HOME | | INDEX | | ABOUT | | FEES | | SAMPLES
E-MAIL | | CONTACT | | INTERACTIVE | | LINKS

These Standard Terms of Business have been drawn upon standard terms and conditions by the Netherlands Society of Translators.

Article 1.
These terms of business shall apply to all legally binding transactions between Eulenhaupt Translation Services and the customer, to the exclusion of the customer's terms of business unless the translator shall have agreed in writing that the customer's terms of business shall apply. For "him" read "him or her".

Article 2. Tenders, the performance of the agreement
2.1 All tenders and prices quoted shall be non-obligatory.
2.2 The agreement shall become effective upon the customer having issued a written acceptance of the tender submitted by the translator, or - should no tender have been submitted - upon confirmation, in writing, being made by the translator in token of his having accepted the commission granted him by the customer. In the event of the translator being unable to examine the complete text before submitting his tender he may however retract the price and lead time he has quoted after the customer shall have accepted the tender.
2.3 The translator may consider his customer to be the person who has commissioned the work, unless said person shall have clearly stated that he is acting on behalf of, or at the behest of and/or on the account of a third party and in doing so, shall have provided the name and address of said third party to the translator concurrently with the aforementioned statement.

Article 3. Alteration/withdrawal of commission
3.1 If, after the agreement shall have been concluded, the customer makes any alteration other than very minor changes to the original commission, the translator shall be entitled to amend the lead time and/or the fee or to reject the commission.
3.2 Should the customer withdraw his commission he shall be liable for payment of that part of the commission that has already been executed and for payment on the basis of an hourly fee for research that has been undertaken with respect to the remainder of the commission. The translator shall place the work already executed at the disposal of the customer.
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 customer shall pay the translator 50% of the fee due over the portion of the commission that has not been translated.

Article 4. Execution of commissions, confidentiality
4.1 The translator shall commit himself to executing the commission to the best of his knowledge and ability with due regard for the purpose of the translation as specified by the customer.
4.2 The translator shall treat all information entrusted to him by the customer with the strictest confidence.
4.3 At the request of the translator, the customer shall provide him with information with regard to the contents of the text to be translated, including documentation and terminology, insofar as such shall be available. Dispatch of the documents concerned shall be at the customer's expense.

Article 5. Lead time, delivery
5.1 The agreed lead time is an estimated time, unless expressly stipulated otherwise. As soon as it shall have become apparent to the translator that the agreed delivery time is not feasible, he shall be bound to inform the customer of this immediately.
5.2 Should the translator be accountable for the delay in delivery, the customer 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 receive any compensation.
5.3 Delivery shall be considered to have taken place at the moment of dispatch by normal postal service, fax, telex, courier, modem etc.
5.4 Delivery of documents via electronic post shall be considered to have taken place when the medium has confirmed the dispatch.

Article 6. Fee and payment
6.1 The fee is in principle based on a page tariff. For work other than translation (editorial revision) a fee may be charged based on an hourly rate. The translator may, in addition to his fee, also declare the expenses incurred in executing the commission.
6.2 All sums specified by the translator not include value added tax (VAT) due.
6.3 Accounts should be settled no later than 30 days after the date of the invoice in the currency in which the invoice is drawn up. Should payment not be made within the aforementioned 30-day period, the customer shall immediately be in default.

Article 7. Complaints
7.1 The customer shall be bound to report complaints to the translator concerning the work and do this as soon as possible and shall inform him in writing, within ten days after delivery of the commission as to the reasons for his dissatisfaction. Reporting a complaint shall in no way relieve the customer from his obligation to pay for the work delivered.
7.2 Should the complaint be well-founded, the translator shall improve or replace the work delivered within a reasonable period of time, or - if the translator or customer cannot be reasonably required to comply with such a request made to improve the work - then agreement shall be reached as to a reduction in the fee to be charged.
7.3 The customer shall forfeit his right to submit a complaint should he have revised - or have caused to be revised - the work as it was delivered and have then passed it on to a third party.

Article 8. Liability: indemnity
8.1 The translator shall solely be responsible for any damages sustained which are 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 damages such as consequential damages, those incurred as a result of delay, loss of income or profits. Any liability shall be limited to a sum equal to the invoice value excluding value added tax (VAT) of the commission concerned.
8.2 Ambiguity in the text to be translated indemnifies the translator from any liability.
8.3 The translator shall not be held responsible for damage to or the loss of documents, or for damage to or loss of information or information carriers placed at his disposal for the purpose of executing the commission. Nor shall the translator be held liable for damages arising out of the use of information technology or modern means of telecommunication.
8.4 The customer shall be bound to indemnify the translator from all claims which might be made by third parties arising out of the utilisation of the work delivered, with the exception of the liability of the translator that may exist on the grounds of the provisions of this article.

Article 9. Rescission
9.1 In the event of the customer failing to honour his commitments, or in the case of bankruptcy, suspension of payments or the liquidation of the customer's business, the translator shall be entitled to rescind the agreement, in whole or in part, or to postpone the execution of the commission, without such action ever rendering him liable for any claim for damages. He may then demand immediate payment of the fees due to him.
9.2 Should the translator not be able to fulfil his obligations due to circumstances beyond his control, he shall be entitled to rescind the contract without incurring any liability for damages. Such circumstances shall in any case include - fire, accident, illness, industrial action, rebellion, war, hindrance or restriction of transport, governmental measures or any other circumstances over which the translator has no control, which list is not exhaustive.

Article 10. Copyright
10.1 Unless it is expressly stated in writing to the contrary, the translator shall retain the copyright to translations and other texts written by him.
10.2 The customer shall indemnify the translator against any third party claim regarding alleged breach of rights of ownership, patent rights, authors' copyright or other intellectual property rights in connection with the execution of the commission.

Article 11. Applicable legal system
11.1 The law of the Netherlands shall be applicable to all legally binding transactions between the customer and the translator.
11.2 Any dispute shall be submitted to the competent judge in the Netherlands.

HOME | | INDEX | | ABOUT | | FEES | | SAMPLES
E-MAIL | | CONTACT | | INTERACTIVE | | LINKS

© 2001 Michael Eulenhaupt LL.M. (Amsterdam)