Claims by lawyers of a “constitutional crisis” last month during the time the island went without an Attorney-General were far from overblown, a senior legal source has warned.

Speaking on the eve of the appointment today of a new Attorney-General, an insider, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak with the press, said the island’s Constitution needed reform to “untether” the role of Attorney-General from that of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

“No AG means there is no DPP, which has immense implications for the administration of criminal justice,” the source said. “The post of DPP is tied to that of the AG.

“When the AG leaves office, which we saw, then prosecutions would have to stop without a DPP. Also, it’s open to all kinds of potential political interference.

“It’s unlikely, but it’s possible, and that is undesirable. Because the AG is a political appointee, it means there is a political threat to the post of DPP.”

The source spoke in the wake of Kathy Lynn Simmons resigning as the Attorney-General last month before stepping down as a government MP.

Because the roles are constitutionally linked, it meant that the island had no Director of Public Prosecutions over several days.

The source said: “I think now this is more appreciated, but at the time Ms Simmons resigned, I do not think it was.”

The gap in early August continued until Kim Wilson, the health minister and a qualified lawyer, was assigned the role.

Ms Wilson later relinquished it to Cindy Clarke, the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The island “shall” have an Attorney-General as the legal adviser to the Government, according to Section 71 of the Constitution.

The role can go to an appropriately qualified senator or Member of Parliament, in which case there “shall” be a prosecutions director.

However, when there is no political Attorney-General and the job is taken by a public officer, as in the case of Ms Clarke, the island is without a DPP.

Since the Attorney-General is also responsible for prosecutions, Ms Clarke’s tenure before the appointment of a new Attorney-General today presents no issues.

However, the source said, the “crisis” came into play during the several days with no Attorney-General.

“I don’t think ‘crisis’ is an overstatement. There needs to be a constitutional amendment untethering these posts.”

The source added: “I hope that this generates discussions, because this is a flaw from a rule of law perspective. We talking about the fabric of the administration of justice.

“We have made it work so far because we are civilised people, but it is insufficient.”

Bermuda’s Constitution Order 1968 was drawn up and initiated by Britain, and the source said altering it would be no simple matter.

“It would appear to me that Bermuda cannot change its own constitutional arrangements. Previous constitutional amendments that I’ve found were made by the UK Parliament.

“There are no internal Bermudian constitutional provisions governing amendment.”

A query on the issue was sent by The Royal Gazette to the Ministry of Legal Affairs on Friday, but no response was received by press time last night.