Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authorities

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The Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authorities (CICRA) was the name given to the combined Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority and the Guernsey Competition and Regulatory Authority, which operate in the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey in the Channel Islands. CICRA existed from 2010 to 2020: the authorities for Guernsey and Jersey now function independently.

Contents

History

Formed in December 2010, CICRA was responsible for administering and enforcing the Competition (Jersey) Law 2005 and The Competition (Guernsey) Ordinance 2012. The purpose of the legislation is to prevent consumers being harmed by anti-competitive or exploitative behaviour in the market. [1]

The decision to form a joint body was taken because of the similarity of needs and the reduction in duplication through economies of scale. Resources available to CICRA were limited. [2]

The joint body was disbanded in July 2020. [3]

Areas of responsibility

The areas of responsibility were: [4]

Board

CICRA's board comprised a chairman, three executive directors and three non-executive directors. There were fewer than ten staff spread between two offices in the two islands. [1]

Areas of contention

An investigation by CICRA into possible market abuse by a States of Guernsey contract in 2016 was blocked as the States refused to supply CICRA with the necessary funding. [5] The investigation was dropped in January 2017. [6]

The ownership of regulated companies by the governments, such as Jersey Post and Guernsey Electricity, could produce conflicts. [2]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channel Islands</span> Archipelago in the English Channel

The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, consisting of Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm and some smaller islands. Historically, they are the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy. Although they are not part of the United Kingdom, the UK is responsible for the defence and international relations of the islands as it is for the other Crown Dependency, the Isle of Man, and the British Overseas Territories. The Crown Dependencies are neither members of the Commonwealth of Nations, nor part of the European Union. They have a total population of about 171,916, and the bailiwicks' capitals, Saint Helier and Saint Peter Port, have populations of 33,500 and 18,207 respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guernsey</span> Island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy

Guernsey is the second largest island in the Channel Islands, located 27 miles (43 km) west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited islands and many small islets and rocks. The Bailiwick has a population of 63,950, the vast majority of whom live on Guernsey, and the island has a land area of 24 square miles (62 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jersey</span> British Crown Dependency in the English Channel

Jersey, officially known as the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an island country and self-governing British Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the largest of the Channel Islands and is 14 miles (23 km) from the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy. The Bailiwick consists of the main island of Jersey and some surrounding uninhabited islands and rocks including Les Dirouilles, Les Écréhous, Les Minquiers, and Les Pierres de Lecq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crown Dependencies</span> Self-governing possessions of the British Crown

The Crown Dependencies are three offshore island territories in the British Islands that are self-governing possessions of the British Crown: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey, both located in the English Channel and together known as the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. They are not parts of the United Kingdom (UK) nor are they British Overseas Territories. They have the status of "territories for which the United Kingdom is responsible", rather than sovereign states. As a result, they are not member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. However, they do have relationships with the Commonwealth and other international organizations, and are members of the British–Irish Council. They have their own teams in the Commonwealth Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bailiwick of Guernsey</span> British Crown Dependency consisting of several islands

The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France, comprising several of the Channel Islands. It has a total land area of 78 square kilometres (30 sq mi) and an estimated total population of 67,334.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Peter Port</span> Capital of the island of Guernsey

St. Peter Port is a town and one of the ten parishes on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is the capital of the Bailiwick of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2019 was 18,958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jersey Post</span>

Jersey Post is the licensed universal service provider of mail service for the Bailiwick of Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JT Group Limited</span> Bailiwick of Jersey telecommunications company

JT Group Limited is the parent company of several subsidiaries including Jersey Telecom Limited and Wave Telecom Limited. Jersey Telecom is the former monopoly operator in the Bailiwick of Jersey. JT provides telecommunications, Internet access and other services, mostly within the Channel Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Office of Gas and Electricity Markets</span> United Kingdom government non-ministerial department

The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), supporting the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (GEMA), is the government regulator for the electricity and downstream natural gas markets in Great Britain. It was formed by the merger of the Office of Electricity Regulation (OFFER) and Office of Gas Supply (Ofgas).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">States of Guernsey</span> Governing body of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey

