TNAG-1274-FCO40-1624-Vietnamese-refugees-in-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 253

ESSENTIAL FACTS

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

CONFIDENTIAL

1. Capital punishment is retained in seven British Dependent

Territories (the year of the last execution in each Territory is

given in brackets):

Anguilla (1924, Bermuda (1977), British Virgin Islands (1972),

Cayman Islands (1928), Hong Kong (1966), Montserrat (1960),

Turks and Caicos Islands (1946)

2.

Successive British Governments have regarded the question of

whether the death penalty should be prescribed for murder under the

law of the Dependent Territories as a matter for the local

governments and legislatures. The exercise of the Crown's

Prerogative of Mercy has been delegated to Governors, but this does not preclude petitions to The Queen if the Governor decides that the

law should take its course. In responding to such petitions it has

been accepted policy in Territories other than Hong Kong for the

Secretary of State (whose duty it is to advise Her Majesty on such petitions) not to interfere with the Governor's decision so long as that would not result in a miscarriage of justice. This Xlong-standing policy (since 1947 is known as the Creech-Jones

doctrine.

¥3.

In Hong Kong capital punishment is the penalty for murder. However, at a time when Parliament was considering capital punishment in Northern Ireland the Secretary of State (Sir Alec Douglas-Home) intervened to prevent an execution in Hong Kong. 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

CONFIDENTIAL