美擬允許911遇難者家屬起訴沙特
The US Senate unanimously passed a bill on Tuesday that would allow families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia for any alleged role its officials might have had in the attacks, setting up a potential confrontation with the White House which has threatened a veto.
週二，美國參議院一致通過一項法案，將允許“九一一”遇難者家屬起訴沙特阿拉伯，只要其能指出沙特官員在那次恐怖襲擊中起到過作用。此舉或將使參議院與白宮發生衝突，後者已揚言要否決這項法案。
The overwhelming support in the Senate for the bill, which will now pass to the House of Representatives, is also likely to heighten tensions with Saudi Arabia at a moment of sharp disagreement between the two allies over Iran.
此外，在美國與沙特圍繞伊朗問題發生嚴重分歧之際，美國參議院對這項法案的“一邊倒”支持，很可能會加劇美沙之間的緊張關係。這項法案現在將轉給美國衆議院。
Under the bill, which is called the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, countries found to have been involved in terrorist acts committed on US soil would lose their right to sovereign immunity that protects them from lawsuits.
依照這項《對恐怖主義資助者實行法律制裁法案》(Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act)，任何被認定參與過在美國國土上實施的恐怖主義行爲的國家，都將失去能使它們免受起訴的主權豁免權。
If it were to become law, the bill would allow families of 9/11 victims to pursue lawsuits that some believe would prove Saudi officials played a role in the attacks. Of the 19 hijackers, 15 were Saudis.
如果成爲法律，該法案將使得“九一一”遇難者家屬能夠提起相關訴訟——有人認爲，這些訴訟最終會證明沙特官員在恐怖襲擊中起到過作用。在19名“九一一”劫機者中，有15名是沙特人。
Charles Schumer, the Democratic senator from New York and one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said that the “Senate has spoken loudly and unanimously that the families of victims of terrorist attacks should be able to hold the perpetrators accountable, even if it’s a country”. He said that the vote on Tuesday indicated there was enough support for the bill in the Senate to override a presidential veto.
紐約州民主黨參議員、該法案的共同發起人查爾斯•舒默(Charles Schumer)表示，“參議院一致大聲疾呼，恐怖襲擊遇難者家屬應當能夠追究肇事者的責任，即便它是一個國家”。他表示，週二的表決結果表明，這項法案在參議院有足夠多的支持者，足以推翻總統的否決。
Josh Earnest, White House spokesman, said that the bill “would change longstanding, international law regarding sovereign immunity” and that it could “make the United States vulnerable in other court systems around the world”.
白宮發言人喬希•歐內斯特(Josh Earnest)表示，這項法案“將改變長期以來關於主權豁免的國際法”，可能會“讓美國很容易在世界各地的其他法庭體系中受到衝擊”。
“Sovereign immunity is a principle that is critical to our national security,” he said, adding that the White House would seek to make changes to the proposed legislation.
他說：“主權豁免是一項對我們國家安全至關重要的原則。”他補充稱，白宮將尋求對這項擬議中的法案作出修改。
Adel al-Jubeir, foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, said that by attacking the principle of sovereign immunity, the bill would “turn the world for international law into the law of the jungle”.
沙特外長阿德爾•朱拜爾(Adel al-Jubeir)表示，通過攻擊主權豁免原則，這項法案將“把國際法變成叢林法則”。
Mr Jubeir has said that Saudi Arabia would take steps to protect its investments in the US, which officials have said could mean moving certain holdings to other jurisdictions. The US Treasury department said on Monday that Saudi Arabia held $116.8bn of US government debt.
他表示，沙特將採取措施保護本國在美國的投資。官員們表示，這可能意味着將某些投資轉移到其他司法管轄區。美國財政部週一表示，沙特持有1168億美元美國國債。
