Professional Standards of AIIC Italia
The International Association of Conference Interpreters in Italy (hereinafter AIIC Italia) herewith adopts the following Professional Standards whose purpose is to ensure an optimum quality of work performed with due consideration being given to the physical and mental constraints inherent in the exercise of the profession.
Article 1 - Professional address
1. Members of AIIC Italia shall declare a single professional address. It shall be published in AIIC Italia’s list of members.
2. Members in the permanent employment of an organisation’s language department must declare in the list of members that they are employed by that organisation. Their professional address shall be at the place of their registered employment.
Article 2 - Contracts for recruitment
1. In order to avoid any difficulty between the parties, members of the Association shall not accept any contract for recruitment unless they know the precise conditions thereof and are certain that their identity and remuneration are known to the organiser of the conference.
2. The Association shall provide standard forms of contract for those of its members wishing to use them.
3. Any contract for the employment of a member of the Association must stipulate that the interpretation is intended solely for the immediate audition in the conference room. No recording may be made without the prior consent of the interpreters involved, in accordance with the provisions of international copyright agreements.
Article 3 - Cancellation of contract
1. Cancellation by the interpreter.
Members of the Association shall not withdraw from a contract unless they are able:
a) to give sufficient notice;
b) to give sound reasons, and;
c) to recommend an equally competent replacement;
2. Cancellation by the organiser.
Contracts should include a clause covering the possible cancellation of an assignment by the organiser, subject to appropriate safeguards for the interpreter.
Article 4 - Remuneration
Except for those cases where the Association has signed an Agreement, members are free to set their level of remuneration.
Remuneration for services rendered shall be determined by factors such as interpreter skill sets, training and experience, specialised and technical subject matter, conference duration and workload, as well as any necessary preparation, expenses incurred and additional statutory charges.
Article 5 - Non remunerated work
Whenever members of the Association provide their services free-of-charge for conferences of a charitable or humanitarian nature, they shall respect the conditions laid down in the Code of Professional Ethics and in these Professional Standards.
Article 6 - Working Conditions
With a view to ensuring the best quality interpretation, members of the Association:
With a view to ensuring the best quality interpretation, members of the Association:
1. shall endeavour always to secure satisfactory conditions of sound, visibility and comfort;
2. shall not, as a general rule, when interpreting simultaneously in a booth, work either alone or without the availability of a colleague to relieve them should the need arise;
3. shall try to ensure that teams of conference interpreters are formed in such a way as to avoid the systematic use of relay;
4. shall not agree to undertake either simultaneous interpretation without a booth unless the circumstances are exceptional and the quality of interpretation work is not thereby impaired; shall require a direct view of the speaker and the room except in exceptional circumstances where a direct view is not possible, provided the arrangements comply with the Association’s appropriate technical specifications and rules;
5. shall require that working documents and texts to be read out at the conference be sent to them in advance;
6. shall request a briefing session whenever appropriate;
7. shall not perform any other duties except that of conference interpreter at conferences for which they have been taken on as interpreters.
Article 7 - Team of interpreters
Given the physical and mental fatigue that are caused by sustained concentration, certain constraints will necessarily apply to the composition of teams in order to guarantee that the work done will be of an optimum quality. The minimum number of interpreters required to make up a team is a function of these constraints as well as the mode of interpretation, the number of languages used, the language classifications of the interpreters making up the team, the nature of the conference, its duration and the workload.
Given the physical and mental fatigue that are caused by sustained concentration, certain constraints will necessarily apply to the composition of teams in order to guarantee that the work done will be of an optimum quality. The minimum number of interpreters required to make up a team is a function of these constraints as well as the mode of interpretation, the number of languages used, the language classifications of the interpreters making up the team, the nature of the conference, its duration and the workload.
1. Consecutive Interpretation
|
Number of languages used |
Minimum number of interpreters |
|
2 languages into 2 |
2 |
|
3 languages into 3 |
3 |
Under exceptional circumstances and provided the principles of quality and health are taken into full consideration, it shall be possible to recruit just one interpreter instead of two or two interpreters instead of three.
2. Whispered Interpretation
For a conference involving the interpretation of one or two languages into one other language and where there are no more than two listeners, whether or not consecutive interpretation is provided in the other direction, at least two interpreters shall be required.
3. Simultaneous Interpretation
Teams of interpreters must be put together in such a way as to avoid the systematic use of relay. However, when there is no alternative to the use of relay for a given language, the team shall comprise at least two interpreters able to provide a relay from that language. In addition, if the relay is provided from a two-way booth, at least three interpreters shall work in that booth.
As a general rule, a team is composed of at least two interpreters per language and per booth. This is to ensure adequate coverage of all language combinations and to guarantee the necessary quality.
