Within the next few days Bermuda Housing Trust will learn whether it is to be ordered to open its accounts for inspection by the Auditor General after a long-running dispute reached the Supreme Court.

A judge is now considering the matter and expects to make a ruling by the early part of next week. What is under debate is whether the Auditor General has a right to scrutinise the financial information of the 42-year-old Trust.

Auditor General Larry Dennis is tasked with inspecting the accounts of all Government offices and associated bodies and he argues the Trust comes under that heading.

But the Bermuda Housing Trust takes a different view and claims it is not a Government body and therefore is not subject to statutory auditing by the AG.

Who is right and who is wrong is now a matter for Puisne Judge Geoffrey Bell, who listened to arguments on behalf of Mr. Dennis at the Supreme Court yesterday.

The judge was unable to hear directly from the other side because a lawyer representing Bermuda Housing Trust did not show up at the appointed time. However, the matter went ahead with Mr. Justice Bell relying on a written argument previously lodged with the court to understand the Bermuda Housing Trust position.

Lawyer Saul Froomkin, who spoke on behalf of the Auditor General, said the Trust was clearly an entity controlled by Government and therefore subject to being audited by the Auditor General. He said the matter was of ?significant importance for the Auditor General and Bermuda generally.?

Mr. Froomkin said the Trust is a Government entity for a number of reasons namely; that it was initially set up with public funds provided by Government, Government has the power to appoint the majority of board members, the Trust is listed as a Government board in Government notices, its own rules state that its accounts must ?satisfy the Minister?, it is allowed to use Government resources through Works and Engineering free of charge and further that Government can determine what policies will be pursued by the Trust and change its members.

The Bermuda Housing Trust provides low-rent accommodation for seniors and has for at least 14 years had its accounts audited by an independent international audit firm.

Because there was no lawyer in court for the Bermuda Housing Trust, and its written argument was not read out in court, is unable to report its counter arguments. BHT chairman Ronald Simmons declined to comment on the matter until he had heard from his legal representative and has seen the judge?s written judgement. Mr. Justice Bell intends to make public his written judgement in the next few days.