首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Moral responsibility is all very well, but what about military orders? Is it not the soldier’s duty to give instant obedience to
Moral responsibility is all very well, but what about military orders? Is it not the soldier’s duty to give instant obedience to
admin
2010-04-24
14
问题
Moral responsibility is all very well, but what about military orders? Is it not the soldier’s duty to give instant obedience to orders given by his military superiors? And apart from duty, will not the soldier suffer severe punishment, even death, if he refuses to do what he is ordered to? If, then, a soldier is told by his superior to burn this house or to shoot that prisoner, how can he be held criminally accountable on the ground that the burning or shooting was a violation of the laws of war?
These are some of the questions that are raised by the concept commonly called "superior orders", and its use as a defense in war crimes trials. It is an issue that must be as old as the laws of war themselves, and it emerged in legal guise over three centuries ago when, after the Stuart restoration in 1660, the commander of the guards at the trial and execution of Charles I was put on trial for treason and murder. The officer defended himself on the ground "that all I did was as a soldier, by the command of my superior officer whom I must obey or die," but the court gave him short shrift, saying that "When the command is traitorous, then the obedience to that command is also traitorous."
Though not precisely articulated, the rule that is necessarily implied by this decision is that it is the soldier’s duty to obey lawful orders, but that he may disobey--and indeed must, under some circum-stances-unlawful orders. Such has been the law of the United States since the birth of the nation. In 1804, Chief Justice John Marshall declared that superior orders would justify a subordinate’s conduct only "if not to perform a prohibited act," and there are many other early decisions to the same effect.
A strikingly illustrative case occurred in the wake of that conflict which most Englishmen have never heard (although their troops burned the White House) and which we call the War of 1812. Our country was baldly split by that war too and, at a time when the United States Navy was not especially popular in New England, the ship-in-the-line Independence was lying in Boston Harbor. A passer-by directed abusive language at a marine standing guard on the ship, and the marine, Bevans by name, ran his bayonet through the man. Charged with murder, Bevans produced evidence that the marines on the Independence had been ordered to bayonet anyone showing them disrespect. The case was tried before Justice Joseph Story, next to Marshall, the leading judicial figure of those years, who charged that any such order as Bevans had invoked "would be illegal and void," and, if given and put into practice, both the superior and the subordinate would be guilty of murder. In consequence, Bevans was convicted.
The order allegedly given to Bevans was pretty drastic, and Boston Harbor was not a battlefield; perhaps it was not too much to expect the marine to realize that literal compliance might lead to bad trouble. But it is only too easy to conceive of circumstances where the matter might not be at all clear. Does the subordinate obey at peril that the order may later be ruled illegal, or is protected unless he has a good reason to doubt its validity?
According to the fourth paragraph, Bevans was found guilty because he ______ .
选项
A、obeyed illegal orders
B、was accused of murder
C、disobeyed the superior orders
D、offended against the law of war
答案
A
解析
事实细节题。根据第四段最后两句话中对Bevans的判决可知是他犯了杀人罪,而理由是上级命令,但命令是违法的,所以他和下命令的人同样都有罪。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/PX2K777K
0
专业英语四级
相关试题推荐
Peopleunderstresshaveperformed________featsofstrength,likeliftinganautomobileoffanaccidentvictim.
Applicationshavepouredin_________assignmentstoremoteregionsofthecountry.
CampingHolidaysTomanypeople,campingseemstobeanidealwayofspendingaholiday./Notonlyisitcheaper,/itcan
Whatisthecharacteristicofcurrentaccount?
Acommonassumptionabouttheprivatesectorofeducationisthatitcatersonlytotheelite.【C1】______,recentresearchpoi
______wehaveallthematerialsready,weshouldbeginthenewtaskatonce.
Afterthecameramanhadtakenthreeorfourphotographsofthesoldierants,hefoundtheyhad______alloverhisfeet.
______isnotaseriousdisadvantageinlife.
TheAmericanbabyboomafterthewarmadetheU.S.adviceunconvincingtopoorcountriesthattheyrestraintheirbirths.Howeve
Helenlistenedcarefully______shemightdiscoverexactlywhatsheneeded.
随机试题
A.全血细胞减少,骨髓增生低下B.骨髓增生明显活跃,分类以中、晚幼杆状核细胞为主C.骨髓增生明显活跃,分类以原始和早幼细胞为主D.红系增生活跃,粒系和巨核细胞系多正常E.骨髓巨核细胞数正常或增加慢性粒细胞白血病慢性期的血象及骨髓象特点是
四关穴是指
当四格表的周边合计数不变时,若某格的实际频数有变化,则其相应的理论频数
地塞米松植入剂【处方】醋酸地塞米松30份聚D一乳酸(数均分子量9000)58份聚乙二醇(数均分子量1000)12份关于地塞米松植入剂说法错误的是()。
甲系某发电厂工人,一日晚当其值夜班时,发现一机组出现故障,有引发火灾的危险。但因对厂领导不满,为进行报复甲不采取措施排除故障,最终导致火灾。造成近100万元的损失。关于甲的行为定性,下列哪些选项是正确的?()
某建筑工程竣工验收后投入使用,因建设单位擅自改动主体结构引发质量问题,并造成临近用户的损失,关于该质量问题责任的说法,正确的是()。
WindowsXP“资源管理器”中,使用“文件”菜单中的“发送”命令,可以将软盘上的文件复制到硬盘上。()
银行个人理财业务人员的下列做法没有违反《中国银行业从业人员职业操守》中“兼职”有关规定的是()。
17,5,24,38,28,()。
Musiccomesinmanyforms;mostcountrieshaveastyleoftheirown.【C1】______theturnofthecenturywhenjazzwasborn,Americ
最新回复
(
0
)