英語小達(dá)人每天10分鐘 187 A rich father

[00:00.12]Obituary; Lord Bingham;Tom Bingham (Baron Bingham of Cornhill), defender of liberty, died on September 11th, aged 76; 訃告;賓翰勛爵;自由捍衛(wèi)者湯姆·賓翰(康希爾的賓翰男爵)于9月11日逝世，享年76歲; [00:13.11]By general agreement, he was the greatest English judge since the second world war: 他是公認(rèn)的二戰(zhàn)以來英國最偉大的法官： [00:18.59]the only man in the modern age to be, in short order, Master of the Rolls, 在當(dāng)代只有他曾在短期內(nèi)同時擔(dān)任案卷主事官、 [00:23.28]Lord Chief Justice (head of the judiciary in England and Wales) and senior law lord in the House of Lords. 首席大法官(英格蘭和威爾士司法機(jī)構(gòu)的首長)及上議院高級法官。 [00:30.54]But to himself, as he strode out at weekends across the brooding hills of the Welsh borders, Tom Bingham was just a small, 但是對他來說，當(dāng)他在周末跨越威爾士邊界的憂郁的山林時，湯姆·賓翰只是一個微不足道的小人物， [00:38.31]jobbing figure adding another grey stone or two to the ancient, intricate web of walls known as English common law. 他整天忙碌于為一面古老而錯綜復(fù)雜的的墻上增添一兩塊石頭，這面墻就是英國的普通法。 [00:46.48]As a passionate historian, his subject at Balliol, he liked to put himself in a procession of judicial folk: 作為一個充滿激情的歷史學(xué)家，賓翰效力于巴爾·利奧爾國王。他喜歡效仿一系列關(guān)于法官的民間事跡： [00:54.00]12th-century judges touring the shires to set up the royal writ, 12世紀(jì)的法官遍訪整個郡縣來起草皇室文書， [00:58.12]17th-century lawyers wrestling over the rights of king and Parliament. 17世紀(jì)的律師與國王和議會奪權(quán)。 [01:03.09]But the most interesting era of all, he thought, for a judge devoted to defending liberty, was the age he lived and worked in. 但是他認(rèn)為，對于一個想用一生來捍衛(wèi)自由的法官來說，最適合的時代就是他們現(xiàn)在所生活和工作的時代。 [01:10.56]His years at the apex of English justice involved coping with a government that tended, 在他擔(dān)任英國司法機(jī)構(gòu)最高長官期間，他的職責(zé)包括 [01:17.35]in the name of national security, to take the law into its own hands. But the rule of law was Tom Bingham's speciality. 防止政府以國家安全的名義讓法律服從于政府。而依法行政正是他的專長。 [01:26.14]A centre for the study of it, named after him, opens next month. 一個以他命名的研究中心將于下月成立，專門研究依法行政。 [01:29.53]However loosely others defined it, for him its core was this: 無論別人對于依法行政的定義如何隨意，他有自己的核心原則： [01:35.00]“that all persons and authorities within the state, whether public or private, 本國的所有個人及機(jī)構(gòu)，無論是公有還是私有，都應(yīng)該受到法律的束縛， [01:39.39]should be bound by and entitled to the benefit of laws publicly made…and publicly administered in the courts.” 同時享有法律所賦予的權(quán)利。法律是公眾制定的，也將公開地在法庭得到執(zhí)行。 [01:47.07]This meant not only that citizens should be spared the midnight knock on the door, the show trial and the gas chamber, 這不僅意味著法律應(yīng)該保護(hù)公民不在半夜受到騷擾，避免公審及免于毒室的迫害， [01:54.36]but also that the nine foreign men held at Belmarsh prison in London, 還意味著被關(guān)在倫敦貝爾馬什監(jiān)獄的九名外國人也應(yīng)受到法律的保護(hù)。 [01:59.25]kept there indefinitely by the Home Office on suspicion of terrorism and with no prospect of a trial, had been detained illegally. 他們由于被懷疑參與恐怖主義行動而被英國內(nèi)政部非法逮捕并無限期關(guān)押。 [02:07.37]This ruling, in 2004, stunned the government. 2004年他的這一裁決讓政府大為震驚。 [02:12.27]In 2005 came another Bingham bombshell: evidence obtained by torture, 2005年賓翰又一次讓人大跌眼鏡：他宣布凡是通過嚴(yán)刑逼供得到的證詞， [02:17.43]no matter what the pretext, was unreliable, offensive and inadmissible in court. 無論是什么內(nèi)容，在法庭上都是不可靠的、無禮的、不可接受的。 [02:23.16]It was clear to him too that the invasion of Iraq, based on no hard evidence of Saddam's evil intent 他也很清楚知道，英國進(jìn)軍伊拉克沒有關(guān)于薩達(dá)姆的惡意的確鑿證據(jù)， [02:30.01]and unauthorised by the Security Council acting collectively, was a serious breach of international law; 也沒有得到要求統(tǒng)一行動的安理會的批準(zhǔn)，明顯違反了國際法。 [02:37.08]but his opinion was neither sought, nor volunteered, at the time. 但是當(dāng)時他的這一看法沒有等到認(rèn)可也沒有公諸于世。 [02:42.49]After the Belmarsh ruling, the Guardian cried that he was “a radical…leading a new English revolution”. 貝爾馬什案以后，《衛(wèi)報》高呼他為領(lǐng)導(dǎo)英國新一代革命的激進(jìn)主義者。 [02:49.26]Lord Bingham didn't dislike that; it raised one of his wry smiles; but nor did he think it “at all apt”. 對此賓翰沒有表示反感，他只是苦笑。但是他也不覺得那樣說是完全合適的。 [02:56.39]He was politically neutral, as judges had to be. 在政治上他是中立的，因?yàn)榉ü俨坏貌贿@樣。 [03:00.13]He did not consider himself at odds with the Blair government; 他認(rèn)為他和布萊爾政府不是對立的， [03:04.07]it had achieved one of the things he had fought hardest for, 因?yàn)椴既R爾政府實(shí)現(xiàn)了他盡力爭取的目標(biāo)之一， [03:07.36]the incorporation into English law in the 1998 Human Rights Act of the European Convention on Human Rights. 即在1998年將歐洲大會人權(quán)法案中關(guān)于人權(quán)的規(guī)定吸納入英國法律之中。 [03:16.17]But his very passion for those rights brought him bounding to their defence at any sign of erosion: 但正是他對這些權(quán)利的熱衷使他在防范任何法律漏洞的跡象時表現(xiàn)得很活躍。 [03:22.09]rumours of torture, arrests of hecklers, carelessness for habeas corpus. Vigilance was vital. 這些跡象包括關(guān)于酷刑的謠言，逮捕質(zhì)問者，人身保護(hù)權(quán)的疏忽。而機(jī)警是至關(guān)重要的。 [03:28.47]It was necessary, too, to keep judges independent. 保持法官的獨(dú)立性也是必要的， [03:33.01]He mused on how constrained they were: unable to initiate or annul anything, and subject to the sovereignty of Parliament. 他尋思著法官到底受到了多大的束縛：無法建立或廢除任何法令，服從于議會主權(quán)。 [03:41.35]But he did pretty well, considering. 但是對于他的條件來說，他已經(jīng)做得很好了。 [03:44.03]At the head of public inquiries, he delivered stinging verdicts against oil companies 當(dāng)他領(lǐng)導(dǎo)公眾問詢處時，嚴(yán)厲制裁了 [03:49.07]and compliant civil servants for contravening sanctions on Rhodesia, 違反有關(guān)津巴布韋法令的石油公司及附炎趨勢的公務(wù)員， [03:53.49]and against the “deficient” Bank of England for failing to foresee the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. 英格蘭銀行也因未能預(yù)見國際商業(yè)信貸銀行的解體而受到法律制裁。 [04:01.39]Only once did he disappoint liberals, when in 2008 the law lords ruled that the Serious Fraud Office was right, 他唯一一次讓自由派失望的在2008年，當(dāng)時上議院高級法官裁定， [04:08.50]in view of Saudi threats, to ditch its inquiry into BAE Systems' arms sales to Saudi Arabia. 