British Telecommunications Act 1981

Third parties affected by vesting provisions U.K.

(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs 8 to 11, any transactions effected between the transferor and the transferee in pursuance of paragraph 2(1) or of a direction under paragraph 2(3) shall be binding on all other persons, and notwithstanding that it would, apart from this sub-paragraph, have required the consent or concurrence of any other person.

(2) It shall be the duty of the transferor and the transferee if they effect any transaction in pursuance of paragraph 2(1) or a direction under paragraph 2(3) to notify any person who has rights or liabilities which thereby become enforceable as to part by or against the transferor and as to part by or against the transferee, and if such a person applies to the Secretary of State and satisfies him that the transaction operated unfairly against him the Secretary of State may give such directions to the transferor and the transferee as appear to him appropriate for varying the transaction.

(3) If in consequence of a transfer to which this Schedule applies or of anything done in pursuance of the provisions of this Schedule the rights or liabilities of any person other than the transferor and the transferee which were enforceable against or by the transferor become enforceable as to part against or by the transferor and as to part against or by the transferee, and the value of any property or interest of that person is thereby diminished, such compensation as may be just shall be paid to that person by the transferor, the transferee or both, and any dispute as to whether and if so how much compensation is so payable, or as to the person to whom it shall be paid, shall be referred to and determined by an arbitrator appointed by the Lord Chancellor or, where the proceedings are to be held in Scotland, by an arbiter appointed by the Lord President of the Court of Session.

(4) Where in the case of a transfer to which this Schedule applies the transferor or the transferee purports by any conveyance or transfer to transfer to some person other than the transferor or the transferee for consideration any land or any other property transferred which before the transfer date belonged to the transferor or which is an interest in property which before that date belonged to the transferor, the conveyance or transfer shall be as effective as if both the transferor and the transferee had been parties thereto and had thereby conveyed or transferred all their interest in the property conveyed or transferred.

(5) If in the case of any transfer to which this Schedule applies it appears to the court, at any stage in any court proceedings to which the transferor or the transferee and a person other than the transferor or the transferee are parties, that the issues in the proceedings depend on the identification or definition of any of the property, rights or liabilities transferred which the transferor and the transferee have not yet effected, or to raise a question of construction on the relevant provisions of this Act which would not arise if the transferor and the transferee constituted a single person, the court may, if it thinks fit on the application of a party to the proceedings other than the transferor and the transferee, hear and determine the proceedings on the footing that such one of the transferor and the transferee as is a party to the proceedings represents and is answerable for the other of them, and that the transferor and the transferee constitute a single person, and any judgement or order given by the court shall bind both the transferor and the transferee accordingly.

(6) In the case of any transfer to which this Schedule applies it shall be the duty of the transferor and the transferee to keep one another informed of any case where either of them may be prejudiced by sub-paragraph (4) or (5), and if either the transferor or the transferee claims that it has been so prejudiced and that the other of them ought to indemnify or make a repayment to it on that account and has unreasonably failed to meet that claim, it may refer the matter to the Secretary of State for determination by him.