Text consolidated by Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre) with amending laws of:
20 June 2001 [shall come
into force on 20 July 2001];
18 March 2004 [shall come into force on 14 April
2004];
10 November 2005 [shall come into force on 14 December
2005];
19 June 2008 [shall come into force on 23 July
2008];
12 June 2009 [shall come into force on 1 July
2009];
18 February 2010 [shall come into force on 16 March
2010];
3 December 2020 [shall come into force on 31 December
2020].
If a whole or part of a section has been amended, the
date of the amending law appears in square brackets at
the end of the section. If a whole section, paragraph or
clause has been deleted, the date of the deletion appears
in square brackets beside the deleted section, paragraph
or clause.
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The Saeima1 has adopted and
the President has proclaimed the following law:
Standardisation
Law
Chapter I
General Provisions
Section 1. This Law regulates the standardisation
principles, tasks, organisational system, and the procedures for
the financing of standardisation as well as the classification of
standards.
Section 2. Standardisation is an aggregate of
activities the purpose of which is to determine general and
frequently applicable principles for solving existing or
prospective tasks and thus to create conditions for optimal order
in a specific field.
Chapter
II
Principles and Tasks of Standardisation
Section 3. The principles of standardisation shall be
as follows:
1) openness, the involvement of all stakeholders in
standardisation and the taking of decisions on the basis of a
collective agreement;
2) voluntary participation in standardisation and voluntary
application of standards;
3) orientation towards technical achievements;
4) orientation towards the interests of society as a
whole;
5) compliance with the international and European
standardisation requirements.
[3 December 2020]
Section 4. The standardisation tasks shall be as
follows:
1) to ensure the protection of human life, health, and the
environment;
2) to promote the free movement of goods and services;
3) to promote the co-operation of countries;
4) to ensure the compatibility of products and systems;
5) to utilise resources rationally;
6) to ensure the protection of consumer interests.
[20 June 2001]
Chapter
III
Organisational System of Standardisation
Section 5. The State policy in the field of
standardisation shall be implemented by the Ministry of
Economics.
Section 6. (1) The process of standardisation shall be
co-ordinated by the National Standardisation Council.
(2) The National Standardisation Council is a consultative
body the by-law of which is approved by the Cabinet and the
activities of which are managed by the Ministry of Economics.
(3) The staff of the National Standardisation Council shall be
approved by the Minister for Economics.
(4) The main tasks of the National Standardisation Council
shall be as follows:
1) to participate in the development of the State policy in
the field of standardisation;
2) to examine the standardisation requests of the sectoral
ministries for inclusion in the standards translation and
formulation plan;
3) [3 December 2020];
4) [3 December 2020];
5) to participate in the formulation of laws and other legal
acts related to standardisation;
6) to promote co-operation with international standardisation
bodies.
[3 December 2020]
Section 7. (1) In Latvia, standardisation shall be
performed by the national standardisation body.
(2) The body which shall carry out the functions of the
national standardisation body shall be determined by the
Cabinet.
[3 December 2020]
Section 8. (1) Pursuant to international
standardisation principles, the national standardisation body
shall:
1) determine the standardisation procedures;
2) establish technical standardisation committees and working
groups.
(2) Within the meaning of this Law, the standardisation
procedure shall be the sequence of activities necessary for the
performance of standardisation.
(3) [3 December 2020]
[3 December 2020]
Section 9. The main functions of the national
standardisation body shall be as follows:
1) to organise the formulation, revision, and revocation of
Latvian national standards in the technical standardisation
committees or working groups;
2) to register as Latvian national standards the standards
published by the European standardisation organisations and the
international standards requested by stakeholders;
3) to issue and publish Latvian national standards and other
documents related thereto;
4) to ensure the establishment of funds of standards and other
documents related thereto and the distribution of information in
the field of standardisation;
5) to ensure the maintenance, storage, and supplementation of
the funds of Latvian national standards and other documents
related thereto;
6) to participate in the operations of international and
European standardisation organisations;
7) to ensure regular co-operation with the European Union
bodies for the fulfilment of international obligations in
accordance with Section 9.1 of this Law;
8) to ensure the compilation and free accessibility of the
terms used in the standards referred to in Section 12, Paragraph
two of this Law.
[18 March 2004; 3 December 2020]
Section 9.1 In co-operation with the
European Union bodies, the national standardisation body
shall:
1) notify the European Commission and European standardisation
bodies (the European Committee for Standardisation, the European
Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation, the European
Telecommunications Standards Institute, and the national
standardisation bodies of the European Union Member States) of
the objects included in the standardisation plan in relation to
which it is intended to prepare or amend the national standards,
except for the cases when the national standards take over
identical or equivalent European or international standards;
2) upon request of the European Commission, inform the
European Commission and European standardisation bodies of the
standardisation plan (the operational programme of the
standardisation body in which the objects in relation to which
standardisation is performed are mentioned) or a separate part
thereof;
3) submit to the European Commission and European
standardisation bodies upon request thereof all the draft
standards (the document which contains the technical parameters
of a specified object and which is intended to be approved in
accordance with standardisation procedures) which are distributed
for public consultation and commentary.
[18 March 2004]
Section 10. [3 December 2020]
Section 11. [3 December 2020]
Chapter
IV
Standards, the Types and Application Thereof
Section 12. (1) A standard is a document approved by
the relevant standardisation body which is formulated on the
basis of a collective agreement, includes general and repeatedly
applicable provisions, instructions or a description of various
types of activities or the results thereof and the purpose of
which is to bring optimal order to a specific field.
