Attorney General Larry Mussenden has expressed an interest in constitutional changes in Gibraltar that put a local commission in charge of appointing judges.

The issue of judicial appointments came to the fore in Bermuda in 2003 when Premier Alex Scott backed local judge Norma Wade Miller for the position of Chief Justice, but Governor Sir John Vereker appointed Englishman Richard Ground.

Mr. Scott said at the time that the way Britain selected the top judge was a return to ?a colonial model which we thought had been relegated to history?.

Changes to the constitution of Gibraltar announced by UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw last month said that a new Judicial Service Commission will advise on the appointment of members of the judiciary. Only in exceptional circumstances will the Governor be able to go against its advice.

During a recent visit to the Cayman Islands, Mr. Scott expressed envy at the constitutional ?golden nugget? that allows the Turks and Caicos Islands to appoint a similar Judicial Service Commission.

The Premier said: ?Where was this constitutional ?nugget? when I needed it recently in a fight that I lost for a local Chief Justice? In Bermuda, the power to reject a recommendation and impose a personal selection currently lies completely in the hands of the Governor.?

Sen. Mussenden met this week with the Attorneys General (AGs) of both Gibraltar and the Turks and Caicos Islands at a conference of the AGs of the British Overseas Territories. Although the matter of judicial appointments was not on the formal agenda, he confirmed that it did come up.

?I?ve expressed some interest in that particular provision of their Constitution, which we don?t have it in ours. We talked about that ? it?s something I?m interested and will do a little bit of background research to bring myself up to date,? he said.

?That?s a long way from saying that?s what we want or what we should have. I?m interested just so I?m up to speed on it. I will do some reading when I get a chance.?