WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/GEN/78 
15 December 2008 
 (08-6126) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
UPDATE ON ISO AND CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT 
 
 
 The following information was provided by ISO
 at the TBT Committee meeting of  
5-6 November 2008. 
 
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I. INTRODUCTION 
1. ISO, in cooperation with IEC, is the recogni zed provider of consensus based International 
Standards and Guides relating to conformity assessment. As a strategic orientation ISO does not get 
involved directly in assessing compliance to its standa rds and is neutral towards first, second and third 
party intervention.  
2. CASCO is ISO’s Policy Development Committee on conformity assessment under which 
these documents are developed. CASCO's current  membership consists in 107 ISO members, 
including 76 Participating (P) members and 31 Obser ver (O) members. In addition to IEC, CASCO 
maintains category A liaison with 15 other international organiza tions (see list at Annex 1).  
3. At its Plenary Meeting in October 2008, CASCO addressed the following issues:  
(a) Revision of ISO/IEC 17020, General criteri a for the operation of various types of 
bodies performing inspection;  
(b) Revision of ISO/IEC 17024, General requirements for bodies operating certification 
of person; 
(c) A resolution on market surveillance reques ting ISO/CASCO to investigate future 
activities for ISO/CASCO in the area of market surveillance in relation to the 
CASCO standards and guides; 
(d) A joint ISO-IAF action plan on monitoring and improving the effectiveness of 
accredited management system certification; 
(e) Updating of the CASCO Road Map which sets out the sequencing of future 
systematic reviews and revisions of the CASCO documents for the next decade.  
II. MARKET SURVEILLANCE  
4. CASCO held a market surveillance workshop in October 2008 to assist CASCO with 
identification of future possible activities related to market surveillance. The workshop had three 
sessions addressing regulators/ governmental bodies,  conformity assessment activities and lastly 
consumers and industry. The aims of the workshop were to:  G/TBT/GEN/78 
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  (a) Identify good market surveillan ce practices at the national level; 
(b) Raise awareness and capacity to use the CASCO toolbox in market surveillance 
activities; 
(c) To investigate market surveillance activ ities related to the oversight processes for 
conformity assessment activities; 
(d) To identify actions when a product does not comply.  
5. CASCO, following the workshop, will now develop an action plan to address:  
(a) How to facilitate rapid sharing of information on market surveillance; 
(b) Possible future ISO publications on good market surveillance practice; 
(c) Market surveillance in the area of services; 
(d) Promotion of existing ISO/IEC standards for conformity assessment.  
III. ONGOING TECHNICAL WORK  
6. Other CASCO development projects are being progressed by their respective working groups.  
These projects include the development of the following documents:  
(a) ISO/IEC 17021 Part 2 Conformity assessment – Requirements for third-party 
certification auditing of management systems; 
(b) ISO/IEC 17007 Conformity Assessment – Guidelines for drafting normative 
documents suitable for use for conformity assessment; 
(c) ISO/IEC 17043 General Requirements for proficiency testing; 
(d) ISO/IEC 17065 Conformity assessment – requirements for bodies providing 
certification of product (including services) and processes. 
IV. PROMOTION OF THE CASCO 'TOOL BOX' AND WORKSHOPS  
7. Over the course of 2007-2008, the Chair and Secretary of CASCO have participated in 
numerous events to promote the CASCO toolbox and highlight the importance of implementing 
recognised conformity assessment practices. This is essential to address technical barriers to trade, 
reduce the cost of conformity assessment procedures and ensure greater confidence in the trade of 
goods and services.  
8. ISO/CASCO chaired a session at the annual Global Harmonization Task Force (GHTF – 
Medical Devices) meeting held in W ashington (USA) in October 2007.  
9. In 2007, two ISO regional workshops on confor mity assessment for sustainable development 
and trade were organized; the first in South Africa in May and the second in Tunisia in November. On 
12-13 June 2008 a similar ISO workshop was held in Kiev (Ukraine).   
10. ISO has compiled a collection of three CD's (for sale) that contain all relevant standards and 
guides for conformity assessment. The CD's are:   G/TBT/GEN/78 
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  (a) International Standards and Guides re levant to an Accreditation Body  
(b) International Standards and Guides relevant to a Laboratory and/or Inspection Body  
(c) International Standards and Guides relevant to Certification and/or Inspection Body 
(published in 2007)  
11. The 2008 March edition of the ISO magazine ISO Focus,  focused on conformity assessment, 
gives an update on developments within CASCO a nd the implementation of ISO standards in this 
area.  
12. ISO jointly with UNIDO have recently issued a promotional document Fast Forward  which 
takes an entry level perspective aimed at interest ed parties who are tasked with the establishment, 
upgrading and management of a National Standards Bo dy in a developing country. It is intended to 
issue in 2009 a complementary stand-alone publica tion specifically on good conformity assessment 
practices.   
13. An updated list of CASCO guides and standard s, published and under way, is contained in 
Annex 2.  G/TBT/GEN/78 
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ANNEX 1  
LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS IN LIAISON WITH CASCO 
 
BIPM:  Bureau Internationa l des Poids et Mesures  
CEOC:  International Confederation of In spection and Certification Organisations  
CAC:  Codex Alimentarius Commission  
EOQ:  European Organisation for Quality  
Eurolab:  The European Federation of Nati onal Associations of Measurement, Testing  
IAF:  International Accreditation Forum  
IFAN:  International Federation of Standards Users  
IFIA:  International Federation of Inspection Agencies  
IIOC:  Independent International Organisation for Certification  
ILAC:  International Laborat ory Accreditation Cooperation  
IPC:  International Personnel Certification Association  
QNet:  International Certification Network  
ITU-T:  International Telecommunication Union, Standardization Bureau  
OIML:  International Organi zation for Legal Metrology  
UILI:  International Union of Independent Laboratories  
  G/TBT/GEN/78 
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  ANNEX 2 
 
