plagued the functions of Bermuda's Justices of the Peace were discussed and passed in the Upper House this week.

Government Senate Leader the Hon. Gerald Simons said on Monday the Justices of the Peace Validation Act (1994) allows certain justice's actions to be made valid.

Some of the more common functions justices of the peace perform, are presiding over elections as returning and presiding officers and issuing search and arrest warrants.

Sen. Simons said Bermuda's JPs' historically have held high offices such as Attorney and Solicitor General, Chief Justice and members of the Executive Council (the precursor of today's Cabinet).

However an Act passed in 1969 ended the practice of Executive Council members becoming JP's automatically.

Now the Governor could appoint any fit person and this included Cabinet Ministers.

But there was some concern, Sen. Simons said, about Cabinet ministers acting in a judicial capacity.

He said the separation between the judicial, executive and legislative branches should be kept that way and it was "not prudent for Cabinet Ministers to be acting in a judicial role''.

Sen. Terry Lister (PLP) said the issue of proper validation raised many issues.

"How long were people being improperly appointed?'' he asked. "Can a person who has been arrested and convicted now say his arrest was invalid if his warrant was filed by a justice of the peace who was not properly in place to begin with?'' Sen. Larry Scott (UBP) explained that in criminal law, under which the arrest and search warrants fall, "substantive acts override procedural irregularities''.

The bill was then passed.