The commencement of drilling for oil in British waters around the Falkland Islands and British assertion of its sovereignty of the waters has become an issue that Gibraltar will want to watch closely.

Last night the Argentine president was meeting with the United Nations Secretary General in a move that will no doubt be continued in New York as the UN Committee of 24 commences its working session. Spain has traditionally moved pulse to pulse with Argentina on the arguments of sovereignty but distanced itself from more aggressive actions.

Nonetheless, the importance of the achievement of the tripartite dialogue in relation to Gibraltar is more significant than ever. It is a pointer to the need for the process to survive any change of government in Spain or Gibraltar whilst at the same time keeping the arguments of principle alive and clear.

WELCOME JUDGES

The appointment of the two new Puisne judges for the Supreme Court is a welcome one. The court has long been anxious to get on with its job and to reduce delays. It is especially welcome that we have a senior woman judge who is also local.

The Judicial Services Commission and The Convent might have been able to say a little more than just naming the two parties.

Obviously Mrs Justice Prescott is known to the public but nothing of Christopher Butler who is understood to be the new family judge.

The internet says of him the he graduated in Law from the LSE in 1970, spent a year at the Sydney University Law School; researched conflict of laws (for the second edition of Nye’s Conflict of Laws in Australia) and Family Law; wrote articles; sat on committees to advise the New South Wales government on major changes to Family Law and to produce a layman’s guide to Family Law.