LIST OF PUBLISHED CASCO GUIDES AND STANDARDS BY FIELD OF APPLICATION 
(UPDATED AT 1 NOVEMBER 2008) 
Vocabulary, 
principles and 
common elements of conformity assessment  ISO/IEC 17000 : 2004 ISO 
PAS 17001 : 2005 ISO PAS 
17002 : 2004 ISO PAS 
17003 : 2004 ISO PAS 
17004 : 2005 ISO PAS 
17005 : 2008  Conformity assessment - Vocabulary and 
general principles Conformity assessment - 
Impartiality - Principles and requirements Conformity assessment - Confidentiality - Principles and requirements Conformity assessment - Complaints and appeals - 
Principles and requirements Conformity 
assessment - Disclosure of information - Principles and requirements Conformity assessment - Use of management systems - Principles and requirements  
Product certification  ISO/IEC Guide 23 : 1982 
Reconfirmed in 2003 
ISO/IEC Guide 28 : 2004 
ISO/IEC Guide 53 : 2005 
ISO/IEC Guide 65 : 1996 
ISO/IEC Guide 67 : 2004  Methods of indicating conformity with 
standards for third-party certification 
systems Conformity assessment - Guidance 
on a third-party certification system for products Conformity assessment - Guidance on the use of an organization's quality management system in product 
certification General requirements for 
bodies operating product certification systems Conformity assessment - Fundamentals of product certification  
Code of good practice for conformity 
assessment  ISO/IEC Guide 60 : 2004  Conformity asse ssment - Code of good 
practice  
Mutual Recognition 
Arrangements 
(MRAs)  ISO/IEC Guide 68 : 2002  Arrangements for the recognition and 
acceptance of conformity assessment 
results  
Accreditation  ISO/IEC 17011 : 2004  Conformity assessment - General 
requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies  
Inspection  ISO/IEC 17020 : 1998 
Reconfirmed in 2002  General criteria for the operation of various 
types of bodies performing inspection  
System certification  ISO/IEC 17021:2006  Conformity assessment - General 
requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems  
Certification of persons  ISO/IEC 17024 : 2003  Conformity assessment - General 
requirements for bodies operating certification of persons  G/TBT/GEN/78 
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  Testing/calibration  ISO/IEC 17025 : 2005 
ISO/IEC Guide 43-1 : 1997 
ISO/IEC Guide 43-2 : 1997  General requirements for the competence of 
testing and calibration laboratories Proficiency testing by inter-laboratory comparisons – Part 1: Development and operation of proficiency testing schemes 
Proficiency testing by inter-laboratory 
comparisons – Part 2: Selection and use of proficiency testing schemes by laboratory accreditation bodies  
Marks of conformity  ISO Guide 27 : 1983 
Reconfirmed in 2003  Guidelines for corrective action to be taken 
by a certification body in the event of misuse of its mark of conformity   
 ISO/IEC 17030: 2003  Conformity assessment - General 
requirements for  third-party marks of 
conformity 
 
Peer assessment  ISO/IEC 17040 : 2005  Conformity assessment - General 
requirements for peer assessment of conformity assessment bodies and accreditation bodies  
Supplier's Declaration of 
Conformity (SDoC)  ISO/IEC 17050-1: 2004  Conformity assessment - Supplier's 
declaration of conformity - Part 1: General 
requirements  
 ISO/IEC 17050-2: 2004  Conformity assessment - Supplier's 
declaration of conformity - Part 2: 
Supporting documentation  
 
LIST OF CASCO PROJECTS UNDER WA Y (UPDATED AT 1 NOVEMBER 2008) 
Writing 
specifications for use in conformity assessment  ISO/IEC 17007 [CASCO WG 27] 
Revision of ISO/IEC Guide 7:1994 DIS launched on 2008-06-20.  Conformity assessment – 
Guidelines for drafting normative documents suitable for use for conformity assessment  
Inspection  ISO/IEC 17020 [CASCO WG 31] 
Revision of ISO/IEC 17020:1998 1st 
WG meeting planned in Q1 2009.  Conformity assessment – 
Requirements for the operation 
of bodies performing inspection  
Auditing competence  ISO/IEC 17021 Part 2 [CASCO WG 
21] CD closed on 2008-07-12. CD2 
planned end November.  Conformity assessment – 
Requirements for third party 
certification auditing of 
management systems  
Certification of persons  ISO/IEC 17024 [CASCO WG 30] 
Revision of ISO/IEC 17024:2003 1st WG meeting planned in Q1 2009  Conformity assessment – 
General requirements for bodies operating certifications of persons   G/TBT/GEN/78 
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  Proficiency testing  ISO/IEC 17043 [CASCO WG 28] 
Revision of ISO/IEC Guide 43:1997 CD closed on 2008-06-14. DIS planned mid-November.  Conformity assessment – 
General requirements for proficiency testing  
Product certification  ISO/IEC 17065 [CASCO WG 29] 
Revision of ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996 
Working Draft in progress.  Conformity assessment – 
Requirements for certification 
bodies certifying products (including services) and processes  
 
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