Top lawyers were last night left scratching their heads over Premier Ewart Brown's decision to sidestep the Governor and bring four Guantánamo Bay detainees to Bermuda without his permission.

Prominent attorneys who spoke to The Royal Gazette — most on condition of anonymity — said they were aware of nothing in Bermuda's Constitution or elsewhere in law that would allow him to make such a decision without British consent.

Former Attorney General Phil Perinchief said the Premier had been "very, very naive" and had "certainly overstepped his powers".

"He doesn't understand his role as Premier," said the former PLP senator. "He doesn't understand the boundaries of his role. We are not an independent country."

Dr. Brown's spokesman said last night that the Premier would not comment on what legal advice he got before agreeing to let the men — Chinese nationals of Uighur ethnicity who spent seven years at the detention camp — fly to the Island and seek naturalisation.

And Attorney General Kim Wilson did not respond to questions about whether she and the lawyers in her chambers were consulted and, if so, what advice they gave.

Lawyers who spoke to this newspaper said the decision taken by the Premier clearly involved external affairs, which are solely the responsibility of Governor Sir Richard Gozney, according to section 62 of the Constitution.

They also pointed out that Sir Richard alone has the power to grant the men naturalisation certificates under section 20 of the Immigration and Protection Act.

One lawyer suggested that the Premier was probably well aware that he should have gone to Government House.

"He has never made a secret of the fact that he thinks Bermuda should be independent. I wouldn't be surprised if this was not an oversight on his part."

The source added: "I think it's a brilliant act of diplomacy. Now he can use that as leverage with the US. Whether or not you like the man, you have got to admit this is a very, very clever move."

The lawyer said Dr. Brown may claim that he was invoking Bermuda's right under basic international law to exercise control over its borders. "But remember, Bermuda is not a sovereign country," they added.

Mr. Perinchief said Dr. Brown could only have legitimately brought the men here if he had been given a "trust instrument" by the Governor — i.e. the delegated power to carry out such an activity.

"In this case, he was not given this kind of entrustment. I think he's proceeding on the basis that he, in fact, is a prime minister of an independent country and not a premier of a British Overseas Territory."

Another top-ranking attorney said: "I don't think they have thought about the law at all."

The lawyer questioned what the Attorney General's view on the matter was and said that it was unthinkable for the Governor to have not been involved in the discussions with the US.

"The Government can probably allow [the men] into Bermuda as visitors and the [Immigration] Minister can, in his discretion, allow them to stay longer. But it's probably going to be a bar to them getting a PRC [permanent residency certificate]."

He said only the UK could allow naturalisation of the men and since it appeared to be "pretty aggrieved" that now looked unlikely.

Another barrister said only Britain could decide to grant the men political asylum. "That's a matter of external affairs or foreign affairs, for which the UK is solely responsible."

He described Dr. Brown's decision as "a real slap in the face" to the UK. "One wonders what the motive really was: whether it was to embarrass the UK Government or whether there was a quid pro quo."

The Premier's spokesman said the Island was getting "nothing" in return for taking the men. "It's believed this was the proper thing to do from a humanitarian perspective," he said, adding that talks had been ongoing with the US since May.