Capital punishment in the British Indian Ocean Territory is not permitted under the domestic law of the

British Indian Ocean Territory The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 ...

(BIOT), in line with the position of all other

British overseas territories The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

. Under the terms of a 1966 international agreement, most residents of the BIOT are members of the United States military and are correspondingly subject to

United States military law United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

for criminal acts, which allows for capital punishment. The agreement, however, also states: "A death sentence shall not be carried out in the Territory by the military authorities of the United States." For those people who are subject to BIOT criminal law, which mostly applies to administrators and visitors within BIOT territorial waters, the Courts Ordinance 1983 provides that, in most circumstances and in the absence of specific local laws on the same topic, BIOT law is to be the same as "the law of England as from time to time in force in England".

Capital punishment in the United Kingdom Capital punishment in the United Kingdom predates the formation of the UK, having been used within the British Isles from ancient times until the second half of the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom were by hanging, and t ...

was abolished for murder in 1965Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 (UK) and for all offences in 1998. Therefore, capital punishment was abolished under the domestic law of the BIOT at the same time.

References

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

British Indian Ocean Territory {{Humanrights-stub