WB loses appeal against staff return
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
FE Report
A Dhaka court has dismissed a World Bank appeal against the reinstatement of one of its former public relations employees. The sixth court of additional Dhaka District Judge, disallowed on Sunday the appeal lodged by the bank that challenged last year's court order to reinstate the bank's sacked external affairs officer, Ismet Zerin Khan. Ms Khan filed a case against the bank in 2001 after she was fired by the Washington-based lending agency. "After two days of hearing, the appeal was dismissed as no new ground was found for interference by the higher court," said Nurul Alam who filed the case on behalf of Ms Khan. No immediate reaction was available from the bank's Dhaka office. In a 2010 ruling, the court said: "The instant suit be decreed against the defendants (the World Bank) on contest" and that "the termination was illegal, malafide, arbitrary and that Ms Khan is entitled to be reinstated in her post and get all arrear salaries and benefits". The court said that "the World Bank as an employer does not enjoy unfettered power regarding any suspension or dismissal of its employee and must follow rules contained in the Staff Manual of the Bank". Lawyers said the decade-long legal battle is significant in view of the fact it would put an end to the bank's legal immunity in a country where staffers of the United Nations agencies enjoy the similar benefits under diplomatic agreement. The World Bank, citing its legal immunity, initially ignored 14 summons and entered its first appearance in court in March 2002--almost seven months since filing of the suit, after an exparte date for hearing was fixed, they said. Since then, the bank had been pressing the successive governments to sign an Establishment Agreement that would provide it with immunity from local legal proceedings. But the issue sparked protests by some civil society groups, prompting the then government not to grant "blanket" immunity to the 67-year-old global bank, headquartered in Washington. Ms Khan's lawyer stated the World Bank also lost in its own administrative tribunal on the "illegal" termination of the External Affairs Officer. The tribunal's observations expose "the serious nature of the violations, injustice and damage inflicted on the senior Bangladeshi Bank official," Advocate Alam said in a statement. The bank is one of the largest international development institutions, employing 10,000-plus staff from over 160 countries, two-thirds of them are posted in Washington. The remaining one third are posted in more than 100 country offices in the developing world. Bangladesh, which became a member of the bank in 1972, receives roughly US$700-800 million a year from the lender's International Development Association (IDA), the $60 billion soft-lending window. Its loans entail 0.75 per cent service charges, repayable in 40 years with a 10-year grace period.
A Dhaka court has dismissed a World Bank appeal against the reinstatement of one of its former public relations employees. The sixth court of additional Dhaka District Judge, disallowed on Sunday the appeal lodged by the bank that challenged last year's court order to reinstate the bank's sacked external affairs officer, Ismet Zerin Khan. Ms Khan filed a case against the bank in 2001 after she was fired by the Washington-based lending agency. "After two days of hearing, the appeal was dismissed as no new ground was found for interference by the higher court," said Nurul Alam who filed the case on behalf of Ms Khan. No immediate reaction was available from the bank's Dhaka office. In a 2010 ruling, the court said: "The instant suit be decreed against the defendants (the World Bank) on contest" and that "the termination was illegal, malafide, arbitrary and that Ms Khan is entitled to be reinstated in her post and get all arrear salaries and benefits". The court said that "the World Bank as an employer does not enjoy unfettered power regarding any suspension or dismissal of its employee and must follow rules contained in the Staff Manual of the Bank". Lawyers said the decade-long legal battle is significant in view of the fact it would put an end to the bank's legal immunity in a country where staffers of the United Nations agencies enjoy the similar benefits under diplomatic agreement. The World Bank, citing its legal immunity, initially ignored 14 summons and entered its first appearance in court in March 2002--almost seven months since filing of the suit, after an exparte date for hearing was fixed, they said. Since then, the bank had been pressing the successive governments to sign an Establishment Agreement that would provide it with immunity from local legal proceedings. But the issue sparked protests by some civil society groups, prompting the then government not to grant "blanket" immunity to the 67-year-old global bank, headquartered in Washington. Ms Khan's lawyer stated the World Bank also lost in its own administrative tribunal on the "illegal" termination of the External Affairs Officer. The tribunal's observations expose "the serious nature of the violations, injustice and damage inflicted on the senior Bangladeshi Bank official," Advocate Alam said in a statement. The bank is one of the largest international development institutions, employing 10,000-plus staff from over 160 countries, two-thirds of them are posted in Washington. The remaining one third are posted in more than 100 country offices in the developing world. Bangladesh, which became a member of the bank in 1972, receives roughly US$700-800 million a year from the lender's International Development Association (IDA), the $60 billion soft-lending window. Its loans entail 0.75 per cent service charges, repayable in 40 years with a 10-year grace period.