International Association of Conference Translators
PROFESSIONAL CODE
Article 1
The provisions of the present Code, which constitutes the ethical code of the profession, are binding on all the members of the
Association.
Article 2
Translators1
shall not engage in any form of activity incompatible with their duties or likely to be detrimental to the dignity of the profession.
Article 3
Translators shall observe professional secrecy. At no time shall they communicate to anybody information which they have obtained
in the course of their duties and which has not been made public. They are not relieved of this obligation on the expiry of their contract.
Article 4
The translator shall not knowingly accept an appointment or work which is beyond his or her competence.
Article 5
Translators shall maintain friendly relations with their colleagues and observe their duties of moral support and solidarity.
They shall refrain from all forms of unfair competition.
Article 6
Any dispute between members of the Association on professional questions may be submitted to the Disciplinary Board.
Article 7
Except in cases of force majeure, translators shall not undertake duties other than those provided for in their contract.
Article 8
Translators shall not consent to work in conditions likely to be detrimental to the quality of their work. Should a member of
the Association be offered a contract which is not consistent with best practices, that member shall, unless he or she decides to refuse the contract, make the appropriate reservations. In either case the matter shall be referred to the Executive Committee
and the latter shall take the appropriate action.
Article 9
Each member of the Association shall select a professional domicile, i.e. the only place where he or she may be recruited as
local staff on a contract pursuant to an agreement concluded between AITC and an employer or group of employers.
The professional domicile may not be changed for a period of less than a year. Any change shall be notified without delay to
the Executive Secretary.
Article 10
Except in cases of force majeure, the translator shall not withdraw from a contract unless he or she can give reasonable notice,
supply a valid reason and propose a competent substitute.
Article 11
Members of the Association shall refrain from any action detrimental to the Association.
Article 12
Members of the Association who fail to observe the provisions of this Code shall be liable to the disciplinary measures specified
in the Constitution.
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1 The
term “translator” is defined in Article 2 of the AITC Constitution.
In addition to complying with the provisions of the Professional Code of the International Association of Conference Translators,
the contractual translator shall respect the following rules relating to his or her work with international conferences and organizations, as defined in article 2, para. 2 (a), of the AITC Constitution.
Article 1
The contractual translator shall be motivated at all times by a concern to establish or maintain relations of mutual trust with his or her employer,
in accordance with their respective interests and those of the Association.
Article 2
The work of the contractual translator shall be of the highest possible quality. The contractual translator shall refuse any task that he or she
feels is beyond his or her competence. The contractual translator shall respect the established deadlines, meet the terms agreed with the employer for the physical presentation of the translated document and undertake any linguistic, terminological or other
research that may be necessary, on the understanding that the employer will provide any documents and reference material likely to contribute to the quality of his or her work.
Article 3
The contractual translator shall not be obliged to undertake elaborate formatting of translated documents (columns, tables, graphs, etc.), particularly
those provided by electronic means. Any operations of this nature shall be the subject of a separate agreement and shall be remunerated separately.
Article 4
The contractual translator shall guarantee that his or her translation is the exclusive product of his or her own work, and shall not engage in
subcontracting, except by agreement with the employer.
Article 5
The contractual translator shall respect the confidential nature of the texts and data provided.
Article 6
The contractual translator shall refrain from any action likely to impair the solidarity of the profession. He or she shall accordingly decline
any invitation to tender or proposal of work that would entail acceptance of conditions or terms not in line with established norms.
Article 7
In order to update his or her skills, the contractual translator shall keep informed of innovations relating to the translation profession and
its working tools and to his or her fields of specialization. He or she shall take advantage of every opportunity for vocational training offered by the employer or any other source, on the understanding that the employer will facilitate access to such means
of training.
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1 Text
adopted by the General Assembly on 27 June 1998 and amended on 19 June 2010.
