The thorny issue of Bermuda's next Chief Justice will come to a head in London today when Premier Alex Scott and Overseas Territories Minister Bill Rammell hold private talks.

A personal meeting between the two has been arranged “at pretty short notice,” Deputy Governor Nick Carter said yesterday.

Governor Sir John Vereker is also in London for the three day Overseas Territories Consultative Council (OTCC), but he will not be at the lunchtime meeting between Mr. Rammell and the Premier.

Government House and the Cabinet Office have locked horns over the appointment of a replacement for Chief Justice Austin Ward.

The Premier supports naturalised Bermudian Judge Norma Wade Miller while - according to Mr. Scott - the Governor is backing Turks and Caicos Chief Justice Richard Ground, an Englishman who was a Puisne judge in Bermuda in the 1990s.

Mr. Scott told The Royal Gazette last week he would be raising the issue with Mr. Rammell in London to convey how strongly Government felt that a Bermudian should take the top post.

Mr. Carter said yesterday: “The meeting (between the Premier and Mr. Rammell) has been fixed up at pretty short notice.

“I don't know what the meeting was arranged for, but I would have thought the Premier would want to take the opportunity to take up (the Chief Justice issue) since he has written to the Minister about it.”

Mr. Scott said last week he understood British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw - who addresses the OTCC meeting on its final day this morning - would take the final decision on the new Chief Justice because it was such a sensitive issue.

But Mr. Carter said yesterday the appointment was a decision for Mr. Rammell, and he did not know whether he would consult Mr. Straw.

“It will be the decision of the Minister (Mr. Rammell). It is not for us to say whether Bill Rammell should or should not consult the Secretary of State (Mr. Straw).

“It is a matter for Ministers and no one else. It is up to Bill Rammell and he has yet to decide.”

Mr. Scott said last week he thought Sir John had breached the spirit of the constitution by consulting beyond the Premier and the leader of the Opposition over the position when he appointed a consultative committee.

The Royal Gazette has been unsuccessful in trying to get comment from Mr. Scott this week.

Meanwhile, the main theme to emerge after the first two days of the meeting is a desire among the territories for more autonomy, according to a Bermuda Government press release.

Other territories appeared anxious to change their constitutions along the lines of Bermuda's according to the statement.

Mr. Scott “lent his support to those aspirations while at the same time noting that even Bermuda's constitutional arrangements relied heavily on the goodwill and sensitivity of the Foreign Office and its Governors and the abilities of all parties to manage the relationship effectively and with mutual respect”.

Governors had to play a more active role because of Britain's increased international obligations while still “respecting the variables” in the territories, said the statement.

“Mr. Rammell went on to say that these concepts were embodied in the 1999 White Paper (Partnership for Progress and Prosperity) and that increasing globalisation blurred the lines of responsibility.

“From the UK perspective, Mr. Rammell stressed that they must meet their international obligations and help the territories achieve good governance.”

Yesterday, discussions centred on borrowing guidelines and private finance initiatives, the European-Overseas Caribbean Territories Forum, and the overseas territories and regional organisations.

As well as meeting Mr. Rammell today, Mr. Scott will also meet David Jamieson, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Transport, and Dawn Primarollo, the Paymaster General at the Treasury.