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STATES OF JERSEY
JERSEY COMPETITION REGULATORY AUTHORITY: INTENDED RE-APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR
Presented to the States on 16th February 2024
by the Minister for Sustainable Economic Development
STATES GREFFE
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REPORT
In accordance with Article 3(1)(a) of the Competition Regulatory Authority (Jersey) Law 2001 (the "2001 Law"), the Minister for Sustainable Economic Development (the "Minister") shall appoint one member of the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority (the "Authority") as its Chair.
Article 3(3) of the 2001 Law provides that Article 2 of the States of Jersey (Appointment Procedures) (Jersey) Law 2018 shall apply to the appointment of the Chair of the Authority. Under Article 2 of that Law, the Minister is required to notify the States of the intended appointment at least 2 weeks before the appointment is made.
In accordance with these provisions, the Minister directed that the States be notified of the intended re-appointment of Ms Stephanie Liston as Chair of the Authority for a further term of two years, to commence of 1st of July 2024 and to expire of 30th June 2026.
Background
Members will recall that, following a competitive recruitment process, which was overseen by the Jersey Appointments Commission (the "Commission"), Ms Liston was first appointed as Chair of the Authority in 2020 for a period of 4 years, commencing on 1 July of that year (R.57/2020).
Article 4(2) of the 2001 Law allows re-appointment of members of the Authority stating that "[a] member shall be appointed for a period not exceeding 5 years and upon expiry of such period shall be eligible for reappointment". Furthermore, the Commission's Guidelines state that members of independent bodies should not normally be appointed for terms in excess of nine years.1
The end of Ms Liston's current term of office on 30 June 2024 is now approaching and in September 2023, Mr Paul Masterton, the Authority's Senior Independent Member, wrote to the Minister to confirm that the Board is unanimous in its support for the recommendation that Ms Liston is re-appointed for a further term as Chair of the Authority.
As the Authority is a body which "falls within the remit of the Commission", the intended re-appointment of Ms Liston for a further period of 2 years was brought to its attention. By letter of 5 February 2024, the Chair of the Commission indicated that, following consideration of the proposed re-appointment, the Commission would be happy to support this.
Recommendation of Ms Stephanie Liston
Members will recall that at the time of Ms Liston's appointment in 2020, the Authority was going through a period of significant change following the demerger of the Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authorities ("CICRA"). Under Ms Liston's leadership, the Authority dealt with a number of complex and difficult issues, and she
1 P JAC recruiting guidelines 20160517 MN.pdf (gov.je).
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has navigated the Authority well through a challenging and unusual period following the CICRA demerger.
Ms Liston is an acknowledged international expert in a wide range of technologies and has been a leading partner in several communications law firms. She has significant experience in helping
businesses navigate their marketing and communications strategies to address the broadest and most valuable markets.
As a dual American and British citizen who has lived and worked in the US, the UK and the British Virgin Islands, she has extensive knowledge and experience of international and emerging markets. She specialises in providing international strategic, legal and regulatory advice in relation to a variety of types of projects and commercial transactions across multiple jurisdictions and industry sectors.
Ms Liston served as an Independent Member of the BT Equality of Access Board, Chief Legal Advisor to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission in the British Virgin Islands, a Non-Executive Director of Ofcom and as a member of its Audit Committee, an Advisory Board Member of Orga Systems GmbH, a Director of the European Competitive Telecommunications Association and Co-Chairman of the Communications Committee of the International Bar Association.
Currently, she is Chair of the UK Digital Connectivity Forum, Senior Advisor to Frontier Economics, Chief Executive Officer of Sequoia Way Limited, Associate Director of Innovation Advisors and Founder of Women in Telecoms and Technology.
Balance of the Board
There will be no change to the balance of the Board of the Authority as a result of Ms Liston's intended re-appointment. The current Board consists of:
• two long standing Jersey residents (Mr Paul Masterton and Mr Tim Ringsdore);
• two women (Ms Stephanie Liston and Dr Lara Stoimenova);
• two lawyers who have a broad legal knowledge (Ms Stephanie Liston and Professor Ian Walden); and
• one economist who is expert in regulation and competition (Dr Lara
Stoimenova). Resource implications
The Department for the Economy provides the Authority with an Annual Grant to administer the Competition (Jersey) Law 2005 and conduct market studies.
Fees payable to non-executive members of the Authority are sourced from the Annual Grant made to the Authority, as well as from the Authority's own accounts.
There are no other resource implications for the Government of Jersey arising from the intended re-appointment of Ms Liston as Chair of the Authority.
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