To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what safeguards exist against the arbitrary dismissal of chief justices in overseas territories which are compliant with European Convention of Human Rights and other international norms and treaty obligations; and if he will make a statement. (186457)

There are chief justices in the following Overseas Territories: Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands (including South Georgia), Gibraltar, St. Helena and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The procedures concerning the dismissal of the chief justices in the Overseas Territories are set out in their constitutions. These procedures provide protection against arbitrary dismissal and are compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights and other international norms and treaty obligations.