The States of Guernsey, officially the States of Deliberation and sometimes referred to as the Government of Guernsey, is the parliament and government of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the States of Guernsey also apply to Alderney and Sark as "Bailiwick-wide legislation" with the consent of the governments of those islands. All enactments of the States of Guernsey apply to Herm as well as Guernsey, since Herm is directly administered by the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

Blue Islands Limited is a regional airline of the Channel Islands. Its head office is in Forest, Guernsey, and its registered office is in Saint Anne, Alderney. It operates scheduled services from and within the Channel Islands to the United Kingdom and Europe. Its main bases of operation are Guernsey Airport and Jersey Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sure (company)</span> Telecommunications company

Sure, a trading brand of Batelco, is a telecommunications company in the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, the Falkland Islands, St. Helena, Ascension Island, and the British Indian Ocean Territory. Sure is the largest tri-island mobile operator across the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Guernsey</span> Overview of and topical guide to Guernsey

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Guernsey:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority</span> Competition regulator

The Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (JCRA) is the competition, postal, and telecommunications regulatory authority for Jersey, a British Crown Dependency located in the English Channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Guernsey</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the British Crown dependency of Guernsey have improved significantly in the past decades. Same-sex sexual activity for both men and women is legal in Guernsey. Same-sex marriage has been legal since 2 May 2017 in Guernsey, and since 14 June 2018 in its dependency, Alderney. Legislation approving the legalisation of same-sex marriage in its other dependency, Sark was given royal assent on 11 March 2020. Guernsey is the only part of the British Isles to have never enacted civil partnership legislation, though civil partnerships performed in the United Kingdom were recognised for succession purposes. Since April 2017, same-sex couples can adopt in the entire Bailiwick. Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has been banned since 2004. Transgender people can legally change gender since 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">External relations of Jersey</span>

The External relations of the Bailiwick of Jersey are conducted by the External Relations department of the Government of Jersey. Jersey is not an independent state; it is a British Crown dependency, so internationally the United Kingdom is responsible for protecting the island and for consulting Jersey on international trade agreements but it is not a British territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">External relations of Guernsey</span>

The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. As a bailiwick, Guernsey embraces not only all ten parishes on the island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Alderney and Sark – each with their own parliament – and the smaller islands of Herm, Jethou and Lihou. Although its defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom, the Bailiwick is not part of the United Kingdom, but, as its description suggests, a possession of the Crown. Consequently, though it lies within the Common Travel Area, it was never part of the European Union.

The Competition (Jersey) Law 2005 is Jersey's statutory law governing competition in the markets. On 23 June 2005, the States of Jersey approved the Act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Jersey dispute</span> 2021 dispute over Jersey fishing licences

In 2021, a dispute erupted between French fishermen and the Government of Jersey about the licensing of French fishing boats to fish in Jersey's territorial waters. Jersey is a British Crown Dependency, and despite not being part of the United Kingdom, the licensing of European Union fishing boats to fish in Jersey's territorial waters has changed after the UK exit from the EU. On 6 May 2021, French fishermen held a protest in the waters off Jersey's main harbour. The UK is responsible for the defence of the Channel Islands and sent two patrol boats to Jersey in response to the fishermen's threats to blockade it. French politicians suggested that Jersey's electricity supply fed by undersea cables from France could be cut off in retaliation for Jersey placing limitations on the extent to which French boats can fish in the island's waters.

The telecommunications in Guernsey relate to communication systems in Bailiwick of Guernsey, which is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France.

References

  1. 1 2 "Annual Report 2012" (PDF). CICRA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  2. 1 2 "A review of the Jersey regulatory and competition framework" (PDF). Oxera. 16 November 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  3. "CICRA Announcement". Guernsey Competition and Regulatory Authority. July 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  4. "Strategic Aims" (PDF). CICRA.
  5. "Cicra denied States cash to probe 'market abuse'". Guernsey Press . 29 March 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  6. "Cicra drops inquiry into alleged States contract abuse due to funds delay". Guernsey Press . 30 January 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2020.