TNAG-0600-FCO40-748-Capital-punishment-in-Dependent-Territories-1977 — Page 48

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of a Dependent Territory had decided against exercising the Prerogative of Mercy under his delegated powers. The Attorney General advised that it would be unconstitutional to suspend the law in this way. The Lord Chancellor

agreed with this advice and added that he was convinced that it would be wrong

to seek to secure abolition of the death penalty by use of the Royal

Prerogative.

Duplicato, para. 10, V.

21.

There is the further consideration that an administrative system of

reference to the Secretary of State whose purpose was to ensure that a repri evə

was always granted would render the Governor's discretion not to exercise the Prerogative ineffective and would therefore be open to criticism as being

inconsistent with the constitutional instruments of the Dependencies.

22.

If, therefore, arrangements were made for reference of capital cases from the Dependencies constitutional principle would require that the Secretary of State should, in good faith, consider the individual circumstances of each case and base his recommendations on those circumstances and not upon a pre- determined conclusion that a reprieve would be granted. In informing Parliament of such new arrangements it would be consistent with these principles and past practice to convey no inplication that the result would be the abolition of capital punishment.

Conclusions

23.

ministung canicker that enchage should be

If a change is sought which hay be applied to all seven Dependent Territories where capital punishment is retained, course ii and probably also course iv must be discarded. Course i might be adopted for the Cayman Islands, if it can be accepted that there is no major objection to treating this territory differently from the others. Otherwise the choice would lie between course iii (United Kingdom legislation) and course v (a Parliamentary statement abrogating the "Greech Jones doctrine"). Of the Governors consulted three would prefer course iii and three, with varying reservations, course v.

There

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