The present Law establishes legal and economic bases of standardisation in the Azerbaijan Republic, obligatory for all executive authorities, local self-governing bodies, enterprises, organisations, entrepreneurs (hereinafter referred to as economic entities), as well as to public associations. State protection of interests of consumers, governmental and economic entities is regulated by the present Law and normative documents on standardisation, worked and applied in compliance with it.

Chapter I. General provisions
Article 1. Basic definitions

Standardisation is the activity on the establishment of norms, regulations & characteristics of production aiming at the provision of:

· products (works, services) safety for life, health, property and environment;
· technical, technological and data sharing, as well as mutual replacement of products (works, services);
· products (works, services) conformity with the available level of science, technique and technology, increase of its competitiveness;
· precision and unity of measurements;
· economy of all kinds of resources;
· safety of economic entities with consideration of probability of natural and technology-related disasters, as well as other extraordinary situations;
· defence facilities and mobilisation readiness of the country;
· provision of consumers with full and reliable information about the assortment and quality of products (works, services).

Standard is regulating document, worked out as a result of co-operation between interested parties and confirmed by the corresponding competent organisations or bodies, which establish requirements to the quality and safety of products (works, services) intended for mass consumption.
Normative document on standardisation is the normative legal act, reflecting general norms, regulations and characteristics for the fulfilment and use of definite kind of activity or its results.
International standards are the standards, norms, regulations and recommendations, adopted and used by the majority of world states.
Regional (basin) standards are the standards, norms, regulations and recommendations adopted and used by a group of regional (basin) states, fulfilling technical - economic co-operation.
Intergovernmental standards are the standards, norms, regulations and recommendations, adopted with mutual consent and used in the corresponding relations of two states.
National standards are the standards, norms, regulations and recommendations, worked out and used on the territory of a separate independent state.

Article 2. Legislation of the Azerbaijan Republic about standardisation

Legislation about standardisation is composed of the present Law and issued with compliance with it other legislative acts of the Azerbaijan Republic.
Grounds of the standards of construction, staple foods, other consumer goods and products (works, services) are fixed by the laws of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Article 3. International treaties

If otherwise provided by the international treaties of the Azerbaijan Republic as compared with provisions of the present Law, the regulations of international treaties are applied.

Article 4. The organisation of works and management of standardisation

1. The organisation of works and management of standardisation include elaboration and application of normative documents on standardisation, provision of consumers with full and reliable information about these documents, development of standardisation system, determination of rules for application of international standards in the Azerbaijan Republic and branch peculiarities of standards, carrying out of control measures over the following of standards requirements, preparation and improvement of qualification of the personnel in the filed of standardisation, financing of mentioned works and other measures.
2. The organisation of works and state management of standardisation is to be carried out according to the present Law by the corresponding executive body within the limits of its authority.
3. The co-ordination of the activity of executive authorities, as well as economic entities and public associations of the Azerbaijan Republic in the field of organisation and management of standardisation is to be provided by the corresponding executive standardisation body.
With the aim of fulfilment of the said co-ordination the state standardisation system is applied in compliance with the present Law and other normative and legal standardisation acts. State standards, comprising this system establish general organisation and technical rules for standardisation works, forms and methods of relations between the economic entities themselves and with the executive authorities.
4. Acknowledgement and application of international (regional) and intergovernmental standards, norms, rules and recommendations on standardisation is to be fulfilled in the order, fixed on the basis of corresponding executive authority requirements, stipulated by the article 1 of the present Law, unless otherwise provided international treaties of the Azerbaijan Republic.
Executive bodies, enjoying appropriate authorities represent the Azerbaijan Republic in the international organisations and negotiations on standardisation.

Chapter II. Normative documents on standardisation and their application
Article 5. Normative documents on standardisation and requirements to them

1. Normative documents on standardisation, which are elaborated and applied on the territory of the Azerbaijan Republic in cases, order and on conditions, fixed by the present Law include:

· state standards of the Azerbaijan Republic;
· directories of technical, economic and social information;
· branch standards;
· international (regional) and intergovernmental standards, norms, rules and recommendations applied in the established order;
· technical conditions;
· standards of enterprises;
· standards of scientific-technical, engineering societies and other public associations.

