. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/N/NLD/32
26 September 2001
(01-4586)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6.
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   THE NETHERLANDS
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):           
2. Agency responsible:   Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and web-site
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:   National Enquiry
Point – EC WTO TBT Enquiry Point
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X], 2.10.1 [    ], 5.6.2 [    ], 5.7.1 [    ], other:           
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):   Voting machines for use
in the election of general representative bodies.
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Draft regulation
amending the regulation from the State Secretary of the Interior of 23 October 1989,
no. CW88/13/U76 (Government Gazette 1989, 210), in which the models referred to in theElections Act and the Elections decree were laid down.
6. Description of content:   In the Netherlands, only voting machines that have been approved
by the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations may be used in elections.  For thepurposes of this approval, requirements for voting machines have been laid down in the
Elections Act, the Elections Decree and the Regulation on provisions and approval of voting
machines 1997, which is based thereon. In this way a number of functional requirements areset out with regard to reliability, user-friendliness and safeguards to guarantee the secret
nature of the ballot.  From a technical point of view, the way in which these requirements
must be met is not stipulated.  This is left up to the producers.  Under the current legislationvoting machines may be approved for use dur ing (no more than) two ballots at the same
time.  An amendment to the Elections Decree is pending, which intends to make possible
the approval of voting machines for use in more than two elections at the same time.
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:
Various types of voting machine are already technically prepared for use in more than
two ballots at the same time.  However, on the basis of current legislation voting machines
may only be approved for use in a maximum of two ballots at the same time.
On 1 January 2002 the Interim Referendum Act enters into force.  As a result, an increase in
the number of occasions that more than two ballots will take place at the same time is
expected.  It is hoped that voting machines can be thereby deployed.  The current draftregulation, in conjunction with the already notified draft decree to amend the electionsG/TBT/N/NLD/32
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decree, intends to set rules concerning the way in which ballot papers will be displayed if
voting machines are used for more than one ballo t at the same time.  These rules fit in with
the current regulations concerning the use of voting machines for two ballots at once.
8. Relevant documents:   The draft regulation is in conjunction with a draft decree amending
the Elections Decree.
9. Proposed date of adoption:  10 December 2001
Proposed date of entry into force:  1 January 2002
10. Final date for comments:   26 November 2001
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [ X] or address, telephone and fax
numbers, e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body: