With Sir Daniel Williams this week demitting office as Governor-General of Grenada, representative of the Head of State Her Majesty, and NDC failing to avoid a vacancy occurring in that office, however briefly, the question surfaces whether constitutional problems may really arise from such a failure. Such a vacancy occurred when Sir Daniel, the substantive holder of the office, demitted office, with no one being appointed by Her Majesty to hold the office and being sworn in; and no one being appointed by Her Majesty to act in the office and being sworn in. Nor can there be a deputy to the Governor-General without there being a sworn-in substantive or acting Governor-General. In such a vacancy, there may theoretically be no structural difficulty regarding the exercise of the executive authority of Grenada. For the Constitution vests this authority in Her Majesty and says it may be exercised on her behalf by the Governor-General. The same may be said of provisions in the Constitution saying that certain other authority may be exercised by the Governor-General on Her Majesty’s behalf, as in assenting to legislative Bills. In both those two situations, in the absence of a substantive or acting Governor-General, Her Majesty may herself directly exercise those powers; in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister. It may, however, be different where provisions vest authority in the Governor-General as a person designated, persona designata; acting in his own right, not on Her Majesty’s behalf; not touching the executive authority of the State; requiring him to act in his own deliberate judgment. When all those circumstances combine, the decision is to be taken by the Governor-General, not by Her Majesty; as where the Governor-General appoints the Chairman of the Public Service Board of Appeal. Other examples in the Constitution are rather scarce. By contrast, many are the instances where the Governor-General acts on Her Majesty’s behalf, including, most importantly, those embraced in the executive authority of Grenada. The day-to-day carrying out of the Head of State functions pertaining to the exercise of the executive authority of the State requires that, as the Constitution says, there shall be a Governor-General. To expect Her Majesty to perform those functions daily for Grenada compromises the requirement that there be a Governor-General, violates the spirit of the Constitution, and sullies the independence enshrined in the Constitution. That is the constitutional context to the failure to avoid a vacancy in the office of Governor-General. From Dr. Francis Alexis Inside Grenada News