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Coal Authority success in judicial review
6 June 2007
Nabarro has successfully represented the Coal Authority in defending a judicial review challenge under public law and competition law to its licensing procedures.
The Authority has statutory obligations under the Coal Industry Act 1994 to license coal mining operations. The Claimants, Abbey Mine Limited ("AML"), had applied for a licence to explore and mine a new site at Margam in South Wales, and the steel producer, Corus, put in a competing application. The Authority decided to award the licence to Corus on the merits, and AML challenged the Authority's decision in the High Court.
AML claimed that the Authority's evaluation of the competing applications was unfair, and that the decision was in breach of EU competition and state aid rules. The case was heard in the High Court on an expedited basis within three months of leave being granted. The Authority applied to the Court for security for costs, and the Claimants agreed to pay a substantial sum prior to the hearing.
The High Court rejected AML's claims, finding that the Authority had followed a fair and reasonable evaluation process, and also dismissed the EU competition and state aid allegations.
The judgment is of particular relevance to public bodies such as licensing authorities handling competing applications, and in the area of public sector procurement. The Court ruled that although a public body is subject to general rules of fairness and transparency, and must provide each applicant with the opportunity to comment on matters relevant to its bid, there is no general obligation under public law to disclose details of competing applications, or of the internal documentation relating to the evaluation of applications.
The Nabarro team consisted of Cyrus Mehta (EU/competition partner), Jonathan Warne (commercial litigation partner), and Ben Trust (commercial litigation). They instructed Christopher Vajda QC and Josh Holmes of Monckton Chambers.
For further information, please contact:
Cyrus Mehta
Partner
T +44 (0)20 7524 6497
c.mehta@nabarro.com
