Translations and Interpreting Agius Language Services

General Terms and Conditions

The Translation Company ALS establishes the following terms and conditions that apply to all translations carried out by ALS, unless otherwise stated in correspondence with the Client.

1.  Quality Criteria

The translation shall be done in accordance with the intention and the form of the original text, and according to objective quality criteria.  ALS may also follow any specific instructions presented by the Client, namely the terminology to be used, which should be delivered together with the original text.

Unless otherwise stated, ALS assumes that all texts are meant for general information purposes only, and that the final quality should be adequate for the transmission of such information.  ALS shall accept no responsibility if the translation is, at a later date, used in any specific situation, except if the client has given clear indications regarding this and ALS has agreed to carry out the translation under those conditions.  Any text used for advertising, promotion, or any kind of mass distribution shall be checked by the client after its reception.  In any case where the freelance translator and the Client do not agree with the application of these criteria to any given job, the said job shall be submitted to an independent assessor and subsequently to an arbiter.  Any charges that may arise from this shall be paid by the losing party.

2.  Obligations

§ ALS accepts that it should not use any document belonging to the Client for purposes that may put its commercial integrity at risk.

§ ALS accepts the obligation of confidentiality in terms of content and destination of the work that it carries out, and therefore shall not publish or allow public access to documentation.

§ Unless previously agreed with the Client as a separate service, ALS shall not charge the Client for any proof-reading expenses that it incurs in the process of guaranteeing the quality of its work, providing that all comments/feedback are received within 1 month of completion of the translation.

3.  Rights

§ The Client must declare that any text to be translated is duly authorised by the owner(s) of its copyright, existing or pending, and that the Client will bear all responsibility in respect of any breaking of the rules of the copyright of the said text.

§ ALS reserves the right to retain a copy of the original text, unless otherwise stated by the Client.

§ ALS does not transfer the copyright of the translated text to the Client.  The Client is obliged to inform ALS if he/she intends to publish the translation.  In this case, ALS may negotiate the copyright of the translated text.

§ ALS accepts no responsibility for any errors that may exist in the original text.  It may, merely as additional information, indicate them, whenever it is seen that they may affect the translation of the text.

4.  Delivery of translations

The Client shall pay any expense involved in sending the original text to ALS.  ALS shall pay any expense involved when sending the translated text to the Client.  The form and manner of delivery shall be agreed with the Client when an order is placed.  ALS may charge an extra fee in special cases, such as the use of an express delivery service, only if such a fee has previously been agreed on by the Client.

5.  Charges

§ All charges are calculated based on a computerised wordcount of the translated text, and are based on a cost per 1000 words.

§ Unless otherwise indicated in any quotation/estimate or specific conditions agreed by ALS and the Client, the rate applied is the one defined as Basic Rate by ALS.

§ In all estimates presented by ALS, there shall be a clear indication that it consists of an estimate, and that the final cost shall only be calculated on conclusion of the job, based on the translated text.

6.  Deadlines

The average deadline for translation is 1500-2000 words per working day.  ALS shall inform the Client of the time required to complete each job under ideal conditions.  If the Client wishes to have the job completed before the end of that time, he/she must accept that ALS shall have to reduce the time devoted to proof-reading and editing, and therefore cannot be held responsible for errors that may arise from that decision.

7.  Specific conditions for each job

Any specific conditions should be defined before work commences.

8.  Terms of payment

The standard terms of payment are 30 days after issue of the invoice.  If the Client does not meet the date of payment, ALS may make an extra charge.

9.  Cancellation of translations

If the Client wishes to cancel a translation after placing an order, he/she shall inform ALS as soon as possible.  The Client is obliged to pay for any work carried out up to the point of cancellation, at a minimum of 30% of the total established in the estimate.  ALS shall deliver to the client all the work already done.

10.  Jurisdiction

The contract shall be governed by the laws of England and shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the English courts.