Code of Ethics

1. What This Code Covers

This Code sets out the ethical standards Maven International applies to every assignment we accept and to every person who works on one. It covers conflicts of interest, confidentiality, anti-bribery and anti-corruption, fair dealing, professional conduct, and the treatment of staff, linguists, clients, and suppliers.

It exists for two reasons: so that institutional buyers and procurement teams can see in specific terms what we hold ourselves to, and so that everyone delivering work on our behalf knows what is expected of them. Non-compliance is treated as misconduct and can result in termination of employment or contract.

2. Who It Applies To

This Code applies to:

• Officers, directors, managers, and internal staff at all levels.
• Project managers and coordinators.
• Freelance interpreters, translators, reviewers, and terminology specialists.
• Temporary staff, consultants, and sub-contractors.
• Technology vendors and third-party delivery partners engaged on our assignments.

Suppliers and delivery partners are additionally bound by our Supplier Code of Conduct. Where local law or a client's own standards set a higher bar than this Code, the higher bar applies.

3. Conflicts of Interest

Business decisions are made on objective assessment of merit, capability, and cost — not on personal relationships or private gain. A conflict of interest arises when a personal interest, whether through family, friends, clients, competitors, or suppliers, interferes with the interests of Maven International or a client, or could reasonably appear to.

• Anyone uncertain whether a conflict exists raises it with management before proceeding, not afterwards.
• Interpreters and translators disclose any prior, current, or personal connection to a party, case, or subject matter before accepting an assignment.
• Disclosed conflicts are resolved by reassignment, by screening the individual from the work, or by declining the assignment.

A conflict that is not disclosed is itself a breach of this Code.

4. Confidentiality and Information Handling

Everyone working on a Maven International assignment is bound in writing to confidentiality before any material is shared with them.

• Source content, target output, client identity, glossaries, project metadata, and anything learned during a live interpretation assignment are treated as confidential.
• Project material is handled inside a controlled CAT and project management environment with role-based access, and is shared strictly on a need-to-know basis.
• Assignments, clients, and content are not discussed externally — including in marketing material, on social media, or with other clients — without written client authorization.
• Confidentiality obligations survive the end of the engagement.
• Client-owned language assets, including translation memories, glossaries, and term bases, remain the client's property. We maintain them for long-term reuse and return or delete them on request.

Full detail sits in our Confidentiality Standards and Data Protection policies.

5. Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption

We do not tolerate corruption in any form. It is prohibited to offer, promise, give, request, solicit, or accept any unfair advantage — cash or cash equivalent, gifts, credit, discounts, accommodation, services, or personal favours — in order to obtain, retain, or accelerate business.

• Facilitation or "grease" payments to government officials or private parties are prohibited without exception, including where they are locally customary.
• Corruption also covers misuse of position, and creating the impression of improper influence over a decision maker.
• Offering or accepting a bribe, or knowingly allowing someone else to, is gross misconduct.

Gifts and hospitality are permitted only where they are occasional, modest, and customary for the market, and never where they could be read as an inducement. Nothing is offered or accepted around a live tender or an open decision. Where there is doubt, the answer is to decline and report it.

6. Fair Dealing

• We compete on quality, capability, and price. We do not coordinate pricing or bidding with competitors, offer or solicit improper payments, or take part in unlawful boycotts.
• We describe our services accurately. Capability, turnaround, quality level, and the use of machine translation or AI are represented as they actually are.
• We comply with applicable trade controls, restrictions, sanctions, and export embargoes.
• We pay our suppliers and linguists in full and on schedule. Withholding payment as leverage is prohibited.

7. Professional Conduct

• Work is delivered to the agreed scope, quality level, and deadline. Where something goes wrong, we say so promptly rather than conceal it.
• Records, quotes, invoices, word counts, and project documentation must be accurate and complete. Falsifying any of these, or misrepresenting who performed the work, is fraud.
• Linguists follow the professional codes of the bodies they belong to — AIIC, ITI, ATA, and equivalents — alongside this Code: accuracy and impartiality, no addition, omission, or alteration of meaning, and no personal use of information obtained during an assignment.
• Company systems, accounts, and assets are for legitimate business use and are protected accordingly.

8. Treatment of People

• We provide equal opportunity in employment and engagement. No direct or indirect discrimination on the basis of gender, marital status, age, nationality, social status, ethnic origin, colour, religion, political opinion, disability, sexual orientation, employee representation, or any other professionally irrelevant characteristic.
• Harassment, bullying, slander, and victimization are prohibited, in every form of verbal and written communication.
• We apply fair employment and remuneration practices in line with applicable law, and we oppose child labour, forced, bonded, or compulsory labour, undeclared work, and the withholding of wages. Our Modern Slavery Statement sets out how this is enforced across the supply chain.
• Freelance linguists are contracted on clear written terms and paid at the agreed rate and schedule.
• Interpreters working in humanitarian, legal, and other high-pressure settings are briefed on context, and their working conditions — team size, turn length, breaks, and security — are respected as a condition of the assignment, not a courtesy.

9. Raising a Concern

Anyone — staff, linguist, supplier, or client — can raise a concern about a breach of this Code, with their project manager, directly with the Director, or by email to info@maven-international.com.

Concerns are handled confidentially and shared only with the people who need to act on them. We do not tolerate retaliation of any kind against anyone who raises a concern in good faith; retaliation is itself a breach of this Code.

Confirmed breaches result in corrective action up to and including termination of employment or contract, removal from our vendor database, and, where warranted, referral to the relevant authorities.

10. Governance and Review

• Policy owner: Director, Maven International.
• Operational oversight: Project Management.
• Review cycle: annually, or sooner if there is a material change to our operating model, to client compliance requirements, or to applicable law.
• Related documents: Supplier Code of Conduct, Confidentiality Standards, Privacy & Security, Data Protection, Modern Slavery Statement, CSR / ESG Statement, Environmental Policy.

11. Information for Institutional Buyers

For procurement teams and institutional buyers, including UN agencies, IGOs, government bodies, and NGOs, we can provide a signed copy of this Code, supplier onboarding and due-diligence records, project-specific confidentiality undertakings, information security documentation, and completed vendor questionnaires.

Tell us what your process requires and we'll send it over. More about how we work is on our About page.