1. General

 Unless otherwise agreed to in writing, the following general terms and conditions (hereafter: GTC) shall apply to spoken expert witness services (hereafter: court interpreting services). Any deviations therefrom must be confirmed by the expert witness service provider (hereafter: EWSP) in writing.

Assignments upon summons pursuant to the Austrian Expert Witness Fees Act (GebAG) shall be excluded.

2. Normative reference

These GTC refer to the below mentioned standards as follows:

ISO 20228 Interpreting Services – Legal Interpreting – Requirements

ÖNORM D1203 Interpreting Services Contracts

3. Scope of agreement / performance

The scope of agreement is the provision of court interpreting services (simultaneous, consecutive, chuchotage, remote), including complete preparation of the assignment and any work which pertains to the event on the basis of the requirements specified by the latter and agreed to in writing.

The role of the EWSP is to interpret verbal statements. It does not include assignments that have not been explicitly indicated in the agreement; translations in writing, the keeping of minutes and similar services do not lie within the scope of performance and are subject to separate agreement(s).

The EWSP shall perform the interpreting assignment with due care in accordance with the principles of proper professional practice. He/she shall work to the best of his/her knowledge and belief. He/she shall not bound by any further obligation.

4. Preparation of interpreting assignment

The Client shall specify its exact requirements in writing regarding language combination as well as any specialised knowledge required beyond the standards expected of experienced interpreters when placing its order for the assignment. Further amendments shall only be legally valid if agreed to in writing and duly signed by the EWSP.

Simultaneous / remote interpreting: The Client shall provide EWSP with information material and documents in the language(s) of the event in good time to facilitate their technical and linguistic preparations, the quality of the interpreting depending to a large degree on the quality of the materials provided.

All materials shall be sent to the EWSP as soon as they become available, but in any case, no later than three days prior to the start of the event by e-mail.

In the event that the preparation materials cannot be sent electronically, they should be couriered or posted to the EWSP. Said consignment must arrive at the EWSP office indicated in the assignment no later than three days prior to the start of the event.

In the event that printed texts are to be read out at the event the Client shall ensure that the EWSP shall receive one copy no later than one day beforehand. These documents shall remain with the EWSP until the text or manuscript is read out or used, otherwise the EWSP shall be released from its obligation to provide the court interpreting service.

In the event that materials are not provided by the Client, or not in good time, or not in sufficient quantity, the EWSP shall be released from any liability concerning the quality of the court interpreting services rendered.

Consecutive / chuchotage interpreting: In the case of assignments involving talks and meetings the EWSP shall also be informed about the prior history of the negotiations before commencing the court interpreting work. The Client shall be held responsible for any errors arising from non-compliance with this obligation.

Any briefing desired by the Client and scheduled outside the agreed working times shall be charged separately at the usual rates and under the usual conditions for court interpreting services.

5. Audio recording

Audio recording. Interpreted speech is solely intended for immediate listening. Recordings may not be made unless prior permission has been obtained from the EWSP. The Client shall be held liable for unauthorised recordings made by third parties.

6. Fees

Interpreting fees. The fees charged for court interpreting services are set exclusively in accordance with the EWSP’s rates.

Cost estimates only apply when set out in writing. Other cost estimates shall only be considered as non-binding guidelines.

Overtime. Any working times in excess of the agreed period(s) of time shall be charged per hour. Partial hours shall be rounded up to the next full hour.

Non-working days. In the event that the total interpreting assignment does not take place on consecutive days and the EWSP is unable to return to his or her usual place of work the resultant non-working days shall be charged at the agreed daily rates.

Travel time allowance. A half-day rate shall apply if the EWSP is required to arrive and depart before or after the assignment.

Exploitation rights. The EWSP is entitled to an additional half-day rate for sound and/or video recordings of the interpretation rendered.

