those responsible = perpetrators?

English translation: No

12:12 Aug 31, 2013

English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
Law/Patents - Law (general)

English term or phrase: those responsible = perpetrators?

Hello everyone,

This might explain why during the mission, the Special Rapporteur observed that the term “torture” was not part of the Jamaican lexicon. However, its absence in the law does not mean that it does not exist in practice.” In their concluding observations, the Human Rights Committee said “While noting that torture is prohibited under the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, the Committee is concerned that torture is not defined as a separate offence under the State party’s criminal legislation. The Committee is also concerned about the continued occurrence of torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement authorities, the limited number of convictions of those responsible**, and the insufficient sanctions imposed on the perpetrators**

In Jamaica, the focus is largely on the perpetration of offenses related to extra judicial killings by security forces and other forms of police abuse. Historically...

Do I understand correctly that "those responsible" and "perpetrators" are the same persons? Or does "those responsible" imply persons who only make decisions regarding torture/ill-treatment while perpetrators are persons who actually torture/mistreat people?

Thank you.

Mikhail Korolev KudoZ activity Questions: 2254 (3 open) (8 closed without grading) Answers: 130
Local time: 04:18

Selected answer:No

Explanation:
"those responsible" refers those who give the orders and "perpetrators" are those who carry out the torture. Those can of course sometimes be the same people, but here the distinction implies that that is not the case.

Selected response from:

Victoria Britten
France
Local time: 02:18

Grading comment

Many thanks to everyone.
Thank you, Victoria.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

4 +3

Victoria Britten

here, most likely yes; normally, not so much so

Łukasz Gos-Furmankiewicz

Discussion entries: 3

Answers

26 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

Victoria Britten
France
Local time: 02:18
Native speaker of:

English

Grading comment

Many thanks to everyone.
Thank you, Victoria.

5 hrs confidence:

here, most likely yes; normally, not so much so

Explanation:
In loose parlance, 'those responsible' include anybody bearing legal or even moral responsibility for what wrongs are committed. On the other hand, here, 'those responsible' and 'perpetrators' are used as synonyms. The source text you have permits no other construction. Let's take a closer look again:

the limited number of convictions of those responsible**, and the insufficient sanctions imposed on the perpetrators**

Not enough convinctions handed down against all responsible parties in general, but disappointing judicial leniency only with regard to direct perpetrators? No, that doesn't sound reasonable. It is, at least in my opinion, more likely that the author intended to avoid repetition.

Łukasz Gos-Furmankiewicz
Poland
Local time: 02:18
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Polish
PRO pts in category: 8

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those responsible = perpetrators?

English translation: No

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