CONFIDENTIAL 6.
might be achieved by adopting one of the following courses:-
(i) Removal from Governors of power to exercise
Prerogative of Mercy
Such a course would have the advantage that
it would not need any change in locally enacted
legislation and would avoid the situation whereby
a Governor's retention of the prerogative is seen
locally to be ineffective. In those cases where
the prerogative of mercy is devolved by Royal
Instructions its removal would seem to be the
most suitable method of avoiding the use of the
death penalty. However, where the devolution is
enshrined in the constitution of a dependency,
its removal would require constitutional amendment.
By agreement with Bermuda no amendment can be made
to the Bermuda Constitution without consulting the
Bermuda Government, which, it must be assumed, would
refuse to consider it. Moreover, such an amendment
would almost certainly be abhorrent to the local
government and the British Government could only
make it unilaterally in the face of such opposition.
(ii)
An instruction to Governors to introduce
legislation to abolish capital punishment
In Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands,
Montserrat and Belize (where the Governor was able
to commute in a recent capital case) the Governor
has no powers to introduce such legislation himself.
There is no similar limitation in the less
constitutionally advanced territories, ie Hong Kong,
CONFIDENTIAL
/the