time-limits may be waived in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Board. The Panel, recognizing the findings of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal in the Gaudoin case (Judgement No. 321), considered that the appellant, neither in his original statement of appeal nor in his additional submissions, had been able to produce any satisfactory evidence to account for the delay of almost three years before filing an appeal with the JAB. In particular, the Panel could not accept the appellant's argument that no time had elapsed before he began the process of appeal in view of the fact that his appeal was really a 'series of appeals' originating in September 1984 and continuing to the present date. According to the Panel, the delay in submitting the appeal which he eventually filed was the result of a choice on the part of the appellant and was not due to exceptional circumstances beyond his control. The same view was expressed by the Tribunal in the Mathur case (Judgement No. 235) where it further concluded that 'in his understandable search for an appropriate remedy for his alleged grievance the Applicant omitted to have recourse in time to the only line of action open to him under the Staff Rules and Regulations'. Consequently, the Panel found that the appellant was responsible for his failure to meet the time limits and it decided that the appeal was not receivable. 23.The Panel next considered its competence under staff rule 111.2(j). It recalled that under paragraph (a) of the same staff rule the subject of an appeal must be an adminis- trative decision as defined in staff regulation 11.1: 'an administrative decision alleging the non-observance of a [staff member's] terms of appointment, including all pertinent regulations and rules'. Having examined the documentation before it, the Panel observed that the appeal
**Analysis**
The text appears to be related to a dispute resolution process within an organization, specifically the Joint Administrative Board (JAB), and involves staff rules and regulations. The language used is formal and technical, suggesting a bureaucratic context. The topic of time limits, appeals, and administrative decisions also points towards a workplace or organizational setting.

**Category**
Employment, Science and technology