let the law take its course. If that were to happen,
both y and I would be expected to defend his action
before Parliament, where critics of the present state of
affairs would point to the contrast between the abolition of capital punishment in the UK and its retention in some of Her Majesty's territories. Our opponents would also
point out that while the Prime Minister has judged it
right to intervene in foreign countries to plead for
our
mercy in certain capital cases, we have no constitutional
power
3.
to do so in British Dependent Territories is limited in practice
latt 6m 1977 the I previous
Successive Law Officers of both this administration
and that of our predecessers, heve considered carefully
what alternative course might be open to us to bring
about abolition in the Dependent Territories, but their
was as conclusion has been that the only satisfactory
was way of proceeding is by primary legislation in the UK
Parliament.
Any other device which we were
to adopt
would either be constitutionally improper, would be a
misuse of the Royal Prerogative, or would be tantamount
to misleading Parliament. For various reasons ofwhich
your officials are aware we cannot give directives to our
Governors to commute death sentences except where there
•
Nor do our
has been an evident miscarriage of justice
Governors have the power to introduce and force through
I have therefore come to local legislation to abolish.
the conclusion that it would be wise to grasp at the
opportunity presented by the Criminal Justice Bill to add
a short clause providing for abolition of capital
punishment in the Dependent Territories.
[The
The issues in
"Law and Onder Extruation?
[The current Raw Officers have confirmed the advice I
their predecessor
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