Saturday, April 18, 2015

Law of Ukraine "On Standardization"

Abstract

Date of entry into force:
January 3, 2015

The Law establishes legal and organizational principles of standardization in Ukraine, and is aimed to ensure creation and implementation of state policy in the respective sphere.

Article 1 of the Law provides definitions of terms used in it. For example, standardization is activity that entails establishing provisions for general and repeated use in existing or potential tasks, and is aimed at achieving an optimal degree of order in a certain sphere. A standard is a normative document based on consensus, adopted by a recognized authority that establishes rules, instructions or characteristics for general and repeated use pertaining to an activity or its results, and is aimed at achieving an optimal degree of order in a certain sphere.

The Law regulates relations associated with activities in the sphere of standardization and application of its results. This Law does not apply to sanitary safety measures for food products, veterinary-sanitary and phytosanitary measures, construction norms, pharmaceutical products, standards for medical aid, financial accounting, property appraisal, education, and other social standards provided for by the legislation (Article 2 of the Law).


The objective of standardization and the main principles of state policy in the sphere of standardization are determined by Article 4 of the Law.

According to Article 5 of the Law, the objects of standardization are:
·         materials, components, equipment, systems, and their compatibility;
·         rules, procedures, functions, methods, activity or its results, including products, personnel, and management systems;
·         requirements to terminology, designation, prepackaging, packaging, marking, labeling, etc.

According to Article 6 of the Law, depending on the level of the standardization entity that adopts normative documents, they are divided into:
·         national standards and codes of established practices adopted by a national standardization authority;
·         standards, codes of established practices, and technical conditions adopted by standardization companies, institutions and organizations.

Article 8 of the Law establishes that standardization entities are:
·         the central executive authority that provides for creation of state policy in the sphere of standardization (Article 9 of the Law);
·         the central executive authority that implements state policy in the sphere of standardization (Article 10 of the Law);
·         national standardization authority (Article 11 of the Law);
·         technical standardization committees (Article 15 of the Law);
·         standardization companies, institutions and organizations (Article 16 of the Law).

The functions of the national standardization authority are carried out by a state company, which is not subject to privatization, and was created by the central executive authority that implements state policy in the sphere of standardization (Article 11 of the Law).

According to Article 13 of the Law, the steering council is a consultative-supervisory body of the national standardization authority, and is composed of representatives of the following, on a parity basis:
·         the central executive authority that provides for formation of the state policy in the sphere of standardization, other central executive authorities and state bodies;
·         scientific institutions, educational facilities, research and technical and engineering associations (unions);
·         civil associations of business entities (including small and medium business entities), employer organizations and their unions;
·         civil consumer organizations (consumer associations);
·         other civil associations and professional unions.

Any interested party or a technical standardization committee has the right to address the appeal commission by filing an appeal, if they believe that a decision, act or inaction of the national standardization authority violated procedures in the sphere of standardization. The contents of a national standard, code of established practices or draft thereof cannot be the subject of an appeal. Appealing does not restrict the applicant's right to address a court. If an appeal commission rules that the decision, act or inaction of the national standardization authority violates procedures in the sphere of standardization, it passes a resolution to sustain the appeal, in which it recommends that the national standardization authority eliminates the violations that were discovered (Article 14 of the Law).

According to Article 15 of the Law, a technical standardization committee is a form of cooperation of interested legal entities and natural persons, cooperating with the objective of organizing and carrying out international, regional or national standardization works in specified fields of activity and on established standardization objects. Technical standardization committees have no legal entity status. Parties involved in the work of technical standardization committees are authorized representatives of executive power bodies, other state authorities, bodies of local self-government, business entities and their civil associations, employer organizations and their associations, scientific institutions and educational facilities, research and engineering associations (unions), civil consumer organizations (consumer associations), other civil associations, professional unions, leading scientists and specialists. Technical standardization committees are formed based on the principle of representation of all interested parties. Membership in technical standardization committees is voluntary. The authority of technical standardization committees includes:
·         participating in the work of appropriate technical standardization committees of international and regional standardization organizations;
·         developing and approving national standards, codes of established practices, and amendments to them;
·         participating in creation of the national standardization work program;
·         inspection and review of national standards and codes of established practices developed by such committees;
·         approving and submitting proposals for cancellation and reinstatement of national standards, codes of established practices, and amendments to them.

