphasized the need to enhance the efficiency of the administration of justice mechanism so that work-related disputes could be addressed in a timely and fair manner.
Delegations noted the impact of the Organization’s current liquidity crisis on the administration of justice system, highlighting the need to ensure adequate resources, maintain measures that enhance efficiency such as the half-time judges model, and provide comprehensive information on how the system is prepared to address increased caseloads and future budgetary and organizational uncertainties.
Outreach initiatives by the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services (UNOMS) were commended and encouraged, and the need to ensure access to mediation for all categories of personnel was stressed. Delegations emphasized the importance of multilingualism and welcomed relevant initiatives, including expanded multilingual services, outreach, and information in all official languages, and encouraged further measures to ensure equitable linguistic representation and access across the system of administration of justice.
Several delegations emphasized the importance of the informal system of justice, expressed support for the work of UNOMS and encouraged the informal resolution of workplace disputes. Some delegations voiced support for maintaining the regional presence of the UNOMS, particularly in conflict settings and special political missions.
Regarding the formal system of administration of justice, several delegations underscored the important role played by the Management Advice and Evaluation Section (MAES), the Dispute Tribunal and the Appeals Tribunal. Some delegations highlighted the important role of Management Advice and Evaluation Section in resolving disputes at an early stage, noting that a significant proportion of cases were concluded without recourse to the Dispute Tribunal. Several delegations emphasized the need to strengthen case management and prepare for increases in caseload, while welcoming continued efforts to enhance the efficiency of the internal justice system. Some delegations voiced support for judicial mediation within the internal justice system and expressed openness to exploring the establishment of a pilot programme on the matter.
The view was expressed that the Recommendations 4 and 5 of the IJC relating to continuing judicial education, exposure of judges to operational realities, enhanced performance management and compliance mechanisms, and safeguards for victims and witnesses should be carefully balanced with the need to preserve the independence of the judiciary as a foundational principle of the system. Some delegations emphasized the importance of promptly filling judicial vacancies in the system of administration of justice and underscored that appointing highly qualified judges was essential to ensuring the credibility, independence, professionalism and accountability of the system.
The view was expressed that the practical challenges associated with implementing reinstatement orders, particularly where significant time has elapsed, warranted careful consideration, especially in light of a possible increase in such cases arising from ongoing and anticipated separations from service. Delegations welcomed the proposals to establish a unified, Organization-wide database for data collection and analysis across the internal justice system, while emphasizing the need to balance feasibility, practicality and data-protection considerations.
Support was expressed for the half-time judge model, which was viewed as having enhanced the effectiveness of the system.
The role of the Office of Staff Legal Assistance (OSLA) in providing advice and other legal services essential to the fair and expeditious resolution of disputes was emphasized. Its role as a filtering mechanism to reduce the number of cases brought before the tribunal was highlighted. Delegations expressed concern about the limited availability of legal representation through OSLA and encouraged strengthened dialogue and measures to address the root causes of this gap, including through improved resourcing and incentives, in order to ensure equality of arms and the effective functioning of the administration of justice system.
Delegations highlighted the importance of protection of staff members against retaliation in the system of administration of justice, and stressed the relevance of the Secretary-General’s bulletin on “Protection against retaliation for reporting misconduct and for cooperating with duly authorized audits or investigations” on the matter . Delegations voiced concern on the continued prevalence of racism, discrimination, harassment, including sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Some delegations welcomed the activities of the Office of the Special Adviser on Addressing Racism in the Workplace. A view was expressed that the sharp rise in complaints of racism and discrimination, as reflected in data gathered by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), underscored the need to reassess current awareness and corrective measures, and that the Secretary-General should initiate an inquiry to identify the root causes of this trend and take appropriate action. The importance of a gender-responsive approach to ensuring progress towards gender equality was highlighted. Additionally, a number of delegations welcomed the efforts made by the Organization to promote mental health and wellbeing in the workplace.
Some delegations emphasized that the immunities of the United Nations and its specialized agencies must be exercised responsibly and should not impede access to justice, and underlined that host country agreements did not override fundamental rights, stressing the need for clear and effective dispute-resolution mechanisms to avoid resort to national courts where immunity was invoked.
