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DEFINITIONS
The definitions given below have been taken from ISO/IEC Guide 2:2004 Standardization and related activities -- General vocabulary.
standard
document, established by consensus and approved by a recognized body, that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context
NOTE: Standards should be based on the consolidated results of science, technology and experience, and aimed at the promotion of optimum community benefits.
international standard
standard that is adopted by an international standardizing/standards organization and made available to the public
regulation
document providing binding legislative rules, that is adopted by an authority
technical regulation
regulation that provides technical requirements, either directly or by referring to or incorporating the content of a standard, technical specification or code of practice.
NOTE: A technical regulation may be supplemented by technical guidance that outlines some means of compliance with the requirements of the regulation, i.e. deemed-to-satisfy provision.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS
ISO and IEC standards can be used to support and simplify the process of development and application of technical regulations. The advantages of doing this are listed below.
ISO and IEC standards:
- support the technical aspects of societal and environmental policies and contribute to sustainable development across the world;
- offer the same level of consumer protection whether applied in a mature or an evolving economy;
- allow products to be supplied and used across different markets, facilitating regulatory compliance and enhancing the market access opportunities for small enterprises;
- reflect the state of the art and serve as a vehicle for the dissemination of new technologies and innovative practices;
- can become national standards after a national public enquiry process carried out by a country’s standards body, which can reduce the need for the regulator to hold national consultations;
- can be used as a basis for national technical regulations without causing unnecessary technical barriers to trade;
- offer a complete range of tools for the various modes of conformity assessment;
- are used for conformity assessment to enhance confidence in products, systems, processes, services or personnel;
- are developed using procedures which ensure that the thousands of standards available avoid duplication and conflict with each other.
ISO and IEC have published the document Using and referencing ISO and IEC standards for technical regulations (ISBN 978-92-67-10454-6). It includes practical advice for regulators on how to use international standards to achieve their objectives. The document can be downloaded below and a PowerPoint presentation of the material is also attached.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS
Information on standards
The most reliable sources of information on standards are the organizations which developed these standards. The World Standards Services Network (WSSN) is the most comprehensive portal of links to the Web sites of international, regional and national standards developing organizations including ISO and IEC Web sites.
Information on regulations
Sources for regional regulations:
Sources for national regulations :
National enquiry points are normal sources for information on technical regulations. Contact information for enquiry points is given in the following WTO documents
- National enquiry points (covering regulations for all products and services except sanitary and phytosanitary products and services)
- National enquiry points (covering regulations for sanitary and phytosanitary products and services)
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