英國重大詐騙辦公室由于沙特阿拉伯的威脅而終止調(diào)查英國航天公司向沙特阿拉伯出售武器這一事件是正確的。 [04:17.11]At the Bar he was a fine judge, dexterous in argument and scrupulously fair in his rulings. 在法庭上，他是一個好法官，能言善辯，裁決極其公正。 [04:23.36]He became a QC at 38, and was made Lord Chief Justice, exceptionally, 他38歲時成為高級律師，并被破格提升為最高法院首席法官， [04:29.15]when his background was in commercial rather than criminal law. 當(dāng)時他的專業(yè)背景是商業(yè)法而不是犯罪法。 [04:33.24]All through his career he was curious about, and open to, other legal systems. 在他的職業(yè)生涯中，他對其他的法律體系很感興趣，也坦誠地接受。 [04:38.16]He relished the internationalising of the law, hoped for an “enjoyable courtship” with European civil codes, 他熱衷于法律的國際化，希望和歐洲民法典締結(jié)“美好姻緣”。 [04:45.58]and was pleased to work in an age when England was less and less a legal island. 他很樂意工作在一個英格蘭的司法體系日益頹敗的時代。 [04:50.43]But he kept a judge's liking for precedent. 但是他保持著一個法官慣有的喜好。 [04:54.39]The new way of appointing judges, through the Judicial Appointments Commission, 他覺得通過法官任命委員會任命法官的新方式存在風(fēng)險， [04:59.18]raised for him the risk of political lines of questioning in the American style. 即政客們會質(zhì)疑這是在沿襲美國人的風(fēng)格 [05:04.31](“They are not going to ask them if they are fond of cats”.) (即不管你喜不喜歡都強(qiáng)塞給你)。 [05:07.46]He thought the old system, whereby the Lord Chancellor tapped you on the shoulder and invited you to apply, had worked pretty well. 他認(rèn)為以前的任命方式，即大法官拍拍你的肩膀邀請你申請法官這一職位，一直成效顯著。 [05:15.54]He also disliked fixed sentences, insisting that judges should be able to exercise flexibility and discretion— 他也很反感墨守成規(guī)，他認(rèn)為法官應(yīng)該靈活而謹(jǐn)慎地斷案， [05:23.54]especially in murder cases, where he campaigned against the mandatory life term. 特別是謀殺案。他曾經(jīng)為謀殺罪的強(qiáng)制性終身監(jiān)禁判罰進(jìn)行過抗?fàn)帯? [05:29.16]On the other hand, talking of American influences, England's new Supreme Court delighted him, 在另一方面，當(dāng)談及美國法律體系對英國的影響時，英國新一代的最高法院讓他很滿意， [05:35.44]because it removed the law lords from the possible taint of politics at Westminster. 因?yàn)樗尫ü賯儽苊馐艿阶h會的政客們可能的影響。 [05:40.05]He should have led them into the new court in 2009, but had left just a little too soon for his cottage in Wales. 他本應(yīng)該在2009年將這些美國的經(jīng)驗(yàn)引進(jìn)到新法庭的，但當(dāng)時他急著回到他威爾士的雅舍，就早離開了那么一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)。 [05:48.35]For all his high positions, his face was never familiar. 他位高權(quán)重，所以人們對他都是只聞其聲未見其人。 [05:53.10]He preferred to work behind the scenes. 而他也更喜歡低調(diào)地幕后工作。 [05:55.57]“Cornhill” referred to his Welsh hamlet, not the eminence in the City of London. “康希爾”指的是他所處的一個威爾士的小村莊，不是倫敦的名流。 [06:01.26]You would not have noticed him as he strolled round the literary festival at Hay-on-Wye every year, 在每年的海伊文學(xué)節(jié)期間，他在海伊閑逛都沒人認(rèn)出他， [06:07.11]or even in the Strand. But on the ancient field-walls, his stones remain. 甚至在倫敦中心的濱海街也是這樣。但是在那面古老的“外墻”上，他所放的“石頭”將被銘記。

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