Court Forces De Beers to Keep Supplying Ex-Sightholder
September 23, 04
The Antwerp Court of Appeal has rejected De Beers’ appeal in the case brought against it by A. Spira Diamanthandel that extended its Sight by nine months after being dropped from the Sightholder list.
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The court ruling, which possibly has far reaching implications, extends Spira’s Sight by an additional 18 months after the nine-month period it got in November by a
Last November, the Antwerp Commercial Court President made an interim ruling forcing the DTC to continue supplying Spira, despite his removal from the Sightholder list, while considering the case between the two.
The
According to a press release by Spira’s lawyers, the Court of Appeal decided “in much sharper terms than the Commercial Court Judge, that the comfort letter ‘has lost any value it may have had, by the (re)opening, by the European Commission, of its investigation into the Supplier of Choice system and its practical implementation”.
In a related event, a number of Sightholders, former Sightholders, and industry organizations received a questionnaire yesterday from the European Commission regarding Supplier of Choice and the diamond market.
De Beers has not commented on the latest development, however following the previous ruling a company spokesperson told IDEX Online “the outcome of these proceedings does not mean that a decision on the merits of the complaint brought by this client has been made. In particular, it does not represent a finding that the Supplier of Choice arrangements are in any way flawed”.
It looks like the EC is actively pursuing its investigation into De Beers, Supplier of Choice and the complaints filed against them to the EC.