TNAG-0401-FCO40-447-Review-of-the-death-sentence-in-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 87

iii.

CONFIDENTIAL

Abolition through the Exercise of the Prerogative of Mercy

It would be possible to withdraw the delegation

of the Prerogative of Mercy to Governors, and the

Secretary of State could as a matter of practice,

advise Her Majesty in the exercise of Her residual

Prerogative of Mercy to accede to all petitions

for clemency to Her. Even if the Secretary of

State were prepared in certain cases to advise

Her Majesty not to intervene, once it became known,

as it quickly would, that Her Majesty might be

advised to grant reprieves for reasons connected

with the state of opinion in the United Kingdom on

the merits of capital punishment, all persons condemned

to death in the Dependent Territories would invariably

petition Her Majesty for mercy. The effect would be

for practical purposes to transfer responsibility

for the exercise of the Prerogative to the Secretary of

State. To transfer the Prerogative in this way, or

for the Secretary of State invariably to advise Her

Majesty to grant reprieves might be construed as a

limitation on the Prerogative itself and raise a

Constitutional issue in the United Kingdom.

RECOMMENDATION

5. In view of the disadvantages attached to each of the

alternative options, and the known views of the Elected Legislatures

of the Dependent Territories concerned, I recommend

5

CONFIDENTIAL

/that we should