e)
CONFIDENTIAL
11
As a result of a decision by the European Court of
Human Rights (the Soering case), we may find it
increasingly difficult to secure the extradition to
a Dependent Territory of someone charged with a
capital offence unless the British Government is
able to give an assurance that the death penalty
would not be carried out.
Option for Action
We have examined three ways in which we could bring
about change:
6.
(i)
administrative action:
(ii)
local legislation in the six Dependent
Territories;
(iii)
legislation in the UK
Administrative action has been sufficient to deal with
the problem in Hong Kong because of the constitutional position. In 1973 (when abolition of the death penalty was being debated here), the then Foreign Secretary intervened to prevent an execution in Hong Kong and since
then governors have invariably commuted. In Hong Kong's
case, the justification for commutation has been that in
the absence of an elected legislature, special attention
should be paid to the views of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Constitutionally the Caribbean Dependent Territories and Bermuda are more advanced: their LegCos
/are
CONFIDENTIAL