TNAG-1005-FCO40-1254-Capital-punishment-in-Hong-Kong-1981 — Page 13

CONFIDENTIAL

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A

B

result in a miscarriage of justice.

This long-standing policy

(enunciated in 1947) is known as the Creech Jones doctrine.

5. In 1973, at a time when Parliament was considering capital

punishment in Northern Ireland, Sir Alec Douglas-Home felt obliged,

for reasons unconnected with Hong Kong or the particular case, to

prevent an execution in Hong Kong and the sentence was commuted.

This later led to a statement by the Colonial Secretary of Hong

Kong in the Legislative Council in 1975 to the effect that the

Secretary of State could not recommend to The Queen to reject a

plea for clemency from Hong Kong whilst feeling in the House of

Commons in England was against capital punishment.

6. Since 1973 the Governor has commuted each death sentence

whether or not any mitigating factors appeared to him to exist

in that case and his Executive Council have concurred (though

some members on occasion have abstained).

C 7. In February 1980, FCO Ministers agreed that their general

policy on capital punishment in the Dependent Territories should

D

E

remain unchanged.

8.

The different treatment of capital cases in Hong Kong as

compared with those in the other Dependent Territories has never

been kept secret; it could always be deduced from public statements.

But the 'South China Morning Post' drew attention to the matter

in July this year by quoting a letter from Mr Ridley to

Mr Kenneth Marks MP which had stated HMG's general policy (Creech

Jones) towards capital punishment in the Dependent Territories.

Sir S Y Chung, the Senior Unofficial Member of the Executive

CONFIDENTIAL

/Council