Articles 5, 9 & 10: Validity of Sponsorships

Article 5

CANDIDATES

Any interpreter who for one hundred and fifty days of work has, without exception, observed the Association's Code of Professional Ethics and all its other rules and regulations as well as the other rules of the profession may apply to be admitted to the Association as a candidate with a view to becoming an active or associate member. Such request shall be made to the Committee on Admissions and Language Classification. It shall be signed by at least three sponsors and shall be accompanied by remittance of the required administration fee.

Article 9

Any sponsors of an interpreter applying to become a candidate shall confirm that they have worked with her or him and have listened to her or his work. They shall state the languages from which and into which they intend to give their sponsorship. They shall certify that, to the best of their knowledge, the applicant possesses the professional experience required by Articles 5 and 7 above and that she or he observes the Association's rules.

The committee shall be free to judge statements made by sponsors in the way it sees fit.

Article 10

Any interpreter applying for admission shall have at least three sponsors but may find it necessary to have a greater number if her or his language classification is such as to require it. At least two of the sponsors must have their professional address in the same region as the applicant.

Those regions that cover more than one country may, if they so wish, require that at least two sponsors should have their professional address in the same country as an interpreter applying to become a candidate. Any case of discrimination of which a potential candidate feels that she or he may have been the victim shall be brought to the attention of the Council or the Committee on Admissions and Language Classification for its attention.

Practical application procedures

• Article 5

  Apart from exceptional cases, any sponsorship dated more than three years prior to actual application will be considered inadmissible.

• Article 9

  Sponsorship has to be given within the three years following the last meeting at which the sponsor in question worked with the candidate.

• Article 10

  The committee will take into consideration the specificities of certain conference interpretation markets

   

Article 11: Language Combinations Required

Article 11

Each sponsor must cover at least one of the candidate's language combinations. All of the sponsors taken together must cover all of her or his language combinations i.e. her or his work into the proposed 'A' language(s) from all her or his other languages and work into the proposed 'B' language(s) from her or his 'A' language(s).

• Each 'A' must be covered at least twice by an 'A' in the same language;
• Each 'B' must be covered at least once by an 'A' and at least once by an ‘A’ or a 'B' in the same language;
• Each 'C' must be covered at least twice by an 'A', a 'B' or a ‘C’ in the same language;

A language classification will be granted provided:

• the candidate has already worked for at least fifty days into each of the active languages which she or he would like to have classified as either 'A' or 'B';
• the candidate has already worked for at least fifty days from each of the languages which she or he would like to have classified as 'C'.

Practical application procedure

• For each ‘A’ language requested, the candidate’s application is to be signed by at least:

two sponsors with that same language in ‘A’, and one or more of the candidate’s other working languages in ‘A’,

‘B’, or ‘C’.

Each combination of ‘A’, ‘B’, or ‘C’ into ‘A’ must be vouched for at least once.

• For each ‘B’ language requested, the candidate’s application is to be signed by at least:

one sponsor with an ‘A’ in that same language and (one of) the A language(s) of the candidate in ‘A’, ‘B’, or ‘C’.

one sponsor with an ‘A’ or ‘B’ in that same language and (one of) the A language(s) of the candidate in ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’.

Each ‘A’ into ‘B’ combination must be vouched for at least once.

Each ‘B’ into ‘A’ combination must be vouched for at least once.

• For each ‘C’ language requested, the candidate’s application is to be signed by at least :

two sponsors with that same language in ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’, and (one of) the candidate’s ‘A’ language(s) in ‘A’ or ‘B’. In some cases, a ‘C’ in (one of) the candidate’s ‘A’ language(s) is admitted, as long as it is accompanied by an ‘A’ of a ‘B’ in the ‘C’ language sponsored.

Each ‘C’ into ‘A’ combination must be vouched for at least twice.

 

Articles 12 to 15: Challenges

Article 12

Within a maximum of sixty days starting on the date of publication of the name of the candidate on the appropriate list, any member of the Association who gives her or his reasons may challenge a candidate. Challenges shall be in writing and sent to the Committee on Admissions and Language Classification.

