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The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal of ICO Satellite Limited against a judgment of the Administrative Court refusing a claim for judicial review of Ofcom’s decision to write to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to request the cancellation of the spectrum and orbital assignments registered in its Master International Frequency Register. This is the first occasion on which the Court of Appeal has had the opportunity to consider Ofcom’s Procedures for the Management of Satellite Filings. The Court of Appeal rejected the argument that Ofcom was required to take account of the impact or lack of impact of the decision on third parties or that the decision was not proportionate. It also concluded that Ofcom did not base its decision on an incorrect view of what the ITU regime required or that certain statements of ITU officials could be treated as authoritative of the institutional position of the ITU.
Christopher Vajda QC and Ben Rayment were instructed by Ofcom.
Members of Monckton Chambers have significant experience in the area of communications regulation generally as well as in advising on and litigating the potentially complex regulatory disputes that can arise in the context of satellite filings.