Prescriptive Nature of The Code of the Sworn Translator

Abstract

‘Prescriptive Nature of Th e Code of the Sworn Translator’, proclaimed in the 2005 Resolution of the Supreme Board of the Polish Society of Sworn and Specialised Translators ‘TEPIS’, is described in this article as seen from the perspective of the international and Polish laws and the practice of contemporary translation studies. As recommended by the “Grotius” and the “AGIS” projects, the Code has been prepared in cooperation with representatives of the Minister of Justice. Hence, it constitutes an authoritative reference for the 2004 legislative Act on the profession of the sworn translator.

A comparison of the status of the newly established profession of the sworn translator and those of the advocate and the notary in Poland gives the author the grounds to claim that Th e Code of the Sworn Translator constitutes a truly independent and authoritative source of rules of professional ethics and practice. Such status is a natural consequence of its being developed in compliance both with the Polish law and the legislative customs enabling the professional environment to decide about its ethics and good practice itself, based on the long traditions of professional organizations in Poland.