Our ref:
AGC 1/400/81C
Y.E.
CONFIDENTIAL
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
I refer to your minute dated 21 September 1981 attaching
the self-explanatory letter from Mr. Clift and your draft reply.
You ask for my views as to whether there is a constitutional
difference between Hong Kong and those other Dependent
Territories which retain capital punishment but which have
elected rather than appointed Legislatures.
2.
In my opinion the Royal Prerogative of Mercy is one
that the Governor of every colony exercises by virtue of a
delegation of that power from Her Majesty. Her Majesty is not
however devoid of her own power and in the event of a petition
for exercise of the Prerogative being presented to Her Majesty
it would be the duty of the Secretary of State to advise her what
action, if any, should be taken upon it. In this respect Hong
Kong is in no different a position constitutionally from any other
colony including those where the death penalty has in recent
years been carried out.
3.
It is true that various Secretarys of State have in
the past adopted rules of practice relating to the way in which
the Queen would be advised in cases involving exercise of the
Prerogative (e.g. the Speech
reech Jones in the House
CONFIDENTI
of Commons in 1947) but these rules of practice have not attained
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.