Article 13

If it receives any challenge, the committee shall inform the candidate and her or his sponsors indicating, in particular, the name of the challenger and the nature of the challenge. If it finds the challenge admissible, it shall launch an enquiry, consulting both those members who have sponsored and those who have challenged the candidate. It shall request the opinion of the region where the candidate has her or his professional address.

It may request the opinion of any interpreter who knows the candidate or who may already have submitted comments about her or him, especially that of her or his sponsors or of any member chosen, inter alia, for knowledge of languages not represented on the committee.

The committee shall hear the candidate if she or he so requests.

Article 14

The committee shall reach its decisions within a maximum of one hundred and eighty days starting on the date on which it received the challenge.

Article 15

No interpreter whose application is turned down by the committee may submit a similar application within a period of two years. If an appeal is made to the Council, this period shall begin as from the date of notification of the Council's decision.

Practical application procedures

• Article 12

  Challenges are to be sent to the AIIC Secretariat which will then forward them to the members of the committee. They must be sent by mail or by fax, and must bear the signature of the challenger(s), whose identity must be clearly visible and evident. A challenge may be sent by e-mail, provided it is sent from the challenger's personal e-mail address. The presentation of the grounds for the challenge must necessarily include reference to the articles of the regulations on which it is based. The facts attributed to the candidate challenged must be clearly specified, together with, if possible, dates and titles of meetings, copies of contracts, and any other pertinent information.

  The “appropriate list” is the list published in the Bulletin of the Association.

• Article 13

  Upon reception of the challenge, the committee is to rule on its admissibility. Any challenge sent directly to the members of the committee as well as any vague or ungrounded challenge will be ruled inadmissible. The author(s) of the challenge will be notified immediately by the chairperson of the committee.

  If a challenge is ruled admissible, and upon expiry of the deadline for challenges stipulated in Article 12, the committee is to appoint one of its members to conduct an inquiry, and will inform the candidate in question and his/her sponsors, notifying them in particular of the name of the member(s) who filed the challenge and the nature thereof. The member of the committee conducting the inquiry is to consult the sponsors, the challenging part(ies)y, the candidate’s region, and any other person who could provide pertinent information.

  If he/she so requests, the committee conducts a hearing with the candidate in question.

• Article 14

  Considering the importance of its rulings on challenges, the committee is to take official note of a challenge no later than at its meeting following the reception thereof by the AIIC Secretariat, and is to rule thereupon no later than at its meeting following the expiry of the deadline stipulated in article 14.

  Any inquiry undertaken by the committee pursuant to Article 1 of the Regulation Governing Admissions and Language Classification is considered akin to a challenge as regards the application of the articles above.

Article 17: Changes in language classification

• Article 17

  Practical provisions for implementation

  Article 17 a) should be read together with article 11 which is referred to in the last sentence: "All other steps in the reclassification process shall be the same as those laid down for the language classifications of candidates applying for admission."

  According to article 11, each language combination must be covered at least once. In practice and as a general rule, CACL accepts a combination that is covered by two sponsors. Experience has shown that the present wording of article 17 a) ("It shall be signed by at least two sponsors") only applies to "simple" requests to upgrade a language classification, when an interpreter adds a C language to an A, B, C combination or when she/he upgrades a B language to an A in a combination with only one C language.

  In more complex cases, two sponsors are not sufficient to cover the language combination. CACL may therefore interpret the words "at least two sponsors" strictly, to require more comprenhensive coverage, as it does for candidates applying for admission. There are two cases where this is neccessary:

  • an interpreter with a combination including several C languages decides to upgrade one language to an A. CACL will ensure that each combination from a C into the new A is properly covered.
  • an interpreter with a double A decides to add a new C. CACL will ensure that each new combination C>A is properly covered.

  Any inquiry undertaken by the Committee pursuant to Article 1 of the Regulation Governing Admissions and Language Classification is considered akin to a challenge as regards the application of the articles above.