2. The corresponding body of the executive authority of the Azerbaijan Republic provides common state registration and account of normative documents, included into standardisation system, setting up of Republican and branch funds of these documents.
3. Requirements, set by normative documents on standardisation are to be based on international standards, norms, rules and recommendations on standardisation, progressive national standards of other states, modern scientific, technical and technological achievements, take into account conditions of products use, works fulfilment and service rendering, labour conditions and regimes and not to infringe provisions, established by the legislation of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Article 6. State standards, directories of technical-economic and social information

1. State standards are worked out for products (works, services) with the prospects of mass reproduction and utilisation.
2. State standards of the Azerbaijan Republic include obligatory and recommendatory requirements.
Obligatory requirements include:

· requirements on the safety of products (works, services) for health, life, property and environment;
· requirements on technical, technological and information concurrency and mutual replacement of products (works, services);
· general consumer characteristics of products (works, services), methods of their control, packaging rules, marking, transportation, storage and utilisation of production;
· requirements about products (works, services) conformity with the level of scientific, technical and technological development;
· requirements of safety and production sanitary of goods (works, services);rules of preparation of technical documentation on products (works, services), rational use of all kinds of resources during the production, utilisation, execution of works and rendering of services;
· other standardisation requirements, fixed by state standards.

Obligatory requirements of state standards are to be followed by all executive authorities and economic entities, the corresponding standards influence spreads on.
In cases when it is necessary for the protection of interests of the Azerbaijan Republic and increase of competitiveness of local products (goods, services) the preliminary requirements on the prospects, outpacing scopes of traditional technologies may be foreseen in standards.
3. Requirements set by state standards must not contradict the legislation of the Azerbaijan Republic.
4. Recommendatory requirements of state standards must be unconditionally executed:
a) if it is stipulated by the acts of legislation;
b) if the manufacturer (supplier) stated conformity of products with the requirements in question.
5. Conformity of products (works, service) with the requirements of state standards is provided in the order, fixed by the legislation of the Azerbaijan Republic about certification of products, works, services. Conformity of products, works and services with the requirements of state standards may be confirmed by their marking.
Provision of products (works, services) conformity with state standards requirements, rules of marking, issue of appropriate permission (license) about marking of products to economic entities are to be registered in the legally applied order in the corresponding executive standardisation body and the state register of mentioned works is to be kept.
6. It is not permitted to output, import, sell, use and production of goods (works, services), not corresponding to the requirements of state standards of the Azerbaijan Republic or requirements of international, regional (basin), intergovernmental standards applied on the territory of the Azerbaijan Republic, as well as standards of other states in relation to safety of life, health, property and environment.
7. State standards are put into effect after their state registration in the corresponding executive standardisation body in the legally applied order.
8. With the aim of operative management and spreading of technical, economic and social characteristics of products (works, services) conformity with standards requirements the appropriate directory of technical, economic and social information is elaborated.
9. Elaboration and adoption of state standards, development and keeping (as well as put into effect) of directories of technical, economic and social information is to be carried out in the order, fixed by the system of standardisation, corresponding executive standardisation body of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Article 7. Branch standards, technical conditions, standards of enterprises, standards of scientific - technical, engineering societies and other public associations

1. Branch standards and technical conditions can be elaborated and adopted by the corresponding executive bodies within the limits of their authority with the aim of provision of standardisation requirements to economic entities, producing goods of certain kind (executing works, rendering services) with one and the same consumer and functional purpose independently of organisation and legal forms as well as property types.
The normative documents in question are prepared as applicable for products (works, services), on which state standards have not been elaborated, and in case of necessity for strengthening or increase in requirements of state standards in force.
Branch standards and technical conditions, elaborated with the aim of strengthening of operating state standards are to comply with the obligatory requirements of state standards and in all cases these normative documents must not contradict to the interests of citizens and the state.
The order of preparation, adoption, registration, application, amendments and cancellation of documents in question is determined by the normative legal acts of corresponding executive authorities of the Azerbaijan Republic under legislation.
Corresponding state executive authorities, adopted mentioned normative documents are to be responsible for their conformity with the requirements of state standards.
2. Standards of enterprises can be independently elaborated and confirmed by enterprises with the aim of ensurance of state standards' requirements and improvement of production organisation and management.
3. Standards of scientific, technical, engineering societies and other public associations can be adopted by these public associations for spreading and use of knowledge in different fields and public activity, results of investigations, experiments, tests and researches.
4. The order of elaboration, confirmation, account, re-consideration, amendments and cancellation of standards of economic entities is to be determined by them under the present Law.
Standards of economic entities and public associations must not be detrimental to life, health, property and environment.
Economic entities or public associations adopting the standards of economic entities and public associations are to be responsible for their conformity to the requirements of state standards.
5. The information about branch standards, technical conditions, standards of enterprises, scientific-technical, engineering societies and other public associations is to be sent not later than one month period after their confirmation to the corresponding state data bank, set up by the executive standardisation body under legislation with the aim of operative management and data provision of standardisation system.

