187Legal proceedings about referred disputes
(1)Where a dispute is referred or referred back to OFCOM under this Chapter, the reference is not to prevent—
(a)the person making it,
(b)another party to the dispute,
(c)OFCOM, or
(d)any other person,
from bringing, or continuing, any legal proceedings with respect to any of the matters under dispute.
(2)Nor is the reference or reference back to OFCOM under this Chapter of a dispute to prevent OFCOM from—
(a)giving a notification in respect of something that they have reasonable grounds for believing to be a contravention of any obligation imposed by or under any an enactment;
(b)exercising any of their other powers under any enactment in relation to a contravention of such an obligation; or
(c)taking any other step in preparation for or with a view to doing anything mentioned in the preceding paragraphs.
(3)If, in any legal proceedings with respect to a matter to which a dispute relates, the court orders the handling of the dispute by OFCOM to be stayed or sisted—
(a)OFCOM are required to make a determination for resolving the dispute only if the stay or sist is lifted or expires; and
(b)the period during which the stay or sist is in force must be disregarded in determining the period within which OFCOM are required to make such a determination.
(4)Subsection (1) is subject to section 190(8) and to any agreement to the contrary binding the parties to the dispute.
(5)In this section “legal proceedings” means civil or criminal proceedings in or before a court.