G/TBT/GEN/135  
 
13 February 2013  
(13-0770)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
THE ISO VOTING PROCESS  
 This document contains information provided by ISO at the TBT Committee meeting of 27-
28 November 2012 under Agenda Item 3 (Technical Cooperation Activities). 
 
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1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  Following discussions on the issue of standa rds at the meeting of the Committee on TBT in 
June 2012 (paragraphs 301 to 304 of document G/TBT/M/57, 18 September 2012), ISO is pleased to submit this paper to describe its voting process for the approval of ISO International Standards.  
1.2.   On conformity assessment, paragraph 305 of document G/TBT/M/57, 18 September 2012 
proposes that the "Committee could have an information session where, for instance, ISO CASCO experts and other experts from conformity assessment bodies or accreditation bodies would 
provide information in this respect". ISO would be pleased to make such a presentation.  
2  THE ISO VOTING PROCESS  2.1.  An ISO International Standard represents a global consensus on the state of the art in the 
subject of that standard. This global consensu s is reached over the course of a six-stage 
development process for International Standards, which is described in detail below.  
2.2.   ISO's standards development process reflects the WTO principles of transparency, openness, 
impartiality and consensus, effectiveness and relevance, coherence, and addressing developing 
country concerns, so as to contribute to the credibility of the International Standards produced. 
For example, the process allows for input and co nsensus-building, first among market players and 
experts at the drafting stages of the standards, and second among countries at the formal voting 
stages of the standards. As a result, all ISO International Standards effectively reflect a double 
level of consensus .  
3  VOTING AND MEMBERSHIP IN ISO  
3.1.  ISO is a network of national standards bodi es. These national standards bodies make up the 
ISO membership and they represent ISO in their country. Decisions are taken within ISO on the basis of votes cast by ISO member bodies, using the principle of one country, one vote . Those 
eligible to vote, and the approval criteria, vary depending on the nature of the vote – for example, 
the vote at the committee stage (3) is only open  to participating members of the committee in 
question. (Note: abstentions are excluded when the votes are counted). 
Stage 1: Proposal stage (NP)  
The first step in the development of an International Standard is to confirm the market 
demand and relevance of the proposed standard on a global scale. A new work item 
proposal is submitted for a 3-month vote to  the national standards bodies that are 
members of the relevant technical committee (TC) or subcommittee (SC) to 
determine the inclusion of the work item in the committee work programme. A simple majority of the participating (P-) members of the TC must approve the proposal and at least 
5 must actively support it and nominate experts. Reference: ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, 
Article 2.3 G/TBT/GEN/135 
 
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  Stage 2: Preparatory stage 
Usually a working group is set up by the TC/S C for the preparation of a working draft (WD). 
The working group is made up of experts (including those nominated by the P-members in stage 1) and is led by a convener. Working gr oup members act as independent experts, not 
national delegates. Successive working drafts may be considered until the working group is 
satisfied that it has developed the best technical solution to the problem – that is, until expert consensus has been reached. The draft is then  forwarded to the working group's 
parent committee for the second consensus-bu ilding phase. Reference: ISO/IEC Directives, 
Part 1, Article 2.4 
Stage 3: Committee stage (CD ballot)  
At this stage, comments from national members are taken into consideration with a view to 
reaching consensus. The standard is drafted follo wing ISO's formatting rules and, as soon as 
a first committee draft (CD) is available , it is distributed for comment and voting to the 
P-members of the TC/SC . Successive committee drafts may be considered until 
consensus1 is reached on the technical content. Once agreed upon, the text is finalized for 
submission as a draft International Standard (D IS). Reference: ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, 
Article 2.5 
Stage 4: Enquiry stage (DIS ballot)  
The draft International Standard (DIS) is submitted to ISO Central Secretariat, which then 
circulates it to all ISO member bodies for voting and comment within a period of 
three months. During this time, ISO members make the DIS text available to the widest 
possible range of national stakeholders for comment – these comments form the basis of the 
national vote on the DIS. All ISO member bodies are eligible to vote and P-members of the committee that developed the draft are obliged to vote. The text is approved if at least 2/3 
of the votes from TC/SC P-members are in favour, and at least 3/4 of the total number of 
votes cast are in favour (i.e., including votes from member bodies not having participated in the TC/SC). All comments are reviewed. If the approval criteria are not met, the text is 
returned to the originating TC/SC for further study and revision. Reference: ISO/IEC 
Directives, Part 1, Article 2.6 
Stage 5: Approval st age (FDIS ballot)  
The final draft International Standard (FDIS) is circulated to all ISO member bodies for 
a final two-month Yes/No vote. The text is approved as an International Standard (IS) 
with the same criteria as for a DIS (i.e., at least 2/3 of the votes from TC/SC P-members in favour, and at least 3/4 of the total number of votes cast in favour). If these approval 
criteria are not met, the FDIS is referred back to the originating TC/SC for reconsideration in 
light of the technical reasons submitted in support of the negative votes received. Reference: ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, Article 2.7 
Stage 6: Publication stage  
Once a final draft International Standard has been approved, the final text is sent to the ISO 
Central Secretariat, which publishes the International Standard. Reference: ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1, Article 2.8 
3.1  Review of International Standards (Confirmation, Revision, Withdrawal)  
3.2.  All International Standards are reviewed at least once every five years by all the ISO member 
bodies. A majority of the P-members of the TC /SC decides whether an International Standard 
should be confirmed, revised or withdrawn based on a survey circulated to all ISO members about 
the adoption and use of the standard in question.  
3.3.  For a more detailed description of the stan dards development process and ISO's deliverables, 
see the ISO brochure ' Joining in' , available free online at: 
http://www.iso.org/iso/joining_in_2012.pdf . 
 
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