Select a region
Brittany Ferries has gone to court to fight the decision by Jersey to award its ferry contract to another operator.
The company won the backing of Guernsey when the islands both went out with a joint tender to find an operator for the UK and France routes, but Jersey subsequently launched another quick fire process and chose DFDS instead.
Pictured: Brittany Ferries CEO Christophe Mathieu.
Brittany Ferries CEO has accused Jersey of "refusing to accept" the result of the joint-tender which he told staff it won.
The Jersey Royal Court confirmed the ongoing legal case against the Minister for Sustainable Economic Development, Deputy Kirsten Morel, yesterday evening.
The ferry firm first asked for permission to apply for a judicial review of the decision on Friday.
A judicial review concerns only the way in which a decision was made, not the rights or wrongs of it.
The case was not originally listed in the name of Brittany Ferries or Condor, but rather as a representation related to a 'Project' – keeping it out of the public eye.
Another hastily-scheduled hearing – this time specifically naming 'Bretagne, Angleterre, Irelande S.A' (Brittany Ferries) and the Minister for Sustainable Economic Development as parties – was added to the Royal Court schedule yesterday morning.
Pictured: The Jersey Royal Court.
The Royal Court, presided over by Commissioner Matthew Thompson, granted Brittany Ferries "leave on a limited basis to challenge the Ministerial Decision... not to award a long-term operation concession contract for a passenger and freight ferry service operating routes between the Bailiwick of Jersey, the United Kingdom and France to the Applicant and award it to DFDS A/S ("DFDS")".
Full reasons are due to be set out in a judgment the Royal Court said "will shortly be published".
An internal memo from Brittany Ferries CEO Christophe Mathieu, who is also Acting CEO of Condor, to Condor staff shed further light on the nature of the company's discontent.
"We feel very strongly that we should stand up for what is right and for what all of our staff deserve, after many years of dedicated service to the Islands," he said in the memo.
"So last Friday, I attended the Royal Court in Jersey to challenge the government's decision to appoint DFDS. During the hearing, I highlighted serious concerns regarding the fairness and legality of the process and asked the judge to conduct an investigation."
He added: "Ultimately, we won the joint tender, but Jersey simply refused to accept the result. They then started a second process with a predictable outcome."
A Jersey Government spokesperson said there would be no comment from the Minister in advance of the judgment's publication.
It has previously been confirmed in both islands that DFDS was disqualified under the joint process because of a "legal fail" in the assessment.
Advocate Oliver Passmore appeared for Bretagne, while Advocate Michael O'Connell appeared for the Minister. DFDS was also represented at the hearing by Advocate Sam Williams.
DFDS had pledged to publish its Jersey timetable yesterday, but instead has only released an indicative summer schedule with no specific sailing times.
It says it will finalise its plans in the new year.
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.