A decision to ask Supreme Court judges to take a pay cut struck at the heart of a vital democratic principle, a lawyer has claimed.Victoria Greening, of Resolution Chambers, said that the Bermuda Constitution Order 1968 ruled that some roles — including Puisne Judges in the Supreme Court — were protected from pay cuts.She added: “The fact that members of the judiciary have been asked to give up their protected rights under the Constitution and accept a pay cut is significant.“If the judiciary loses the ability to maintain and run the courts efficiently or, worse still, its judicial independence from government, we can say goodbye to the rule of law.”Ms Greening said: “This is not a matter of the courts, the judiciary, being greedy or unsympathetic, when it comes to court space or to pay cuts. “It is essential that the public understands the importance of upholding the fundamental principles of judicial independence and the separation of powers. The judiciary cannot be at the behest of government, at the same time that it is separate from them. “That is why there are certain provisions enshrined in the Constitution that protect and separate the judiciary from the executive. She warned: “We are doomed if high court judges are made vulnerable to the issue of pay cuts. We have to be very careful, especially just now, when the country is so vulnerable, and particularly susceptible to corruption. “These decisions are not about protecting the judiciary per se, but rather the public at large. There is a bigger picture to look at and consider.“Those protections are in place to ensure that the public can continue to live in a democratic society.” Ms Greening added: “The separation of powers and judicial independence are the cornerstones of a country’s democracy. “Without it, there are no safeguards in place to ensure that the judiciary will not be used for political gain.“It is imperative that we understand the importance of maintaining the justice system and its separation from the executive through a constitutional lens.” Ms Greening was speaking after David Burt, the Premier, appealed to the Governor, John Rankin, to ask court officials to accept a 10 per cent salary cut.The judicial branch is under the authority of the Governor.The Premier said: “If the Premier of the country can take a pay cut, if the Governor of the country can take a pay cut, if the Ministers of the Cabinet can take a pay cut, if the Chief Justice can take a pay cut, if the Registrar of the Supreme Court can take a pay cut, then I think that members of the judiciary, in the spirit of shared sacrifice and recognition, should also participate in this scheme.”He added: “It is disappointing that they haven’t.”But section 100 of the Constitution said that the payment in some official appointments “shall not be altered to his disadvantage after his appointment”.The exemptions included the Governor, the Chief Justice, Puisne Judges, the president of the Court of Appeal, Justices of Appeal, the chairman and other members of the Public Service Commission, the Attorney-General, the Auditor-General and the chairman and judicial member of a Constituency Boundaries Commission.Ms Greening said the principle was underlined in a Privy Council judgment in 1994.The Privy Council highlighted a similar rule in the Barbados constitution in the case of Gladwyn Ophelia King v The Attorney General of Barbados.It said: “The provisions ensure the independence of the selected officers free from any financial pressure which Parliament or the executive might otherwise exert.”Public sector workers in the Bermuda Industrial Union, the Bermuda Public Services Union and the Bermuda Union of Teachers have agreed to a 10 per cent pay cut for one year.Government said discussions with the Fire Services Association and the Bermuda Police Association, which have rejected Government’s call for their members to agree to a pay cut, continued.