Organization and Methods for Official Travel

A/RES/37/241View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 103 Programme budget for the biennium 1982-1983, published in 1983.

What subjects does this mandate have?

2 subjects

Coordination Within UN System Travel Agencies

What’s in this document?

9 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on organization and methods for official travel, 117 the com ments of the Secretary-General thereon 118 and the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions; 119

Concurs with the recommendation of the Joint In spection Unit that the United Nations should select a com mercial travel agency under an in-plant or other arrangement through widespread international competitive bidding at ap propriate intervals;

Concurs with the recommendations of the Joint In spection Unit that the Secretary-General should undertake negotiations with air carriers or with the interested Govern ments which sponsor carriers to obtain discounts in countries where this is permitted or to relax conditions which are an obstacle to obtaining the most economical fares;

Calls upon the Secretary-General to keep the pos sibility of establishing a United Nations travel agency under review and to report accordingly to the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth session;

Calls upon the Secretary-General to study the pos sibility of in-plant travel arrangements for United Nations offices at duty stations other than New York;

Reaffirms its resolution 32/198 which provided that ministrative and Budgetary Questions121 as well as the rer>rt travel expenses shall be limited to the least costly airfare of the Committee for Programme and Co-ordination, 12 structure, taking into account the nature of the mission and I . Endorses the decision of the Secretary-General to the conditions of travel;

terminate or curtail the activities listed in categories A and 7.

Calls upon the Secretary-General to examine further B, as contained in his report; 123

Requests the Secretary-General to refer category D for possible implementation the recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit on travel procedures;

(activities which are required by legislative mandates but

Endorses the intention of the Secretary-General to which the Secretary-General regards as being of a low prior ity and for the termination or curtailment of which he leaves share his experience in introducing improved travel arrange ments with other members of the Administrative Committee it to the initiative of Member States to make proposals) to on Co-ordination and hopes that these exchanges will lead the competent intergovernmental organs for their views to a co-ordinated approach to travel arrangements by the thereon, if possible prior to the consideration by the General organizations of the United Nations system as proposed by Assembly of the proposed programme budget for the bien the Joint Inspection Unit;

nium 1984-1985;

Requests the Secretary-General to report on the im Requests the Secretary-General to report, in the in 3. plementation of the present resolution to the General As troduction to the proposed programme budget for the bien sembly at its thirty-eighth session.

nium l 984-1985 and those of subsequent bienniums, on the

VIII. subparagraphs (a) and (b) above, when his presence is certified by the President as necessary for official business;

(/) Other journeys on official business, undertaken with the authority of the President.

In all cases, payment by the United Nations of travel expenses shall comprise the cost of journeys actually undertaken, subject to the following maximum entitlements:

(a) Payment of travel expenses by the United Nations shall comprise the cost of first-class accommodation and shall include expenses normally incidental to transportation, e.g., taxi-cab fares from station. The cost of transportation of baggage in excess of the weight or size carried free by transportation companies will not be allowable as an expense unless the excess is necessarily carried for official business reasons;

(b) Travel shall be by air, rail, private car or any other means of transport authorized by the President of the Court for special reasons;

(c) All travel will be by the most direct route, provided that travel by other routes may be allowed under written authority of the President when the official necessity therefor is satisfactorily established, but in other cases the travel expenses and subsistence allowance payable shall not exceed the amounts which would have been payable had the journey been by the most direct route.

Article 2 SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCES

A daily subsistence allowance shall be paid to the members of the Court while in official travel status under article I , paragraph I , subpar agraphs (b), (c) (i) and (iii), (d) (i), (iii) and (iv) and (/) of these Regu lations. The allowance will be regarded as covering all charges for meals, lodging and gratuities, and other personal expenses.

The allowance will be payable under the conditions and at rates equivalent to the standard travel subsistence allowance rates applied to officials of the United Nations Secretariat, plus 40 per cent, provided that the President of the Court may reduce this rate in the event of the provision of board and/or lodging by a host Government. The allowance shall nor mally be payable in local currency.

Where the President of the Court or another member of the Court undertaking an official journey under article I . paragraph I ( c) or ( d) of these Regulations is accompanied by a spouse and/or dependent children, a subsistence allowance of one half of the appropriate rate payable to the President or member concerned in respect of that journey will be payable in respect of each dependant; where these dependants are travelling un accompanied on an authorized journey, the full rate of subsistence allow ance will be payable in respect of one adult and one half of that rate in respect of each other dependant.

Article 3 REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION I. The President of the Court, who by virtue of Article 22 of its Statute shall reside at the seat of the Court, and any other member of the Court who takes up residence at the seat of the Court in compliance with Arti cle 23 of the Statute, shall be entitled:

(a) In conjunction with article I, paragraph I (c) (i) or (d) (i), of these Regulations:

(i) To full removal costs of household goods and personal effects to the seat of the Court from his home at the time of appointment ( or any country other than that where the Court has its seat if less expenditure is entailed);

(ii) To an amount corresponding to the installation grant provisions applicable to the senior officials of the Secretariat of the United Nations;

(b) In conjunction with article I, paragraph I (c) (iii) or (d) (iii), of these Regulations:

To full removal costs of household goods and personal effects from the seat of the Court to his home at the time of appointment (or any other country where he may choose to have his residence if less expenditure is entailed).

The President may authorize, in the case of other members of the Court:

(a) The reimbursement of reasonable costs of partial removal of house hold goods and personal effects between their principal place of residence and the seat of the Court upon taking up their appointment and upon separation;

(b) An amount not exceeding one half of the installation grant pro visions applicable to the senior officials of the Secretariat of the United Nations.

Article 4 SUBMISSION AND PAYMENT OF ACCOUNTS A detailed expense account must be rendered in support of each claim for reimbursement of travel expenses or subsistence allowance as soon as possible after completion of the travel or removal. The claims should show every item of expense, except where such expenses are to be covered by a subsistence allowance, and every advance drawn from any United Nations source, and must, as far as possible, be supported by receipts showing the service to which the payment is related. All expenses must be shown in the actual currency in which they were made and must be certified as

having been necessarily and solely incurred in the discharge of the official business of the Court. No reimbursement shall be made without the written authorization of the President of the Court, countersigned by the Registrar.

Article 5 TRAVEL AND SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANU: OF THE REGISTRAR The travel and subsistence provisions applicable to the Registrar of the Court shall be as set out in the Staff Regulations of the United Nations for officials of comparable rank, subject to any exceptions authorized by the President of the Court.

Article 6 APPLICABILITY These Regulations shall enter into force on I January 1983.

117 See A/37/357 and Corr. I.

11• A/371357/Add.1.

119 Official Records of the General Assembly. Thirtv-seventh S,•.uion, Supplement No. 7A (A/37/7/Add. l-24), document A/37/7/Add. I 5.

121 Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-seventh Session.

Supplement No. 7A (A/3717/Add.1-24), documents A/3717/Add.1 and Add.14.

122 Ibid., Supplement No. 38 (A/37138). 120 A/36/658; A/C.S/37/51.

123 A/C.5/37/51.

REVISED BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE BIENNIUM 1982-1983

Amounl appropna11-d lm·reu.\r hv resolu1ion Rr\·1.w·d .l/J/240 A ldrc-rt'tUt'J approprwl,cm Section !US dollars)

TOTAL, PART I

TOTAL, PART II

TOTAL, PART 111

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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