Archived videos and summaries of plenary meetings
22nd meeting (21 October 2025, 3:00pm – 6:00pm) | Summary
38th meeting (21 November 2025, 10:30am – 1:00pm) | Summary
Action taken by the Sixth Committee
At the 38th meeting on 21 November 2025, the Committee authorized its Chair to send a letter to the President of the General Assembly with a request that it be brought to the attention of the Chair of the Fifth Committee and circulated as a document of the General Assembly. The letter was circulated as an annex to document A/C.5/80/14.
In the letter, the Committee underlined the importance of the independence of the judiciary and emphasized the need for knowledge of the internal system of administration of justice and for outreach activities, commending the Secretary-General for his ongoing efforts to ensure the availability of outreach documents in all six official languages and recalling its request to the Secretary-General to report on his efforts to continue to promote multilingualism.
The Committee also continued to underline the importance of transparency and consistency of jurisprudence and judicial directions, welcoming the launch of a Caselaw portal that delegations believe will contribute to a more transparent and accessible system of administration of justice and recommending that the General Assembly request that judicial directions that are of general application continue to be posted online.
The Committee further renewed its interest in improving the regulatory framework. In this regard, the Committee noted with appreciation the projects set up to further support a culture change in the Organization and to create an enabling environment at all levels.
With regard to the informal system of internal justice, the Committee continued to emphasize that informal dispute settlement was a crucial component of the internal system of administration of justice, commending the different relevant services offered by the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services Office and renewing its call for further incentives to resort to informal conflict resolution. It commended the activities of the Office of the United Nations Ombudsman and Mediation Services, and its efforts to continue to ensure a global presence and regional activities to increase conflict resolution services for staff and non-staff away from Headquarters. The Committee noted with concern that racism remains an issue in the United Nations workplace and that there remain knowledge and awareness gaps. The Committee therefore encouraged the continuation of learning and education on racism, in particular through the implementation of the Secretary-General’s strategic action plan for addressing racism and promoting dignity for all in the United Nations Secretariat.
Turning to the formal system of internal justice, delegations again commended the Management Advice and Evaluation Section, the United Nations Dispute Tribunal and the United Nations Appeals Tribunal for their continued important roles in enabling the resolution of work-related disputes of staff members. The Committee would welcome an updated assessment by the Dispute Tribunal in its new composition and by the Secretary-General on the recommendation for a pilot programme of judicial mediation, including the viability and potential of judicial mediation to achieve cost efficiencies, the cost implications of a pilot programme and changes, if any, that may be required to the statute and rules of procedure of the Dispute Tribunal in order to integrate judicial mediation into the United Nations administration of justice system. The Committee also took note of the Internal Justice Council’s recommendation 5 on the issue of reinstatement and encouraged the Respondent, in cases where the Applicant has been successful at the Tribunal, to be guided by the principles of the rule of law and due process and respect for the rights and obligations of staff members and the accountability of managers and staff members alike with regards to the use of reinstatement or compensation as viable remedies. The letter also requested further information from the Secretariat on the current use of reinstatement and compensation where the contested administrative decision concerns appointment, promotion or termination.
The Sixth Committee addressed the issue of staff representation and voluntary supplemental funding mechanism of the Office of Staff Legal Assistance, supporting the recommendation of the Secretary-General to extend the voluntary supplemental funding mechanism of the Office of Staff Legal Assistance on an indefinite basis, without prejudice to a final determination as to whether expenditures incurred pursuant to the Office's mandate constitute “expenses of the Organization” within the meaning of Article 17, paragraph 2, of the UN Charter.
With regard to remedies available to non-staff personnel, the Committee reiterated its long-standing views, by which it highlighted that the United Nations should ensure that effective remedies were available to all categories of personnel, including non-staff personnel. The letter welcomed the decision by the General Assembly to regularize the pilot project to enable non-staff personnel to access the Office of the Ombudsman services within existing resources and reiterated that interns, type II gratis personnel and volunteers (other than United Nations Volunteers) should have the possibility of requesting an appropriate management evaluation but should not have access to the United Nations Dispute Tribunal or to the United Nations Appeals Tribunal.
On protection against retaliation, the Committee took note of the information provided in relation to staff members lodging cases before the Tribunals.
In the letter, the Committee also requested the Secretary-General to entrust the Internal Justice Council with including the views of both the Dispute Tribunal and the Appeals Tribunal in its reports at the future sessions of the Assembly.
Consideration of the item in the Fifth Committee
For information on the action taken by the Fifth Committee on the item, please see the relevant Report of the Fifth Committee and/or consult the Fifth Committee website.
This agenda item will be considered at the eighty-first session (2026).