7. Expenses

In the event of assignments outside Vienna / Graz the Client shall incur all expenses related to said assignment. In particular, these include, but are not limited to the travel and subsistence expenses during the period required by the particular situation. In the case of assignments outside Vienna / Graz the expenses charged shall take into consideration the actual place of residence/place of work of the EWSP.

a) Travel expenses

Travel expenses shall be charged in accordance with the mode of transport used. For assignments within Austria these are either standard fares for 2nd class rail tickets as set by the Austrian Railways (ÖBB) website and local transport costs at the assignment venue or kilometres travelled according to the official mileage rates. As a rule, taxi services are used at the place of departure / arrival.

b) Subsistence expenses

Subsistence expenses include the costs of room and board for the EWSP.

The Client shall bear the accommodation costs in a hotel or in an establishment offering a minimum of 3-star quality. In general, rooms shall be organised and paid for directly by the Client. Reservations should be made under the name of the EWSP.

Arrival and departure days. In the event of assignments outside Vienna / Graz the EWSP shall arrive one day before the start of the assignment. The EWSP shall usually depart on the final day of the event. In the event that this is not possible or reasonable due to time or logistics (departure after the final train connection to the EWSP’s home, assignment ending after 8 pm, etc.), the Client shall also bear the costs of this overnight stay.

Board. On assignment days as well as the day of arrival, the day of departure or non-working days, the Client shall provide three meals for the EWSP. The Client shall provide the EWSP with adequate drinks and refreshments during the interpreting assignment.

8. Shortcomings

In the event the Client wishes to complain about the quality of the court interpreting services rendered, the Client shall immediately inform the EWSP point of contact at the venue with a detailed description of the alleged shortcomings.

Complaints which are only received after the end of the event in question cannot be taken into consideration. In the event of criticisms of the quality of a particular piece of interpreted speech a claim for liability shall be restricted at most to the contractual value of the language combination which is the subject of the complaint.

The EWSP shall not assume any liability for the accuracy and/or completeness of interpreted speech in the event that the speaker clearly has a speech impediment, speaks in dialect, uses a language which is not his or her native language, reads from a prepared text without such text having been made available beforehand in writing, does not speak directly into the microphone or in the event that listening comprehension is impeded by background noise, etc.

9. Payment

Unless otherwise agreed, payment is due immediately upon completion of the interpreting assignment. The EWSP shall be entitled to ask for a reasonable down-payment.

Eight percent (8%) interest on arrears shall be charged in the event of delayed payment. Furthermore, the Client agrees to pay any debt collection or legal costs incurred through late payment.

10. Cancellation

In case of cancellation prior to the start of the assignment the Client undertakes to pay the following percentages of the agreed contractual sum plus 20% VAT:

30% up to one month prior to start of assignment;

50% between one month and half a month prior to start of assignment;

100% at a later date

In the event the EWSP is unable to render the agreed services in full or only in part due to a circumstance beyond its control, it reserves the right to claim reimbursement of the costs it has demonstrably incurred, if necessary, through adjustment of the agreed fees.

The EWSP shall immediately inform the Client in the event it is prevented from fulfilling its obligations through no fault of its own. In the event the EWSP arranges for a qualitatively equivalent replacement, the Client shall not make any claims for compensation vis-à-vis the EWSP.

11. Force majeure

The EWSP shall inform the Client immediately in the event of force majeure. Instances of force majeure entitle both the EWSP and the Client to withdraw from the agreement. The Client, however, shall compensate the EWSP for any expenditure and or services which the latter has incurred or delivered.

In particular, force majeure is deemed to include acts of God, labour conflicts, acts of war, civil war, chance, sickness, accident, death and the occurrence of unforeseeable events which demonstrably and decisively make it impossible for the EWSP to carry out the assignment as agreed.

12. Privacy

Personal details of the Client which have been received in connection with the business relationship by the EWSP or its related data processors shall be processed according to the applicable legal provisions.

13. Final provisions

The place of performance of all contractual relations governed by these GTC shall be the EWSP’s registered place of business in Graz.

Subsidiary agreements, amendments and/or additions to these terms and to the individual assignment shall not be considered effective unless made in writing.

In the event that one or more of these terms and conditions is or becomes ineffective for any legal reason this shall not affect the validity of the remaining terms and conditions.

Court of jurisdiction for any disputes arising from these terms and conditions and from any individual assignment is Graz. Austrian law shall apply.