LEXIS’s Code of Ethics applies to all members of the community with a PROFESSIONAL license (see 2.3. of the Regulation and Terms of Use of LEXIS / SYNTAX).

The alteration to the present document implies the issuing via email of the new version to all LEXIS members up till three days after its publication.




1. General Principles
1.1. To prohibit the practice of any action which might discredit LEXIS and, consequently, its professional activity;
1.2. To maintain the LEXIS profile permanently updated;
1.3. To inform of any abnormality detected in any of the services provided to the community;
1.4. Never to provide a language service in a field or area in which he/she does not possess the necessary skills or in which he/she may not be able to acquire the necessary skills within the deadlines previously arranged with the client;
1.5. Never to accept or practice any sort of discrimination based on social order, convictions, nationality, origin, etc.;
1.6. Never to use information which he/she has had access to in the framework of his/her professional activity as a language service provider to his/her own benefit or the benefit of any third party.

2. In relation to SYNTAX Clients
2.1. To respond to a quote request within the deadline defined by the client, even if only to state his/her unavailability to provide the language service required;
2.2. To respect, at all times, the client’s guidelines or to communicate openly regarding possible disagreements, in order never to compromise in bad faith;
2.3. Never to make any promise he/she knows that he/she will be unable to keep;
2.4. To respect all assumed obligations;
2.5. To gather and apply, in all circumstances, all the necessary means to effectuate the language services to be provided;
2.6. To advise the client at all times of any difficulty or unsolved problem that occurred during the rendering of the language service;
2.7. Never to knowingly sacrifice the quality of any language service provided;
2.8. To protect the confidentiality of all the materials supplied or produced in the scope of the rendering of the language service and, if necessary, to return any relevant documentation or materials physically delivered by the client;
2.9. To immediately advise the client as soon as the risk of being unable to meet any commitment previously assumed or contracted is confirmed;
2.10. In case of definite inability to execute the rendering of the language service, to ask the client for the termination de facto of the contract by giving valid reasons for the non-fulfilment.
2.11. To assume completely and entirely the responsibility for any fault or error in the language services provided;
2.12. Never to resort to outsourcing/subcontracting without prior notice to the client, unless the outsourcing/subcontracting resource has been previously arranged during the contract or commitment negotiation stage.
2.13. Never to directly contact the client with the intention of complaining about the evaluation made to the language service rendered. All complaints shall be always addressed to LEXIS.

3. On Remuneration
3.1. In all circumstances, to respect the principle of a fair and honest remuneration by the language service provided;
3.2. Never to accept any remuneration clearly underestimated;
3.3. Never to accept arbitrary quality goals defined by the client as grounds to under-quote the rendering of a language service;
3.4. Never seek to alter the value of the agreed-upon remuneration after the completion of the language service.

4. In relation to other LEXIS members
4.1. To respect the other LEXIS members and their opinions, namely during their interventions in forums and dissemination lists, abiding by basic courteous behaviour.
4.2. To prove his/her solidarity towards the other LEXIS members by sharing information and experiences under the condition that the present Regulations and Terms of Use of LEXIS/SYNTAX shall always be observed;
4.3. To entitle LEXIS members as partners in the formation of partnerships;
4.4. Whenever possible, to recommend LEXIS to language service providers which LEXIS might consider competent and qualified;
4.5. Never to indulge in actions of unfair competition within the LEXIS community by under quoting the rendering of language services;
4.6. Except from the service evaluation board, never to publicly pass any professional judgement on other LEXIS member;
4.7. In case of evaluation of other LEXIS members, to always apply the most honest evaluation procedures and criteria;
4.8. To protect the ethical and deontological principles of the LEXIS Community.

a) The codes and regulations of the local or international association(s) and/or federation(s) which LEXIS members belong to in the scope of the language services provided in the community;
b) The quality standards implemented amongst the organizations in which the LEXIS members are integrated in the scope of the language services provided in the community.