FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE
1. Members of the Association shall at all times act in accordance with the high
standards of competence and integrity appropriate to a professional body.
DEFINITIONS
2. In this Code: the Association shall mean the Association of
Police and Court Interpreters; Member shall mean a person who is currently
registered as a Member of the Association; Principal shall mean a person or body
from whom any Member receives work; a Principal may be the Police, a Court, the
Crown Prosecution Service, or other work provider; words implying the masculine
gender shall include the feminine; words implying the singular shall include the
plural, and vice versa.
STANDARDS OF CONDUCT
3. Members shall not act in a
dishonourable or unprofessional way or in any way likely to bring the
Association into disrepute or prejudice the interests of the Association and
shall always act with integrity.
4. Members shall assist each other in every way
practicable, and shall conduct themselves with loyalty towards fellow Members
and the Association.
5. No Member shall in communication of any kind with a
Principal or other person or body purport to represent the Association without
the prior written authorization of the Committee of the Association to do so.
6.
A Member who is offered work which he is unable to accept may suggest another
Member who is competent to accept such work to the Principal only if asked by
the Principal to do so and in an emergency. This also applies when a Member is
unable to complete an assignment in which case the incoming interpreter will be
fully briefed. A Member shall normally complete a case once started. A Member
shall not receive any payment from another Member.
7. A Member shall not keep
the Principal waiting for an unreasonable period of time once he has accepted
work unless agreed with the Principal. A Member shall notify the Principal of
the expected length of time needed for travelling to the location of the
assignment. If unavoidably held up, a Member shall notify the Principal of the
reason for the delay.
8. A Member shall not take on a job in Court unless he has
been specifically requested to do so by the appropriate authority in advance of
the hearing.
9. A Member shall not obtain financial gain from fellow Members
through his own agency or otherwise.
10. A Member shall not use any Membership
Directory produced by the Association for agency purposes.
11. A Member who is
offered work in which he has any business, financial or other interest shall
declare such interest before accepting such work; if he becomes aware of such
interest during the course of the work he shall declare such interest
immediately he becomes aware of it.
12. A Member shall not visit a detained
person in prison for professional reasons unaccompanied by a legal
representative, a probation officer or other appropriate official.
13. Members
shall not go to a witness´ home or meet a witness elsewhere at the request of a
police officer or anyone else to take a statement or for any other purpose
unless accompanied by an officer in charge of the case or other police officer.
14. Members shall at no time use their own transport to convey witnesses or
defendants even if requested to do so by the Principal.
15. Members shall at no
time give their addresses, telephone numbers or other personal details to
witnesses or defendants.
16. Members shall not publicise their services in any
manner which may reasonably be regarded as being in bad taste. Publicity must
not be inaccurate or misleading in any way and should be discreet. Members shall
not publicise their services to the Police.
17. Members shall not engage in any
activity which results in a conflict of interest or in which there is a
significant risk of a conflict of interest with their role as an official
interpreter.
18. A Member shall not pass on work to another member of his
family.
19. Members shall not accept remuneration or a gift of any kind from any
party in respect of work, nor shall they make such remuneration or a gift.
20. A
Member shall under no circumstances give advice of any kind legal or otherwise
to a defendant or a witness. In particular he must not comment on the choice of
a solicitor.
21. A Member shall be courteous at all times when communicating
with authorities or with colleagues.
STANDARDS OF WORK
22. Members shall adopt a
professional standard of dress appropriate to the nature and location of each
assignment.
23. A Member shall refuse work which he knows to be beyond his
competence, either linguistically or with regard to his technical knowledge
except if requested by the Principal in exceptional circumstances. In such
exceptional circumstances the Member shall make the Principal fully aware of any
limitations in his linguistic or technical knowledge and competence.
24. Members
shall at all times maintain and endeavour to enhance their professional skills
and linguistic ability.
25. Members shall interpret impartially between the
various parties and with due regard to the circumstances prevailing at the time
shall take all reasonable steps to ensure complete and effective communication
between the parties.
26. A Member shall when interpreting convey the exact
meaning of what has been said by any party for whom he is interpreting without
adding or subtracting anything and a Member shall not give opinions or make
comments.
27. A Member shall assist both parties for whom he is interpreting in
the understanding of different cultural backgrounds.
CONFIDENTIALITY
28. A
Member shall treat any information which may become known to him during the
course of his work as confidential, and shall not divulge such information to
any third party without the knowledge of the Principal.
29. No Member shall
exploit for gain any confidential information which may become known to him in
the course of his work.
DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE
30. The Constitution of the
Association confers on the Committee of the Association the power to remove from
the list of Members any Member whose conduct renders him in the opinion of the
Committee unfit to remain a Member of the Association.