THE TRANSLATOR'S CHARTER

(Approved by the Congress at Dubrovnik in 1963, and amended in Oslo on July 9, 1994)

The International Federation of Translators

Noting that translation has established itself as a permanent, universal and necessary activity in the world of today; that by making intellectual and material exchanges possible among nations it enriches their life and contributes to a better understanding amongst men; that in spite of the various circumstances under which it is practiced translation must now be recognized as a distinct and autonomous profession; and desiring to lay down, as a formal document, certain general principles inseparably connected with the profession of translating, particularly for the purpose of

- stressing the social function of translation,

- laying down the rights and duties of translators,

- laying the basis of a translator's code of ethics,

- improving the economic conditions and social climate in which the translator carries out his activity, and

- recommending certain lines of conduct for translators and their professional organizations, and to contribute in this way to the recognition of translation as a distinct and autonomous profession,

announces the text of a charter proposed to serve as guiding principles for the exercise of the profession of translator.

SECTION I

GENERAL OBLIGATIONS OF THE TRANSLATOR

1. Translation, being an intellectual activity, the object of which is the transfer of literary, scientific and technical texts from one language into another, imposes on those who practice it specific obligations inherent in its very nature.