Ministers hand regulator additional £150k to fight legal case

Monday 23 October 2017

Ministers have given the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (JCRA) additional funding of up to £150,000, believed to be channelled into their ongoing legal battle with ATF Fuels.

The additional funding was agreed in the midst of a landmark case against the fuel provider earlier this month.

ATF were appealing a 2016 decision by the regulator, which alleged that the company abused a dominant market position by refusing to supply Aviation Beauport with fuel for resale, and by charging them more than other suppliers.

ATF argued, however, that if they had charged them otherwise, customers would have been charged more. 

The judgement on that case, which will be made by the Bailiff and two jurats, is yet to be announced.

Pictured: A dispute over the fairness of a deal with Aviation Beauport was at the heart of the case.

The Jersey regulator is funded by the States of Jersey.

Recent accounts show that they spent £288,571 on legal and professional fees in 2016. 2017 accounts are still to be published.

This most recent allocation, which came as a result of a Council of Ministers meeting in late September, is an additional allocation that comes from the States’ contingency fund.

The date of that decision, which was signed off by John Refault, Assistant Treasury Minister, was said to be 9 October – just days after the ATF case reached its conclusion. 

A report accompanying that decision notes: “The additional funding arises from the JCRA’s ongoing appeal against a legal challenge in 2016 over a decision taken under the Competition (Jersey) Law 2005.

“The request was approved by the Council of Ministers at their meeting on 28th September 2017.”