If there is one thing that supporters and opponents of an independent Bermuda seem to share, it is the desire to retain the ability to appeal to a neutral high court abroad.

Numerous individuals and companies -- who feel that they have been hard done by in local courts -- take their cases to the Privy Council in the UK each year.

And as a former Deputy Governor of Bermuda has pointed out, there is widespread agreement that the provision for appeals to the Privy Council should be retained, in fact "specially entrenched'' in an Independence constitution.

"The purpose of any form of entrenchment would be to safeguard against a future government arbitrarily removing the right to such appeals, as some governments have done,'' said Mr. Peter Lloyd -- a one-time governor of the Cayman Islands -- who has seen several former colonies through Independence.

But retaining the right to appeal to the Privy Council is just one aspect of judiciary system that must be considered as Bermuda looks at Independence.

In its position papers, Government has said: "The key elements of successful parliamentary democracies are the rule of law, freedom from political interference of the public service and the independence of the Judiciary and the Police. The independence of these bodies is vital to this freedom.'' In the position papers, the judiciary and appeals to the Privy Council will be among items "specially entrenched'' in the Independence Constitution, meaning a three-quarters vote of both Houses of Parliament and a majority vote in a referendum would be required to change them.

And while the Public Service Commission's (PSC) functions will not change with Independence, Government admitted that the method of appointing commission members will have to.

Appointments are now made by the Governor after consultation with the Premier who must first have consulted with the Opposition Leader.

Should the Island become independent, the Governor-General -- on the recommendation of the Prime Minister who must first consult the Opposition Leader -- would appoint the chairman of the commission and four members who must not be public servants.

Under the provisions of the current Constitution, a member of the PSC must relinquish his or her office if elected to the House of Assembly.

But Government said it did not believe that this went far enough.

It proposed that an Independence constitution would bar service in the commission to a person for ten years after his or her nomination for election, even if he or she were not elected, and would extend the ban to service in the Senate.

An independent Judicial and Legal Service Commission and a Police Service Commission would also be set up in addition to the PSC, with provisions to help prevent against political interference in the making of appointments.

As with the Public Service Commission, a ten-year-service-ban will also apply to the Police Service Commission.

Government's proposed provisions for removing a commission member from office are much the same as now, except that these powers would be vested in the Governor-General. He or she -- acting in his or her own discretion -- would have power to remove members of the commission from office for misbehaviour or inability.

Under an Independence constitution, the Governor-General will also have the power to initiate action to remove a judge because of inability or misbehaviour. He will then have to appoint a tribunal of those who have held "high judicial office'' to investigate whether there is just cause for the judge's removal.

But both supporters and opponents of Independence have to wonder if such commissions and provisions will actually help to avoid situations like the row over the appointment of the Police Commissioner.

While Mr. Lloyd welcomed the plan to set up a Legal and Judicial Service Commission in an Independent Bermuda, he warned that "experience elsewhere has shown that such commissions will only provide satisfactory insulation if their own members are insulated from politics too''.

"In cases in which provision is made in constitutions for some of the members to be appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, it has too often happened that Prime Ministers have advised the appointment of their political cronies,'' he said in a speech in May.

Mr. Lloyd also said that where provision was made for members to be appointed on the advice of a Prime Minister, Constitutions usually also provided that the Opposition Leader be consulted.

"But,'' he said, "the present constitution of Bermuda contains a provision of similar kind in respect of the appointment of the Chief Justice; and (Opposition Leader) Mr. (Frederick) Wade is on record as considering it worthless, because no notice was in his view ever taken of the opinions he expressed when consulted.

"You may think that, if it has been regarded as worthless in the past, there are no grounds for expecting it to become any more useful as a safeguard in the future.'' Former Premier the Hon. Sir John Sharpe -- who wrote the Independence Green Paper of 1976, served on the Committee which produced the White Paper of 1979, and has acted as adviser to Cabinet Committee responsible for the current Green Paper -- disagrees.

"In my experience, even when an appointment is entirely at the discretion of the Governor, he will almost invariably discuss it with, or run it past, the Premier, because the effective running of the country requires a high level of cooperation and harmony between the Governor and the Government,'' he said.

"In an Independent Bermuda a Prime Minister -- who will be the leader of the party to which the people have given a majority to run the country -- will have more influence than a Premier does now, since he bears a greater responsibility.

"An Independence Constitutional Conference will be concerned about the possibility of "politicising'' appointments and the United Kingdom is unlikely to "sign off'' on a Constitution that does.'' Two questions opponents of Independence most frequently ask are: "What would happen to the right of appeal to the Privy Council after Independence'', and "What would prevent Police and judicial appointments from being politicised?'' In the latest in a series of articles on Independence before the August 15 referendum, The Royal Gazette looks at the role of the justice system after Independence. Tomorrow: Race and Independence.