【英语趣味课堂】国际法-International Law

Todd: So Katia you were saying that you were working in Argentina as an internship¹. What type of internship was it?

Katia: It was called legal internship. You help lawyers to deal with cases or anything that they need you to do regarding the legal field.

 

Todd: OK. So what kind of legal field were you working in?

 

Katia: It's human rights, human rights in the inter-American system so cases that are related to human rights abuses in the American continent.

 

Todd: So what are some types of cases that often come up regarding human rights?

 

Katia: There are unfortunately many kinds of human rights abuses in Latin America. Some are from the dictatorship, for example disappearances². Many people disappeared during the seventies and they have not received justice so they are still looking for some kind of clarification. So for example a case like that would be brought before the Inter-American Commission and Court.

 

Todd: Anything else? Any other types of stuff that you would look into?

 

Katia: Yes, there are many kinds. For example looking at the military justice system which in many situations civilians³ are judged before a military justice system which it should not be. Also, extra-judicial killings⁴. For example freedom of speech also. So there are many kinds of human rights abuses in Latin America that you get to see.

 

Todd: So if somebody has a problem, if they have some type of human rights abuse, how do they get in contact with a lawyer like you? How does it work?

 

Katia: Actually I'm not a lawyer but yes first before you contact somebody like this NGO, you need to try to find justice in your own country before you go into a highter system like the Inter-American Commission and Court. So first you go into your local lawyer and local courts and local judges and try to see if you can get justice from there. When you tried that and you did not receive what you're entitled to, then you go outside of your national system and try to find another way to get justice which would be contacting for example an NGO like this one and try to bring this case into the Inter-American Commission.

 

Todd: So usually when people have a case like this or some type of case and they go to an NGO or some legal entity⁵ for help, obviously they don't have resources usually, correct, so it's all done free?

 

Katia: Yes. Many of these people have already spent a lot of money to try to get some kind of justice in their systems or sometimes don't have enough resources, so entities⁶ like this NGO will be free of charge and try to help people to get some kind of justice.

 

Todd: Sounds good. Hopefully everybody gets the justice they deserve.

 

Katia: I hope so too.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

legal

 

It was called legal internship.

 

We use the word legal to discuss things about the subject of law. Notice the following:

 

My sister's a legal assistant.

The legal system is slow but it works; most of the time.

abuses

 

Many cases that are related to human rights abuses in the American continent.

 

We use the word abuse to talk about wrongdoing, usually against other people. Notice the following:

 

Statistics for the year showed an increase in human rights abuses.

The organization's job is to document human rights abuses throughout the region.

dictatorship

 

Some are from the dictatorship, for example disappearances.

 

A dictatorship describes a country that is led by an unelected ruler with complete power, most often maintained by force. Notice the following:

 

His dictatorship ended in country wide celebration.

It was a long and brutal⁷ dictatorship.

justice

 

They have not received justice so they are still looking for some kind of clarification.

 

Justice means fair treatment under the law. Notice the following:

 

There was no justice under the dictatorship.

The people cried out for justice.

look into

 

Any other types of stuff that you would look into?

 

When we look into something, that means we seek information about it. Notice the following:

 

Don't worry, I'll look into it.

Can you look into that for me?

1 internship   

n.实习医师，实习医师期

参考例句：

• an internship at a television station 在电视台的实习期
• a summer internship with a small stipend 薪水微薄的暑期实习

2 disappearances   

n.消失( disappearance的名词复数 )；丢失；失踪；失踪案

参考例句：

• Most disappearances are the result of the terrorist activity. 大多数的失踪案都是恐怖分子造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The espionage, the betrayals, the arrests, the tortures, the executions, the disappearances will never cease. 间谍活动、叛党卖国、逮捕拷打、处决灭迹，这种事情永远不会完。 来自英汉文学

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

5 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

6 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

7 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。