Questions 16～20

UNDER a grey sky on October 27th, Larry Bowoto provided an improbable splash of colour in his Nigerian agbada gown before the federal courthouse in San Francisco. He is the lead plaintiff in a case against Chevron, an oil giant based in California, over something that happened in May 1998 on a platform operated by Chevron’s Nigerian subsidiary, nine miles off the Niger Delta. A group of more than 100 people, including Mr Bowoto, took over the platform for three days to protest against what Chevron was doing in the delta. The protest ended when Nigerian troops arrived and shot at the protesters, killing two. Mr Bowoto was injured and is now suing for damages.

Bowoto v Chevron is likely to test how the American legal system can be applied to human rights in other countries. The civil suit is being brought under the 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act, one of America’s oldest laws (it was signed by George Washington). The act allows foreigners to bring civil cases before American courts arising from violations of law or treaty anywhere in the world. It was invoked just twice before 1980, when it was used by a victim of state repression in Paraguay. Since then the act has been invoked in around 100 cases. In 1993 a case against Radovan Karadzic for crimes against humanity in Bosnia broadened its applicability to non-state actors. In 1996 a group of Burmese villagers brought a suit against Unocal, another oil company (subsequently bought by Chevron), over the use of forced labour by Burmese soldiers guarding the route of a gas pipeline. The case was settled in 2004.

Opponents of the use of the Alien Tort Claims Act to sue companies for alleged human-rights violations associated with their operations include the Bush administration and many companies. They fear it could unleash a flood of suits and interfere with foreign policy. Proponents argue that international law has evolved since 1789, and now encompasses well-defined human rights that fall squarely within the act’s simple wording. In 2004 America’s Supreme Court affirmed that the act applied to violations of modern international laws as well as older ones, but its ruling left doubts about corporate cases. “It’s still a question of whether aiding and abetting is sufficient [to bring a case],” says William Dodge, a professor at the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law.

Bowoto v Chevron will test just this point. The plaintiffs say the Nigerian troops were transported to the platform in helicopters provided by Chevron and its local partner. Chevron says the protesters were hostage-takers who initiated the violence on the platform and are now motivated by the possibility of winning damages. Bowoto v Chevron has been making its way through America’s courts for nearly a decade and has been refined to a narrow Alien Tort Claims suit, making it an ideal test case. Marco Simons, a lawyer with EarthRights International, one of the groups representing the plaintiffs, notes that the case has survived around a dozen motions for dismissal.

Nearly all Alien Tort Claims suits against companies have been settled on confidential terms. Only two have gone to trial. “Extractive industries especially need to go where the resources are—they have to do business with regimes with notorious records,” says Tyler Giannini, a specialist in human rights at Harvard Law School, who was one of the lawyers who argued the case against Unocal. “These cases are important because they are setting standards for what is acceptable and what isn’t.”

But those standards are now in flux. “Some day the Supreme Court will take this on,” says Mr Dodge. And if Bowoto v Chevron does not make it that far, other cases are in the pipeline: in February a case against Royal Dutch Shell, another oil giant, will get under way in New York on behalf of Ken Saro Wiwa, a hanged Nobel laureate, and other Nigerian plaintiffs.

16. Which of the following serves best as the title of the passage?

A. How far can America’s legal system be applied to foreign human-rights cases?

B. The 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act.

C. Bowoto v Chevron case

D. Will the Nigerians win?

17. What does the word "unleash" mean?

A. expedite

B. relieve

C. impel

D. give rise to

18. Which of the following is TRUE about the 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act?

A. It wasone of America’s oldest laws and was signed by George Washington.

B. It allows foreigners to bring criminal cases before American courts arising from violations of law or treaty anywhere in the world.

C. It allows courts in U.S. to solve almost any cases when invoked.

D. Since it was invoked in from time to time, people around the United states have come to universal acceptance of the act.

19. According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

A. Although Bush Administration worries about the compatibility with its foreign policy, the Superem Court affirmed its application to the international laws.

B. It has been well-accepted that international law has evolved since 1789, and now encompasses well-defined human rights that fall squarely within the act’s simple wording.

C. Providing necessities can also bring a case to court.

D. Rulings of these cases are important because they can be cited as test cases and set up as standards for ensuing lawsuits.

20. What does the word "in flux" mean?

A. in danger

B. in dispute

C. in tow

D. in chains

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