Mr Gorham, WIAD
CONFIDENTIAL
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p.r. Cap. Pun
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M4B 380/1
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From:
Date:
CC PS
K J, Chamberlain Deputy Legal Adviser 15 February 1991
PS/Mr Lennox-Boyd
Mr McLaren
Mr Beamish
Sir A Watts
Mr J Hill, LS to LOS
DEPENDENT TERRITORIES: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
1.
We spoke about Martin Hatfull's minute to you of 14 February regarding the discussion which took place among Ministers on this subject yesterday.
2.
With regard to paragraph 2 of Mr Hatfull's minute, I do not think it is in fact necessary to amend the Order in Council to make clear that capital punishment in the DTS would be retained for the offence of treason, as it is in the UK. The draft Order in fact only abolishes capital punishment for the crime of murder. It leaves the law on capital punishment for other offences such as treason unchanged. In this respect the Order follows the same pattern as the UK where the legislation abolishing capital punishment applied only to the crime of murder. I believe it would be undesirable to depart in this respect from what was done in the UK and provide specifically for the retention of capital punishment for treason etc, especially as consideration is being given by the Law Commission to abolishing capital punishment for such offences.
3.
Jeremy Hill (Legal Secretariat, Law Officers) spoke to me this morning about the point raised in paragraph 3 of Mr Hatfull's minute. A similar question arose recently with regard to the Order freezing Iraqi and Kuwaiti financial assets which applied to the Caribbean territories. The point was made by Mr Knorpel (Counsel to the Speaker) that section 5 of the West Indies Act 1962 did not provide the vires for making laws for peace, order and good government. Section 5(1) of the West Indies Act provides for Her Majesty to make "such provision as appears to Her expedient for the government of any of the colonies to which this section applies". Section 5(1) also expressly allows Her Majesty to reserve power to make laws for the Colony for "such (if any) purposes as may be so specified". Section 7(1) provides for Orders in Council to make
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