美拟允许911遇难者家属起诉沙特
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.
周二，美国参议院一致通过一项法案，将允许“九一一”遇难者家属起诉沙特阿拉伯，只要其能指出沙特官员在那次恐怖袭击中起到过作用。此举或将使参议院与白宫发生冲突，后者已扬言要否决这项法案。
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，在美国与沙特围绕伊朗问题发生严重分歧之际，美国参议院对这项法案的“一边倒”支持，很可能会加剧美沙之间的紧张关系。这项法案现在将转给美国众议院。
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.
依照这项《对恐怖主义资助者实行法律制裁法案》(Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act)，任何被认定参与过在美国国土上实施的恐怖主义行为的国家，都将失去能使它们免受起诉的主权豁免权。
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.
如果成为法律，该法案将使得“九一一”遇难者家属能够提起相关诉讼——有人认为，这些诉讼最终会证明沙特官员在恐怖袭击中起到过作用。在19名“九一一”劫机者中，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.
纽约州民主党参议员、该法案的共同发起人查尔斯•舒默(Charles Schumer)表示，“参议院一致大声疾呼，恐怖袭击遇难者家属应当能够追究肇事者的责任，即便它是一个国家”。他表示，周二的表决结果表明，这项法案在参议院有足够多的支持者，足以推翻总统的否决。
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”.
白宫发言人乔希•欧内斯特(Josh Earnest)表示，这项法案“将改变长期以来关于主权豁免的国际法”，可能会“让美国很容易在世界各地的其他法庭体系中受到冲击”。
“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.
他说：“主权豁免是一项对我们国家安全至关重要的原则。”他补充称，白宫将寻求对这项拟议中的法案作出修改。
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”.
沙特外长阿德尔•朱拜尔(Adel al-Jubeir)表示，通过攻击主权豁免原则，这项法案将“把国际法变成丛林法则”。
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，沙特将采取措施保护本国在美国的投资。官员们表示，这可能意味着将某些投资转移到其他司法管辖区。美国财政部周一表示，沙特持有1168亿美元美国国债。
