TNAG-0722-FCO40-920-Capital-punishment-in-the-Dependent-Territories-1978 — Page 111

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CONFIDENTIAL

AMENDED DRAFT CONCLUSIONS TO PAPER ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN THE DOTS

16 It follows that the only proper and effective method of securing abolition

or suspension of the death penalty for murder in those DOTS under whose law it is

still maintained, is by means of legislation. If legislation to abolish or suspend

the death penalty in the DOTS concerned were pending, this would provide the

Governors with an additional and powerful ground for commutation, and therefore in

practice no further executions would be likely to take place once the decision to

introduce legislation into the United Kingdom Parliament has been announced.

17 Such a decision might cause difficulty in relation to Jersey and the Isle of

Man, where constitutionally, abolition would need an enactment of the local

legislature (the States of Jersey and Tynwald respectively). A United Kingdom Bill

to abolish capital punishment in the DOT might lead to pressure for similar action

in relation to Jersey and the Isle of Man. This would be contrary to the

long-standing constitutional convention whereby Westminster does not seek to legislate

in matters wholly domestic to the Islands without the concurrence of their

Governments (which would probably not be forthcoming in respect of so domestic a

matter as the criminal law). The Royal Commission on the Constitution emphasised the importance of respecting that convention. It would therefore be necessary to

resist such pressure.

18 In addition, the introduction of UK legislation would undoubtedly cause

resentment in those DOTs where the local government could not be brought to

acquiesce in it and would resurrect the whole controversy about capital punishment

in the UK itself. How important these repercussions would be is a matter for

political judgement.

CONFIDENTIAL