ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies which was created in 1926 with the aim of establishing more effective intergovernmental relations in technical fields. In 1942, in connection with the Second World War, the Organization ceased its activities for a while, and in 1946 it was established again. Officially ISO began its activities on 13 February 1947 as the International Standard Organization. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. ISO is derived from the Greek “isos”, meaning equal and to sound the same in all languages. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and works in 167 countries as of 2023. The three official languages of ISO are English, French, and Russian.

The main purpose of ISO is to promote the development of standards in the world with a view to facilitating international exchange of goods and services and to developing mutual cooperation in the sphere of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity. The main activities of the organization are: coordinating efforts in the field of unification of national standards; developing and publishing international standards to support their worldwide application; organizing the exchange of information on the activities of its member committees and technical committees; and cooperating with other international organizations concerned with standardization-related fields. The organization is governed by a Council headed by a President and a Vice-President. The Council is elected from among the representatives of the National Committees of the General Assembly and by absentee voting (by ballot) for a period of three years. The Board is responsible for planning and coordinating the work to be done, for observing the directives, the “Statutes and Rules of Procedure”, and for monitoring the specific work done and the deadlines for its completion. The organization controls more than 95% of the products manufactured worldwide.

The main objectives of the organization are carried out by technical committees (TCs), subcommittees and technical groups. More than 20,000 experts are involved in the creation and harmonisation of draft international standards. The subject matter of the organization’s activities is divided into TCs’ areas of activity. Each TC has its own name, programme of activities, and specific area of activity. International Standards are created, discussed and agreed in these TCs. Subcommittees and working groups are created at TCs to study specific issues. At the first stage of work on international standardization, the activities of the organization were limited to industrial production. Later TCs were established for terminology, photography, banking, information processing, statistics and other areas.

The main executive bodies of ISO are;

ISO General Assembly, which holds an Annual Meeting with the participation of representatives of national standards bodies of member countries and other cooperating organizations.

The ISO Council, which is a permanent body of the organization and consists of representatives of 20 member countries and members of the ad hoc committee.

The ISO Central Secretariat, which carries out the activities of the organization related to its current cases.

The following ISO Ad Hoc Committees are active:

CASCO – the Committee on Conformity Assessment;

COPOLCO – the Committee on Consumer Policy;

DEVCO – Committee on developing country matters;

Council Standing Committees – Standing Committees on Finance and Strategic Policy;

Ad Hoc Advisory Committees – Ad Hoc Advisory Groups.

One of the necessary factors is that the legal basis of standardization meets modern requirements within the framework of the implemented measures to ensure the free movement of non-raw material products produced in our country in international trade and increase its competitiveness. That is why the field of standardization is becoming more and more relevant in our country.

On 16 April 1996, the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Standardization” was adopted. By the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan of 10 February 2017, the “Azerbaijan Institute of Standardization” (AZSTAND) was established as a public legal entity. The Institute was entrusted with the functions of development and application of standards, as well as representation of standards in international organizations. In addition, the “State program for 2023-2025 to bring the national standardization system in line with international requirements” was approved by the Order of the Head of State dated 23 January 2023.

AZSTAND as the national standardization organization of our country since December 2017 is a full member of ISO. Currently, the organization is successfully represented in 32 technical committees of the International Organization for Standardization.

Recommended literature:

1. Məmmədov, Nəriman Rəhim oğlu. Standartlaşdırmanın əsasları : dərslik / N. R. Məmmədov. - Bakı : Elm, 2003. - 388 s.
2. Abdullayev, Q. Q. Standartlaşdırma və keyfiyyətin idarə edilməsi : dərs vəsaiti / Q. Q. Abdullayev, V. Q. Məmmədova, M. Ş. Hüseynov ; elmi red. S. A. Abbasov ; Azərbaycan Dövlət Aqrar Universiteti. - Bakı : Mütərcim, 2018. - 200 s.
3. Aslanov, Zabit Yunus oğlu. Sertifikatlaşdırmanın əsasları : dərslik / Z. Y. Aslanov, M. S. Zeynalova ; red. Z. Y. Aslanov ; Azərbaycan Dövlət İqtisad Universiteti. - Bakı : İqtisad Universiteti nəşriyyatı, 2018. - 280 s.