Overview
ISO/IEC Guide 59:2019 - "ISO and IEC recommended practices for standardization by national bodies" provides recommended practices to help national standards bodies implement the WTO TBT Committee decision (G/TBT/9, 2000) and the WTO TBT Agreement’s Code of Good Practice (Annex 3, 1995). Published jointly by ISO and IEC (second edition, 2019), the Guide is intended for ISO and IEC national members and offers practical guidance on transparent, open and consensus‑based standardization at the national level.
Key Topics
The Guide focuses on good practices that promote international trade facilitation and technical coherence. Major topics include:
- Principles of standards development: transparency, openness, impartiality and consensus, effectiveness and relevance, coherence, and development dimension.
- WTO TBT Code implementation: practical guidance on notifying acceptance or withdrawal of the Code of Good Practice, and how national bodies should align with G/TBT/9.
- Non‑discrimination and avoidance of unnecessary barriers to trade: measures to ensure standards do not unfairly restrict trade.
- Use of international standards: guidance on adopting ISO/IEC standards as the basis for national standards and on active participation in international work.
- Procedural elements: standards work programmes, stakeholder comment submission, publication practices, and appeals procedures.
- Supporting material: informative annexes covering the TBT principles, participant categories and forms related to the Code of Good Practice.
Normative references include ISO/IEC Guide 2 and the ISO/IEC Directives, and the Guide explicitly supports (but does not replace) WTO TBT documents.
Applications
ISO/IEC Guide 59:2019 is practical for:
- National standards bodies seeking to align their rules with WTO TBT principles and to harmonize national and international standards.
- Standards managers and policymakers drafting procedures on transparency, stakeholder engagement and appeals.
- Regulators and procurement officials who rely on national standards and need to ensure non‑discriminatory practices and trade compatibility.
- Industry associations, conformity assessment bodies and trade organizations wanting to understand how national standardization processes should support market access and reduce technical barriers to trade.
Practical uses include designing national rules for participation, setting publication and notification routines, establishing appeals mechanisms, and prioritizing performance‑based specifications.
Related Standards
- ISO/IEC Guide 2 - Standardization and related activities: General vocabulary
- ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 and Part 2 - procedures and editorial rules for standards development
- WTO TBT Committee decision (G/TBT/9) and WTO TBT Agreement, Annex 3 (Code of Good Practice)
Keywords: ISO/IEC Guide 59:2019, standardization by national bodies, WTO TBT, Code of Good Practice, transparency, openness, consensus, national standards, best practices.