Nederlands Genootschap van Tolken
en Vertalers
Netherlands Society of Interpreters and Translators
(NGTV)
Terms and Conditions*
*In the event of discrepancies or ambiguity between the original Dutch
version of these Terms and Conditions and this translation, the Dutch text
shall prevail.
Article 1 - Applicability of the terms and
conditions
1.1 These terms of business shall apply to all
transactions and agreements between the NGTV interpreter/translator
(hereinafter: the translator) and the principal, in respect of which the
translator has declared these terms and conditions to be applicable, to the
exclusion of the principal's terms of business unless the translator has agreed
in writing that they shall apply.
1.2 These terms and conditions shall also apply
to all agreements with the translator, the execution of which may require the
involvement of third parties.
Article 2 – Quotations; entering
into an agreement
2.1 All quotations and cost estimates shall be without obligation.
2.2 The contract shall take effect on the
acceptance in writing by the principal of the quotation submitted by the
translator, or - should no quotation have been submitted - by the confirmation
in writing by the translator of a commission granted him by the principal. In
the event of the translator being unable to examine the complete text within
five working days before submitting his quotation he may however retract the
cost estimate and lead times he has quoted after the principal has accepted the
quotation. All quotations and fees stated shall be excluding VAT (BTW) unless
it has clearly been agreed to be otherwise.
2.3 The translator may consider his principal
to be the person who has commissioned the work, unless the said person has
clearly stated that he is acting on behalf of, on the orders of and on the
account of a third party and providing the name and address of the said third
party are concurrently submitted to the translator.
Article 3 - Alteration/withdrawal
of commission
3.1 If, after the contract has been concluded,
the principal makes any alteration other than
minor changes to the original commission, the translator shall be
entitled to adapt the lead time and/or remuneration or to reject the
commission.
3.2 In the event of a commission being
withdrawn by the principal he shall be liable for payment of that part of the
commission that has already been executed and for payment on the basis of a fee
per hour for research that has been undertaken with respect to the remainder of
the commission.
3.3 Should the translator have reserved time
for the execution of the commission and not be able to use this time for other
work, the principal shall pay the translator 50% of fee covering the portion of
the commission that has not been executed.
Article 4 - Execution of commissions,
confidentiality
4.1 The translator shall commit himself to
executing the commission to the best of his
ability, thereby employing sound professional knowledge and skills, with
due regard to the purpose specified by the principal.
4.2 The translator shall treat all information
entrusted to him by the principal with the strictest confidence. The translator
shall require his employees to observe the strictest confidence. Should an
employee breach the said confidence, the translator shall not, however, be held
liable if he can demonstrate that it was not in his power to prevent such
disclosure.
4.3 Unless it has been expressly stipulated to
the contrary, the translator shall be entitled to have the commission (partly)
executed by a third party, without prejudice to his responsibility for the
observance of confidentiality and for the quality of execution of the
commission. The translator shall require the said third party to observe the
strictest confidence.
4.4 On request, the principal
shall provide the translator with information regarding the contents of the
text to be translated, including documentation, reference material and
terminology. Dispatch of the documents concerned shall be at the principal's
risk and expense.
4.5 The translator shall not be held
responsible for the accuracy of information supplied to him by the
principal and shall on no account
accept liability for damage of any kind if the translator has operated from
inaccurate or incomplete information supplied to him by the principal, even if
such information was supplied to him in good faith.
Article 5 - Intellectual Property
5.1 Unless it is expressly stated in writing
to the contrary, the translator shall retain the copyright on translations and
other texts executed by him.
5.2 The principal shall indemnify the
translator from any claim by a third party regarding alleged breach of rights
of ownership, patent, authors' copyright or other intellectual property in
connection with the execution of the commission.
Article 6 - Rescission
In the event of the principal
failing to honour his commitments, or in the case of bankruptcy, moratorium,
receivership or liquidation of the principal's business, the translator shall
be entitled wholly or partially to rescind the contract or to delay the
execution of the commission, such action never rendering him liable for any
claim for damages. He may then demand immediate payment of remuneration due to
him.
Article 7 - Complaints and
disputes
7.1 The principal shall report complaints
concerning the work delivered by the translator as soon as possible and inform
him in writing of his dissatisfaction within ten days after acceptance. The
reporting of a complaint shall in no way relieve the principal of his
obligation to pay for the work delivered.
7.2 Should the complaint be well-founded, the
translator shall improve or replace the delivered work within a reasonable
period of time, or - if the translator cannot reasonably comply with the
request for improvement - agree to a reduction in the fee.
7.3 If the principal and the translator cannot
reach agreement concerning the complaint within a reasonable period of time,
the two parties may lay the complaint before the Disputes and Disciplinary
Committee of the NGTV within two months after such situation has arisen.
