17259) Dd.897459 250m 12/72 G.W.B.Ltd. Gp.863 16641) Dd.897300 250m 9/72 G.W.B.Ltd. Gp.863
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
CONFIDENTIAL
politic to do so, and in others even if we did so we
could not secure passage of the local legislation.
Legislative action in the UK could take the form
7.
of an Act of Parliament.
As an alternative to an Act of
Parliament it would be possible to change the local law
by Order in Council made in relation to each territory.
It is however undesirable to use UK legislative action
to enforce changes which are locally unacceptable.
8.
Short of legislative action in one form or another
to abolish the death penalty in a Dependent Territory
as a matter of law, it would be possible to put a stop
to the exercise of the death penalty notwithstanding
that the local law still provided for it. This could be
done for example by advising Her Hajesty to amend the Letters Patent (or Orders in Council) delegating to the
Governor the exercise of the prerogative of mercy and t
formal Instructions to Governors regarding capital cass:
so as henceforth to secure that all persons sentenced
to death should be reprieved. As an alternative and
pending a formal amendment of the Royal instructions
it could be intimated to Governors by despatch that the
should grant reprieves in all cases. A further
alternative, again as a temporary expedient, would be t
notify Governors that it would be the Foreign and
Commonwealth Secretary's intention in all future cases
in which a petition for clemency might be addressed to
Her Majesty to advise Her Majesty to exercise Her
Residual Prerogative of Mercy. Any of the
procedures outlined in this paragraph would, if
resorted to otherwise then as a temporary measure
pending a change in the law, be open to objection es
/relience