The dispute between Government House and the Government is far from over, even though Turks and Caicos Islands Chief Justice Richard Ground has been appointed Bermuda?s Chief Justice.

Indeed, it is simply one battle in what may be a long war.

First, it must be said that the choice of Mr. Ground was the right one, and but for the fact that he is not Bermudian, he would have been the obvious choice.

Even given the fact that he is British, he was still the choice of the panel tasked with advising the Governor on the appointment and has the support of the Bermuda Bar Association.

It is also worth noting that this panel, three of whose four members were Bermudian, was appointed before Premier Alex Scott and Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons were consulted, so the notion that the committee was formed to block any other appointments is inaccurate.

But the dispute has brought to the fore the problem of how judicial appointments are made.

There is plenty of merit in the proposal from Bar Association president David Kessaram and others that a Judicial Service Commission, similar to the Public Service Commission, should advise the Governor on the appointments to give some protection from the perception of political interference.

This commission should be drawn from Bermudian stakeholders and should deal not only with the appointment of the Chief Justice, but Puisne Judges and Magistrates as well.

But this is to some extent a side issue. What is really at stake is the degree of autonomy that the Bermuda government has from the Governor and, by extension, the United Kingdom.

The debate over Constitutional changes in 2002 and 2003 showed some of the limitations in the relationship while recent noises from Government House and the UK government on issues ranging from the environment to anti-terrorism powers demonstrate that it is in flux after more than 30 years of relative stability.

Even though most Premiers have had run-ins with Government House, they have rarely been as public as this one, especially when this was a fight that Mr. Scott was never likely to win and one which drew about as chilly a rebuke from the Foreign Office as diplomatic language allows.

So why did he pursue it? First, he has always been a fierce advocate of Bermudianisation and has been particularly unhappy about the importation of white Britons to top government posts.

Those who remember the opposite reactions to the appointments of white Londoner Colin Coxall as Commissioner of Police (noisy protests) and the appointment of black Barbadian Elliott Mottley (dead silence) can attest to that.

Secondly, Mr. Scott?s audience is not the Foreign Office, but Bermudians and concerns over the UK reducing Bermuda?s autonomy will draw support from many quarters and for many different reasons.

Then too, Mr. Scott could not really lose this fight, if his long term goal is to take Bermuda to Independence. If Mr. Ground was not appointed, then Mr. Scott won. If Mr. Ground was appointed, then this simply became another example of how Britain interferes and blights the careers of deserving Bermudians. At the same time, Mr. Scott?s advocacy of the Bermudian candidate shored up his support among the Progressive Labour Party?s bedrock support.

Still, it is fair to assume that most Bermudians are not looking to break away from the UK, especially when they have just obtained British passports.

In this case, the Governor made the right choice in appointing Mr. Ground. The Island?s judicial system is overwhelmed and needs a strong hand to modernise and improve it.

Then too, Mr. Ground will not have a life sinecure for the job and while Puisne Judges Charles-Etta Simmons (who did apply for the job this time around) and Ian Kawaley have not been on the bench long enough to get the position today, they will be down the road and it is almost certain that the next Chief Justice will be Bermudian and will hold the post for a considerable length of time.

In the meantime, although the Governor may appoint the Chief Justice, he is paid by the Government, and if more judges are to be added and the justice system changed, then Mr. Ground will need the support of the Government to carry out the changes.

That means that both he and the Governor will need to work hard to restore the partnership between the UK and Bermuda to ensure that Bermuda gets a justice system of which it can be proud.