Settlement of the dispute shall in that case take place in accordance with the
arbitration code of the NGTV.
7.4 The principal's right to make a claim
shall cease if he has revised - or has caused to be revised - the work as
delivered and has subsequently passed it on to a third party.
Article 8 -Lead time, delivery
8.1 The agreed lead time shall be an estimated
time, unless expressly stipulated otherwise. As soon as it becomes apparent to
the translator that the agreed delivery time is not feasible, he shall be bound
to inform the principal immediately.
8.2 Should the translator be accountable for
the delay in delivery, the principal shall be entitled - if it is unreasonable
for him to wait any longer - to rescind the contract unilaterally. In this
event the translator shall not be entitled to any compensation.
8.3 Delivery shall be considered to have taken
place at the moment of delivery by hand, dispatch by normal postal service,
fax, telex, courier, modem.
8.4 Delivery of documents via electronic post
shall be considered to have taken place when the medium has confirmed the
dispatch.
Article
9 - Fees and payment
9.1 The translator’s fee is in principle based
on a word tariff. For work other than translation a fee based on an hourly rate
will in principle be charged. The translator may, in addition to his fee,
declare the expenses incurred in executing the commission.
9.2 All sums shall be stated excluding
value-added tax (BTW), unless it has been expressly stated to the contrary.
9.3 Accounts should be settled at the latest
date 30 days after the date of the invoice in the currency in which the invoice
is drawn up. Should the payment not be made within the period specified, the
principal shall immediately, without further notification, be in default, in
which case the principal shall be liable for the statutory interest from the
date of default to the moment of full settlement.
9.4 In the event of extrajudicial collection,
collecting rates of 15% over the first EUR 2,269.45 of the capital sum plus
interest shall be levied and a rate of 10% over the remainder, with a minimum
collection charge of EUR 68.08.
Article 10 - Liability and
indemnity
10.1 The translator shall be responsible solely
for damage that is the direct and demonstrable result of a shortcoming for
which the translator can be held accountable. The translator shall never be
liable for any other form of damage such as consequential loss, loss due to
delay or loss of income or profits. The liability shall in every case be
limited to a sum equal to the invoice value excluding value-added tax (BTW) of
the commission concerned.
10.2 Ambiguity in the text to be translated
indemnifies the translator from any liability.
10.3 Judgment as to whether the text to be
translated, or the translated text, contains certain risks of bodily harm or
injury shall be the sole responsibility and liability of the principal.
10.4 The translator shall not be held responsible
for damage to or the loss of documents, information or information carriers
placed at his disposal for the purpose of executing the commission. Nor shall
the translator be held liable for damage arising from the use of information
technology or modern means of telecommunication.
10.5 The translator's liability shall be limited
to a maximum of EUR 45,389 in each case.
10.6 The principal shall be bound to indemnify
the translator from all claims from third parties arising from the utilization of the work delivered, excepting the
liability of the translator that may exist on the grounds of the provisions of
this article.
Article
11 - Force Majeure
11.1 In the present terms and conditions, force
majeure shall be understood , in addition to the legal definition and
interpretation of the term, to include all exterior causes, whether anticipated
or not, over which the translator cannot exercise any control, but which
prevent the translator from being able to meet his commitments. Such
circumstances shall in any case include - but not exclusively - fire, accident,
illness, industrial action, rebellion, war, governmental measures or hindrance
or restriction of transport.
11.2 During the period covered by force majeure the translator’s
commitments shall be suspended. Should the period within which force majeure
prevents the translator
from meeting his commitments
exceed two months, either party shall be empowered to rescind the agreement; no
obligation of indemnity shall in such case arise. If the principal is the
consumer the empowerment to rescind shall only apply in so far as such
empowerment is enforceable by law.
11.3 If, at the time of the commencement of force majeure the
translator has partially met his commitments, or can only partially meet his commitments,
the translator shall be entitled to draw up a separate invoice covering the
work executed and the principal shall be bound to pay the said invoice as
though it applied to a separate agreement.
Article 12 - Legal system
applicable
12.1 The law of the Netherlands shall be
applicable to all legally binding transactions between the principal and the
translator.
12.2 Any dispute shall be subject to the judgment
of the officially appointed Netherlands judge.
Article 13 - Deposit and
registration.
13.1 These revised terms of business were
deposited at the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce on 15th May 2001: registration number 40516076.
13.2 The Netherlands Society of Interpreters and
Translators (Nederlands Genootschap van Tolken en Vertalers [NGTV] ) is
registered in the Register of Societies at the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce
under number 405 16076.