The number of interpretation booths is the same as the number of target languages, except for the case of two-language conferences where a single booth may suffice.
See Team Strength Table.
|
Number of languages used in the conference room |
Number of booths |
Number of interpreters (1) |
|
One-language conference: into one other language into two other languages (2) |
1 2 |
2* 4 |
|
Two-language conference: into one of the languages used into both languages used into three languages (2+1) into four languages (2+2)…. (2) |
1 o 2 3 4 |
3** 5 7 |
|
Three-language conference: into one of the languages used into two of the languages used into all three languages used into four languages (3+1) into five languages (3-2) …(2) |
2 3 4 5 |
3 5*** 7 9 |
|
Four-language conference: into one of the languages used into two of the languages used into three of the languages used into all four languages into five languages (4+1) into six languages (4+2) ...(2) |
2 3 4 5 6 |
3 6 8*** 10 12 |
|
Five-language conference: into one of the languages used into two of the languages used into three of the languages used into four of the languages used into all five languages used into six languages (4+1) into seven languages (4-2) ... (2) |
2 3 4 5 6 7 |
4 6 8 10 12 14 |
Notes on the Team Strength Table:
(1) This number shall be increased if:
- the working hours are long.
- the language combinations are such that the minimum number of interpreters shown on the table is insufficient to cover them.
- the conference involves the presentation of a large number of written statements or is of a technical or scientific nature requiring extensive preparation.
(2) And so on: each booth working non-stop must have at least two interpreters. Moreover, in the case of relay via a two-way booth, such booth shall have at least three interpreters.
* An interpreter shall not, as a general rule, work alone in a simultaneous interpretation booth, without the availability of a colleague to relieve her or him should the need arise.
** One of whom must be able to relieve each of the other two. In certain circumstances this number may be reduced to two (particularly for short meetings or meetings of a general nature, provided that each of the two interpreters can work into both languages).
*** Under certain circumstances and providing the principles of quality and health are fully respected, this number may be reduced by one (short meetings or meetings of a general nature).
4. Technologies for simultaneous interpretation
Interpreters listen to and analyse what is said in the source language-culture and transpose it into the target language-culture, using ad hoc technical equipment and, generally, from an acoustically insulated booth with a direct view of the meeting room. Other technologies for simultaneous interpretation may be used, provided that quality is not impaired.(Source: UNI standard).
The Association shall adopt a set of principles for interpretation in videoconference and remote settings.
Article 8 - Interpreter's working day
Given the constraints related to quality and health, the normal duration of an interpreter's working day shall not exceed two sessions of between two-and-a-half and three hours each.
Given the constraints related to quality and health, the normal duration of an interpreter's working day shall not exceed two sessions of between two-and-a-half and three hours each.
Article 9 - Non working days (during a conference)
Contracts should include a clause covering non-working days as well as travel days, days permitted for adaptation following a long journey and briefing days, as appropriate.
Contracts should include a clause covering non-working days as well as travel days, days permitted for adaptation following a long journey and briefing days, as appropriate.
Article 10 - Travel
Contracts should include a clause covering travel arrangements, as appropriate.
Contracts should include a clause covering travel arrangements, as appropriate.
Article 11 - Rest days
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.
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.
After a long journey, or after a journey involving a major shift in time zones, scheduling of rest days should be considered.
Article 12 - Accommodation and subsistence
Contracts should include a clause covering accommodation and subsistence arrangements or the payment of a daily allowance, as appropriate.
Contracts should include a clause covering accommodation and subsistence arrangements or the payment of a daily allowance, as appropriate.
Article 13 - Agreements
Members shall be unconditionally bound by the conditions applicable to freelance members working for organisations that have signed an agreement with the Association and which are contained in said agreements that are the result of negotiations dealing, in particular, with working conditions, remuneration, team strength and social security.
Members shall be unconditionally bound by the conditions applicable to freelance members working for organisations that have signed an agreement with the Association and which are contained in said agreements that are the result of negotiations dealing, in particular, with working conditions, remuneration, team strength and social security.
Article 14 - Outside the agreement sector
When members of AIIC work in meetings for which no agreement has been signed with the Association, the application of freely negotiated conditions is permitted, in compliance with the Code of Ethics and Professional Rules.
When members of AIIC work in meetings for which no agreement has been signed with the Association, the application of freely negotiated conditions is permitted, in compliance with the Code of Ethics and Professional Rules.
Article 15 - Amendment procedure
Proposals for amending these regulations, submitted after seeking legal advice, shall be examined by the Assembly which decides by a majority of 2/3 of the votes cast.
Proposals for amending these regulations, submitted after seeking legal advice, shall be examined by the Assembly which decides by a majority of 2/3 of the votes cast.