FAQ

1. What is the juridical scope of Belgian standards?

http://www.nbn.be/EN/nbnbrief.html

2. Contractually, which standard does one apply?

Subject to the discretion of the courts, the manner in which a contract or a specification makes reference to a standard, determines the legal consequences that derive from it. If the contract or (book of tender) only refers to a standard in the broadest sense of the word, this also covers a new version of the same standard(s) or new standards that appear between the signing of the contract and the final acceptance of the works. If however the parties to a contract refer to a specific standard, then only this particular document applies to the execution of the work, regardless of any other standards or new versions of the same standard published between the signature of the contract and the final acceptance of the works.

3. Can one deviate from the provisions of a standard ?

Standards are applied on a voluntary basis.
Standards offer a coherent response on a technical aspect and reflect in that respect the `best practice’ in the field concerned. This can engage the liability of all parties within the framework of article 1382 of the Civil Code (outside the contract). In that hypothesis it is more of a factual matter where the judge must assess if non-compliance with a standard constitutes a fault.

4. How can I participate in standardization work?

Participating in standardization work is possible by becoming a member of the Belgian standardization committee responsible for the subject concerned. This can be a mirror committee following up international (ISO) and European (CEN) standardization work, and which may also elaborate specifically Belgian standards. It can also be a standardization committee which exclusively elaborates specifically Belgian standards.

Membership of a standardization committee is open to any natural or legal person with place of residence or seat in Belgium, having a clear, direct and current interest in the work of the standardization committee of which he wishes to become a member and who contributes technically to the work of the concerned committee. (Ref. Article 2.1 of the standardization committees’ Internal Rules)
As a member of a Belgian mirror committee you receive all the documents relating to the corresponding ISO and / or CEN TC / SC so that you can follow up and participate in these international and European standards developments as well as comment and participate in the voting.
Upon the establishment of the NBN (Standardization Act of April 3, 2003, the new philosophy of decentralization of standardization activities (towards sectoral operators) was also included. Sectoral operators coordinate one or more standardization committees in areas which fall under their competence. Belgian standardization committees which do not fall under the management of a sectoral operator are managed by the NBN.
Through the consultation of the following lists:
• 2011 STANDARDIZATION PROGRAM
• COMMISSIONS WITHOUT SECTORAL OPERATOR
You can examine if the ISO or CEN commission which YOU are interested in is managed by a sectoral operator or by the NBN. In the list TC WITHOUT EXPERTS, the ISO or CEN committees for which there is presently no active Belgian participation, have been mentioned.
If the ISO or CEN commission is managed by a sectoral operator, you can contact that organization in order to register as member of the corresponding Belgian standardization committee. If the ISO or CEN commission falls under the responsibility of NBN (including TC's with no expert), you should contact NBN (tech@nbn.be) to handle your registration.
PS : For more information on the standardization activities in Belgium, as well as at international and European level, see the Information booklet http://www.nbn.be/EN/BookletNBN.pdf"Current state of standardization in Belgium. On the NBN website you will find specific information on standardization in Belgium.
Standardization in Belgium : a history
The operation of Belgian standardization committees is described in the Internal Rules for Standardization Committees.

5. I have a question regarding the content and application of a standard. To whom should I address it ?

First of all you can verify if there exists a Standards Antenna in the domain concerned by your question. Standards Antennas have been specifically developed to inform SME's and keep them up to date concerning recent developments in their area of standardization. You will find here some information on these Standards Antennas.
Il there is no Standards Antenna available for the subject of your question or if it is unable to give you an answer, you can put the question to the sectoral operator or to NBN. They will try to answer your question in collaboration with the standardization committee.

6. Is a sectoral operator allowed to reproduce standards and distribute them among committee members ?

Sectoral operators are authorized to putdocuments related to their activities at the disposal of committee members.
Paragraph 7.2 of the Agreement on the management of Belgian standardization committees, stipulates that any reproduction, distribution, resale or communication of standards or technical documents to non-committee members, in any medium and by any means, is prohibited without the explicit written consent of NBN.

7. Which types of comments can be submitted during a vote on a FprEN (CEN) and FDIS (ISO) ?

In principle, a document at the FprEN (CEN) or FDIS (ISO) stage can only be the subject of editorial comments.
If case of an APPROVAL vote only EDITORIAL comments are allowed.
In principle, the other types of comments (GEneral, TEchnical) do not apply to an FDIS/FprEN vote. Such comments can only be added to an ABSTAIN or DISAPPROVAL vote, provided that they are consistent with previous comments (vote DIS/prEN, CD) or if the FDIS/FprEN version was significantly amended in comparison with the DIS/prEN version..

8. Is NBN authorized to publish a consolidated version of a standard, following a public enquiry concerning the amendment to this standard?

The procedure applied by ISO and CEN, in which the text of the amendment is first submitted to a public enquiry, and the text of the amendment is subsequently incorporated into the existing standard (which is then released for publication) does not correspond to the Belgian ratification procedure.
Consequently, for specifically Belgian standards, a draft version of the consolidated standard will have to be submitted to a public enquiry, at the request of the national Mirror committee, in accordance with the Belgian ratification procedure (ref. Royal Decree 25-10-2004)