Judgment No CCZ 8/16 19 Const. Application No CCZ 48/15 Commissioner to arrange for compliance with any instructions as to pardon, respite, reprieve, commutation or remission of sentence given by the President. Section 112(1) of the Constitution empowers the President, after consultation with the Cabinet, to exercise the power of mercy, i.e. to grant a pardon or respite from the execution of any sentence, or to substitute or suspend or remit the whole or part of a sentence. In so doing, the President may impose conditions on any such pardon, respite, substitution or suspension. Several critical points arise for consideration from the foregoing provisions of the Prisons Act and the Constitution. First and foremost, the reporting requirements and the possibility of release on parole or licence under ss 113, 114 and 115 of the Act are largely restricted to the situation of prisoners serving sentences of extended imprisonment. They explicitly exclude from their ambit those prisoners who are sentenced to imprisonment for life. Such prisoners cannot be released on parole or licence. Secondly, to the extent that life prisoners may be considered for clemency under s 121 of the Act, the reporting obligation imposed upon the Commissioner is mandatory, but the consequential power conferred upon the Minister to take the matter further is clearly discretionary. Thirdly, even if the Minister should deign to submit a recommendation for the release of any prisoner to the President, there is no assurance that such release will be forthcoming. The power of mercy reposed in the President under s 112 of the Constitution, although exercisable after consultation with the Cabinet, is