Pursuant to Article 17 of the Statutes of the Association of Court Interpreters and Translators, the General Assembly, in its session of 20th June 2000, adopted the following

CODE OF ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF COURT INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORS

1. BASIC PRINCIPLES

1.1. Members of the (hereinafter: Member/Members) shall adhere to the provisions of this Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

1.2. In execution of obligations they have taken on, the Members shall perform their duties impartially and with due diligence, maintaining the dignity of the profession, and through their work and conduct justify the trust of judicial and other bodies and their clients seeking their services.

2. ATTITUDE TO WORK

2.1 The Members are free to decide whether to accept or decline any obligation relating to translation or interpreting. If a Member is not willing or not able to take an assignment, he/she is obliged to inform the client in a timely and unambiguous manner. A member shall not take on any obligation whose execution might involve actions that would infringe his/her professional work, this Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, or breach the confidentiality to the client, or put the client in an unfavourable situation.

2.2. The Member shall complete the assignment accepted within set deadlines. If force majeure should prevent the Member from executing such an obligation, the Member shall notify the client thereof without delay.

3.

3.1. The member shall keep confidential all the information disclosed by the client in the course and for the purpose of execution of the Member's assignment. Confidentiality also applies to any and all information the Member has learned during the execution of his/her work, which by their nature are deemed business secrets or, if made public, could have consequences for the client or some third party.

4. CONDUCT TOWARDS OTHER INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORS

4.1 The Member shall behave in an appropriate manner towards other interpreters and translators, and maintain the dignity of the profession. Unjustified oral and/or written attacks targeting a colleague of the same profession shall be deemed violation of this Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Any disputable issues regarding membership status and professional conduct shall be settled by arbitration of the Association of Court Interpreters and Translators.

4.2. The Members shall refrain from any form of unfair competition.

4.3. The Members shall not imperil, either through their actions of through refraining from action, the dignity of the profession, the colleagues or the Association of Court Interpreters and Translators, nor shall they abuse the entrusted tasks.