Standards, codes of established practices and technical conditions adopted by companies, institutions and organizations are applied on voluntary basis (Article 16 of the Law).

Article 17 of the Law establishes the main principles for developing national standards, codes of establishes practices, and amendments to them.

Interested parties submit to the national standardization authority their proposals for national standardization works related to developing, reviewing or cancelling national standards, codes of established practices, and amendments to them. Proposals for national standardization works are reviewed by an appropriate technical standardization committee, with regard to the priority directions of standardization development and the requirements set by Article 17 of the Law. 

The national standardization authority sends a written notification to the party that submitted a proposal for national standardization works about such proposal being included in the national standardization work program, or about refusal to include it in the program, including the reasons for refusal, no later than 60 calendar days after receiving the appropriate proposal. A national standard, code of established practices, and amendments to them are considered to be in development since the day on which the decision is made to include the proposal for their development in the national standardization work program and until the day they are adopted by the national standardization authority (Article 18 of the Law).

Preparation of the national standardization work program is regulated by Article 19 of the Law.

After developing the first version of a draft national standard, code of established practices, or amendments to them, the national standardization authority publishes a notification of such draft in its official printed media and, within 5 working days after finalizing the first version of the draft, publishes an appropriate notification on its official website. Comments to draft national standards, codes of established practices, or amendments to them, are submitted within 60 calendar days after publication of the above information, except for urgent issues related to national security, health care, environmental protection, and preparation of a draft national standard for developing an appropriate technical regulation. 

Comments of interested parties in relation to draft national standards, codes of established practices, or amendments to them, are reviewed by the appropriate technical standardization committee or working group that is developing the draft national standard, code of established practices, or amendments to them. After the end of the comment submission period, the developer of draft national standards, codes of established practices, or amendments to them, reviews the comments and takes them into consideration in the final draft, or declines them for valid reasons (Article 20 of the Law).

According to Article 21 of the Law, draft national standards, codes of established practices, and amendments to them, are not subject to approval with central executive authorities and other state bodies. International and regional standards, codes of established practices, and amendments to them, are adopted as national standards, codes of established practices, and amendments to them, by the national standardization authority. If consensus is reached regarding a draft national standard, code of established practices, or amendments to them, the national standardization authority adopts them and determines the term for their entry into force, with regard to the period of preparatory measures. Based on proposals of interested parties, the national standardization authority, if necessary, establishes a period of simultaneous effect of the adopted national standard or code of established practices, and the current national standard or code of established practices, for the same standardization object. 

If the technical standardization committee adopts proposals to cancel national standards and codes of established practices, the national standardization authority makes a decision on the above issue. Information about national standards, codes of established practices, and amendments to them, that were adopted or cancelled during the calendar month, and those documents that have been reinstated, are published the following calendar month, in the official printed media of the national standardization authority, and published on its official website within 5 working days after the end of the reporting month.

National standards and codes of established practices are applied directly or via reference in other documents. National standards and codes of established practices are applied on a voluntary basis, except for cases when their mandatory application is established by normative-legal acts (Article 23 of the Law).

According to Article 24 of the Law, national standards, codes of established practices, amendments to them, and catalogues developed by the national standardization authority are issued, reproduced and distributed by the national standardization authority. Publication, reproduction and distribution of documents of international and regional standardization organizations where the national standardization authority is a member are carried out by the national standardization authority, according to the rules of such organizations. To provide information to interested parties, the national standardization authority forms and maintains the national fund of normative documents, functions as the National Information Center of the international information network (ISONET), compiles and maintains a catalogue of national standards and codes of established practices.

The property right to national standards, codes of established practices, and catalogues developed by the national standardization authority belongs to the state (Article 25 of the Law).



No comments:

Post a Comment