TNAG-0601-FCO40-749-Capital-punishment-in-Dependent-Territories-1977 — Page 69

1

RESIDENT

OFT

COUNCIL

CONFIDENTIAL

PRIVY COUNCIL OFFICE

WHITEHALL. LONDON SW1A 2AT

157)

Acajim

19

HKG 3861

October 1977

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51 200CT 1977

DESK OFFICER INDEX

Yes

PA

REGISTRY

Action Taken

مه

HKGD

и

PS

es for pp

4 " tmpp PS /Lord Goronwy - Roberts

IPUS Mr Cortazzi LMV Stratton

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN THE DEPENDENT OVERSEAS TERRITORIES

You asked to be told of the conclusions reached at the meeting of Ministers held on 13 October to consider a paper on capital punishment in the dependent overseas territories (GEN 103(77) 1).

The death penalty is still retained in seven dependent over- seas territories. In these territories the Queen's Prerogative of Mercy is delegated to the Governor, and under present policy if he does not exercise the Prerogative, the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary does not advise the Queen to intervene, unless there has been an evident miscarriage of justice. This policy, which was first announced by Arthur Creech-Jones as Colonial Secretary in a Parliamentary statement in 1947, is based on the view that the Governor and his local advisers are in a better position to judge whether the Prerogative should be exercised than is the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary.

You will recall that the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary had earlier proposed (DOP(77) 9) that the present policy should be reconsidered with a view (to either abolishing the death penalty in those territories where it was still retained or revising the existing constitutional procedures so as to ensure that in all cases where a death sentence had been imposed he had an opportunity to advise the Queen to exercise Her Prerogative of Mercy. On your instructions officials conducted the review proposed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary and prepared the report taken by GEN 103 last week.

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