GO plc vs Malta Communications Authority – 4th June 2018 judgement given by the Court of Appeal (inferior jurisdiction)

GO plc (‘GO’) appealed a judgement given by the Administrative Review Tribunal (‘ART’), following an appeal made by GO contesting a regulatory decision by the Malta Communications Authority (‘MCA’) issued in 2013 whereby the MCA had determined that GO enjoyed significant market power in the Wholesale Unbundled Infrastructure Access Market. 

The Court of Appeal made extensive reference to the judgement of the ART noting that MCA issued its decision only after a consultation process during which GO participated. The Court agreed with the findings of the MCA necessitating the imposition of ex ante regulatory remedies in Market 4 since an operator enjoying a position of strength can, if there is no regulation, abuse of its position by denying other operators access to its infrastructure.  The Court of Appeal further considered that there was no basis for it to uphold the suggestion by GO to seek guidance from the The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) as the claims raised by GO did not involve any interpretation of the EU Treaties.

 

The Court of Appeal rejected GO’s appeal and confirmed the judgment of the ART with costs against GO.