The formal definition of "Standards" from the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is "A document, established by consensus and approved by a recognised 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.”
The standards themselves impose no obligations on manufacturers, but they are often cited in European and national laws and regulations. Where they are cited in legislation, they become the legal standard to which products must conform.
A range of standards are referenced in Irish legislation. These include:
- International standards (ISO, IEC, etc.),
- European Standards (including harmonised European Standards),
- Irish national standards (i.e. a standard specification declared or deemed to have been declared under section 16 of the National Standards Authority Act 1996),
- National standards from other countries (including British Standards), and
- Standards developed by trade bodies and other entities.
They are also referenced in other documents, including guidelines, by-laws, regulations, standards (i.e. guidance documents published by State bodies) and other regulatory frameworks.
The impact on the use of British Standards in areas of national competence which are not the subject of EU legislation is minimal.
However, where EU legislation mandates the use of harmonised European Standards it is not permitted to use UK Approved Standards.
International Standards
International standards are standards which are adopted by an international standardisation body, such as the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) or the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
European (EN) Standards
European standards are standards issued by one of the three European standardisation bodies (the Comité Européen de Normalisation – CEN, the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation – CENELEC, and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute – ETSI). They can be identified by the designation ‘EN’.
All national standards bodies who are members of CEN, CENELEC or ETSI must adopt their European standards as national standards and remove any conflicting national standards. This means that ENs are the generally the same in all European countries.
Harmonised European (hEN) Standards
Harmonised standards are a special set of European Standards which are used to underpin EU product legislation and are given a legal basis by Regulation (EC) 765/2008.
Harmonised standards are produced by CEN, CENELEC and ETSI in response to a mandate from the European Commission. The take on their specialised status when the European Commission lists them in the Official Journal of the European Union. Products which meet the relevant harmonised standards enjoy a presumption of conformity with the relevant essential requirements set out in the EU product legislation.
Where a hEN exists the manufacturer must use a hEN when demonstrating conformity as part of their product certification process (CE marking) of all products placed on the EU Single Market.
National Standards
A national standard is a standard adopted by a national standardisation body (NSB). They can be international (ISO) or European standards (EN, hEN) adopted as national standards or they can be developed by the NSB where no international or European standard exists
NSAI is the national standardisation body for Ireland and produces Irish Standards (I.S.).
The British Standards Institute (BSI) is the NSB for the UK and develops and adopts British Standards (BS) which are often used in Ireland where no equivalent Irish standard exists.