(2) The standards shall be divided as follows:
1) Latvian national standards which are formulated and
approved by technical standardisation committees or working
groups;
2) standards of international and European standardisation
organisations registered in the status of a Latvian national
standard;
3) [3 December 2020].
(3) A standard formulated and approved by the European
Committee for Standardisation, the European Committee for
Electrotechnical Standardisation, or the European
Telecommunications Standards Institute upon request of the
European Commission which is registered in the status of a
Latvian national standard shall be the applicable standard.
[10 November 2005; 19 June 2008; 3 December 2020]
Section 13. (1) The application of standards shall be
voluntary.
(2) The Cabinet may determine the Latvian national standards
the application of which is mandatory. The Cabinet shall
determine the principles, tasks, and organisational system of
standardisation in the military field.
(3) In laws and regulations, indirect references may be made
to the standards which are not provided for as standards the
application of which is mandatory in the laws and regulations but
which may be applied in order to fulfil the mandatory
requirements laid down in the legal act.
(4) In co-operation with a technical standardisation
committee, the ministry of the relevant sector shall submit to
the national standardisation body for publication on the website
thereof the lists of applicable standards for the fulfilment of
the requirements of the laws and regulations.
[18 March 2004; 3 December 2020]
Section 14. (1) The standards of international and
European standardisation organisations which are registered in
the status of a Latvian national standard may also be drawn up in
the official language of the relevant standardisation
organisation.
(2) The Latvian national standards the application of which is
mandatory must be translated into the official language.
(3) The costs related to the translation of the standards
referred to in Paragraph two of this Section into the official
language shall be covered from the budgetary funds of the
relevant sectoral ministry.
[10 November 2005; 18 February 2010; 3 December
2020]
Section 15. (1) In order to implement and improve the
sectoral policy, the ministry of the relevant sector shall
prepare a standardisation request:
1) for the formulation of Latvian national standards on the
basis of the needs of the relevant sector if no equivalent
European or international standards exist;
2) for the translation of the applicable standards referred to
in Section 12, Paragraph three of this Law into the official
language.
(2) The standardisation request which includes the task to be
performed, the term of execution thereof, and the amount of
financing shall be submitted by the sectoral ministry to the
national standardisation body for inclusion in the standards
translation and formulation plan.
(3) The translation of the applicable standards referred to in
Section 12, Paragraph three of this Law into the official
language shall be ensured on the basis of the standardisation
requests submitted by ministries and in conformity with the funds
allocated for this purpose in the State budget.
(4) When preparing a standardisation request for the
translation of the applicable standards into the official
language, the sectoral ministry shall comply with one of the
following criteria:
1) the standard is to be used in regulatory frameworks of
several sectors;
2) the requirements of the standard are applicable to a wide
range of public (in particular to consumers);
3) the extent of the user group of the standard (determined
according to the request to the national standardisation body of
the relevant standard or the previous versions thereof);
4) the demand of stakeholders and the specific sector for the
standards which would promote the development and growth of the
national economy.
[3 December 2020]
Chapter V
Financing of Standardisation
Section 16. Standardisation shall be financed from the
State budget, contributions of legal persons and natural persons,
and from the income obtained from paid services provided in the
field of standardisation.
Section 17. (1) The following shall be financed from
the funds allocated for this purpose to the Ministry of Economics
in the State budget:
1) the maintenance costs of the national standardisation
body;
2) the updating and supplementation of the information base of
standards;
3) the formulation of Latvian national standards in the
regulated sphere;
4) the registration of the European and international
standards in the status of Latvian national standards;
5) the fee for participation in international and European
standardisation organisations;
6) [12 June 2009].
(2) The formulation of Latvian national standards in the
non-regulated sphere shall be financed by legal persons and
natural persons who are interested in using these standards.
[19 June 2008; 12 June 2009; 3 December 2020]
Transitional
Provisions
1. With the coming into force of this Law, Cabinet Regulation
No. 281, Regulations Regarding Standardisation, issued pursuant
to Article 81 of the Constitution (Latvijas Republikas Saeimas
un Ministru Kabineta Ziņotājs, 1998, No. 18) is repealed.
2. [3 December 2020]
3. Section 14, Paragraph three of this Law shall come into
force on 1 January 2007.
[10 November 2005]
4. The Cabinet shall, by 31 May 2021, issue the regulations
referred to in Section 7, Paragraph two of this Law. Until the
day of coming into force of this regulation, the functions of the
national standardisation body shall be carried out by
sabiedrība ar ierobežotu atbildību "Latvijas standarts"
[limited liability company Latvian Standard].
[3 December 2020]
Informative
Reference to European Union Directives
[19 June 2008]
This Law contains legal norms arising from:
1) Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 22 June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision
of information in the field of technical standards and
regulations;
2) Directive 98/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 20 July 1998 amending Directive 98/34/EC laying down a
procedure for the provision of information in the field of
technical standards and regulations;
3) Directive 2004/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 31 March 2004 on measuring instruments.
The Law has been adopted by the Saeima on 14 October
1998.
President G. Ulmanis
Rīga, 28 October 1998
1The Parliament of the Republic of
Latvia
Translation © 2024 Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre)