Policy

Regulation on THE JOINT AWARD FOR LATVIAN-ESTONIAN AND ESTONIAN-LATVIAN TRANSLATORS by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia (hereinafter – the Parties)

  • implementing the Joint Communiqué of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Estonia of 18th February 2009 on the Establishment of the Award for Translators,
  • willing to facilitate further development of the bilateral relations between the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Estonia,
  • emphasizing the importance of the knowledge of the Latvian and Estonian languages on enhanced co-operation between the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Estonia,
  • aiming at the promotion of high quality translation of fiction, political, popular science, historical, sociological, memoir and other texts,

agreed on the following:

  1. The Joint Award for Latvian-Estonian and Estonian-Latvian translators (hereinafter – the Award)
    • 1.1. Goals of the Award are to evaluate the accomplished work in the field of Latvian-Estonian and Estonian-Latvian translations as well as to encourage young Latvian-Estonian and Estonian-Latvian translators.
    • 1.2. The Award is given annually starting in 2010. The Award is presented on the basis of Jury's decision.
    • 1.3. The amount of the annual Award fund is 3000 (three thousand) EUR, including taxes. The Award fund consists of equal contributions by the Parties of 1500 (one thousand five hundred) EUR each.
  2. Composition and work of the Jury
    • 2.1. The Jury consists of eight members. Each Party nominates two members; the Latvian Literature Centre and the Estonian Literature Centre nominate one member each. After receiving the nomination applications, the Chairman of the Jury invites to the Jury two more experts, one from the Republic of Latvia, another from the Republic of Estonia.
    • 2.2. The Chairmanship of the Jury alternates each year between the Parties, starting with the Chairmanship of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of Latvia in 2010. The Chairman is nominated by the respective Party.
    • 2.3. In its work the Jury may consult other experts.
    • 2.4. The Jury agrees on the nomination and evaluation principles.
    • 2.5. The Jury decides on the beginning and the deadline for nomination. The Jury elaborates an annual work schedule and presents it to the Parties by the end of February.
    • 2.6. The Jury independently evaluates quality, masterfulness of language, topicality and novelty of the nominated translations and takes a decision about the Award winner, following the principles of work quality and balance between the translation directions.
    • 2.7. The Jury takes its decision by a closed vote. Each member of the Jury has one vote, whereas the Chairman of the Jury has two votes.
    • 2.8. In exceptional cases the Jury has a right to decide not to present the annual Award.
    • 2.9. After taking the decision the Jury announces it to the Parties. The Parties make simultaneous public announcements regarding the winner of the Award.
    • 2.10. The Party holding the Jury Chairmanship organizes the Award presentation ceremony.
    • 2.11. In case of necessity the Jury may elaborate more detailed rules, which should be in line with the current Regulation.  
  3. Nomination of a translation to the Award
    • 3.1. A translation can be nominated to the Award by any natural or legal person of the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Estonia. Natural and legal persons of the Republic of Latvia and Republic of Estonia submit their nomination applications to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia respectively. Candidates can be nominated also by the members of the Jury.
    • 3.2. The Parties simultaneously announce the beginning of the submission of nomination applications on their Internet home pages.
    • 3.3. The nomination applications shall be submitted by post, electronic mail or in person. The application shall consist of:
  4. Final provisions.
    • 4.1. This Regulation shall enter into force on the date of the signature.
    • 4.2. This Regulation shall remain in force for an unlimited period of time. Either Party may terminate this Regulation in any time by giving a written notice to the other Party at least three (3) month before the end of any calendar year. In such case, the Regulation will be terminated on the first day of January of the next calendar year following the year of the notification.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto, have signed this Regulation.


Done in London, on 28 January 2010 in two originals in the English language.


For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

of the Republic of Latvia

For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

of the Republic of Estonia