General Terms and Conditions for interpreting services
The following General Terms and Conditions are quality standards based largely on the recommendations of the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC). These conditions result in customer convenience: they ensure an optimal performance and the overall success of your conference.
1. Before the conference
For their technical and terminological preparation the client shall send the interpreters a complete set of documents (programme, agenda, list of conference participants, short career biographies of the speakers, presentations and drafts, minutes of the previous meeting, corporate profile, etc.) as early as possible, but not later than 10 days before the beginning of the conference.
If a text has to be read aloud during the conference, the interpreters should receive a copy of it beforehand. The client shall ask the speaker to read slowly.
If films are shown during a meeting, interpretation of the sound-track can only be provided if the sound is transmitted directly to the interpreters’ headphones, the script has been supplied to the interpreters beforehand and the commentary is spoken at a normal speed.
2. Technical requirements
The following ISO standards lay down the requirements for simultaneous interpreting: 2603:2016 (permanent booths), 4043:2016 (mobile booths), 20109:2016 (equipment) and 20108:2017 (quality and transmission of sound and image input). If these standards are not complied with, the quality of the booths and technical equipment is not good enough to enable the team to do its work satisfactorily or they represent a danger to health, the team has no obligation to provide simultaneous interpretation.
The use of television screens, either in order to improve the direct view of the speaker and the hall, or even, in exceptional cases, as its replacement, is only acceptable with the advance consent of the interpreters involved.
For cases where remote interpretation is used (any form of teleconference or videoconference requiring the use of a video screen or monitor), it is absolutely necessary to respect the standards mentioned above as well as ISO/PAS 24019:2020 (simultaneous interpreting delivery platforms), and to ensure that the whole range of frequencies between 125 and 15,000 Hz is being provided in the case of an ISDN transmission.
3. Working hours
A day’s interpretation shall not normally last for longer than two periods of 3 hours each and separated by a break of at least 1½ hours. If this length of time is likely to be exceeded, the interpreters’ team will be reinforced in advance or else replaced by a fresh team.
4. Services and confidentiality
The functions of the interpreter shall exclude the written translation of texts and be confined to the interpretation of spoken proceedings. The interpreter shall be morally responsible for the integrity of his or her work and shall not bow to any pressure in performing it. The distribution of work among the members of the team will be established by the interpreters themselves. The interpreter shall be bound by the strictest professional secrecy. This obligation shall survive the termination of the contract.
5. Purpose and copyright
The services of the interpreter shall as a general rule be provided solely for direct and immediate use by the listeners; no recording may be made, either by the listeners or anyone else, without the prior consent of the interpreters. Copyright and all other intellectual property rights in the interpretation shall be vested in the interpreter. The remuneration of the recording, broadcasting, streaming and rights of re-use shall be subject to written agreement between the client and the interpreter.
6. Fees and expenses
The day fee includes both the thorough preparation of the conference materials before the conference and the interpreting work on site. In case of cancellation of contract 100% of the agreed fee will be charged.
The remuneration and the allowances are determined by mutual agreement. Travel conditions should be such that they do not impair either the interpreter’s health or the quality of her/his work following a journey.
Payment in full to the interpreter shall be effected not later than 14 days from the date of invoice by the method of payment specified. All bank charges shall be borne by the Client.