Article 8. Application of normative documents on standardisation

1. Normative documents on standardisation are applied by the corresponding executive authorities and economic entities during the stages of development, preparation of products for output, its production, sale (delivery), initial and secondary use (operation), storage, transportation and utilisation, fulfilment of works and rendering of services, as well as during their adoption, preparation of technical documentation (engineering, technological, design), technical conditions and catalogue cards on the products supplied (services rendered).
2. All customers and executors are bound to include provision about conformity of products (works, services) with obligatory requirements of state standards into the concluded contract.
3. The necessity for application of requirements of normative standardisation documents to products (works, services), output (fulfilled, rendered) on the territory of the Azerbaijan Republic with the purpose of its export, is to be determined by the appropriate treaty (contract), unless otherwise provided by the legislation.
4. The confirmation or acknowledgement of conformity of products, works and services imported to the Azerbaijan Republic, including food staff, medicines or other products, works and services intended for population, with obligatory requirements of state standards is to be carried out in the order, envisaged by the legislation of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Article 9. Information about normative standardisation documents, their publication and distribution

1. The access to official information about prepared and adopted state standards, directories of technical, economic and social information and the documents themselves (if they do not represent state or commercial secret) is to be ensured to the citizens of the Azerbaijan Republic, foreigners and persons without citizenship, as well as legal entities.
2. The corresponding executive standardisation body organises publication of official information about state standards, technical conditions, branch standards, directories of technical, economic and social information in the Azerbaijan Republic, international (regional) and intergovernmental standards, norms, rules and recommendations on standardisation, national standards of foreign states, international (regional) and intergovernmental treaties on standardisation, as well as rules of their application. The state bank of this information and normative standardisation documents is to be set up in the order, fixed by the corresponding executive body.
3. Corresponding executive authorities and economic entities, confirmed and adopted within their authority the normative standardisation documents, create and keep the data funds of the documents in question, provide customers with information about the funds and documents on the contractual basis.
4. The list of state standards, directories of technical, economic and social information, as well as data, contained in the Republican catalogue of products (works, services), marked with a sign of conformity with state standards, are to be published only by the executive standardisation body.

Chapter III. State control over the observance of standards requirements
Article 10. Organisation of state control

1. State control over observance of state standards and other normative documents on standardisation is carried out to protect the rights and interests of consumers, states and economic entities, stipulated by the legislation, by means of ensurance of products quality (works, services) conformity with the requirements of normative documents on standardisation.
2. State control carried out to provide the observance of standardisation requirements is to be fulfilled on the basis of plan, confirmed by the corresponding executive standardisation body not more than twice a year, excluding cases stipulated by the legislation and standards, to satisfy claims and requests of consumers on the stage of normative standardisation documents application to products (works, services), which may be detrimental to the life, health and property, as well as environment.
3. Economic entities and their officials are bound to ensure all conditions, necessary for the execution of state control.
4. State control over observance of standards requirements, as well as rules of their preparation, adoption, confirmation and application are to be carried out with maximum use of modern technical means by officials, possessing appropriate authorities. The order of execution of state control in the field of standardisation is determined by the corresponding Provision, confirmed by law.

Article 11. Rights of state control bodies on standardisation

State control bodies are entitled to the following in the field of standardisation within the limits of their authority and in the legally established order:

· free access to official and production premises of economic entities;
· receipt of data and documents, necessary for the execution of state control from economic entities;
· gratuitous use of material-technical means and experts of economic entities during the execution of state control;
· taking of probes and samples of products (works, services) in accordance with operating normative standardisation documents with the aim of determination of their conformity with standards requirements;
· direct official claims about elimination of found infringements to the corresponding economic entities;
· issue of orders about ban or suspension of production, fulfilment or use, about removal from turnover (sale) or recall of products (works, services) from consumers, which may be detrimental to life, health, property or environment in case of their full non-conformity with standards requirements;
· making decisions about prohibitions of products(works, services) sale in case of non-execution of claims and orders, as well as deviation of economic entity from the delivery of products (works, services) for state control;
· banning of sale of imported products and rendering of imported services, which have not come through state registration in the order, fixed by the legislation of the Azerbaijan Republic and corresponding state standards, and may be detrimental to life, health, property and environment;
· application of sanctions to economic entities and their officials for infringements of state standards' requirements in the legally fixed order;
· sending of materials to the Economic court, common court or law-enforcement bodies to take measures, stipulated by the legislation of the Azerbaijan Republic in case of non-fulfilment of claims, orders or resolutions in due terms and repeated infringement of state standards' requirements by economic entities.

In case of infringement of orders and resolutions about ban or suspension of realisation (delivery, sale) of products, fulfilment of works and rendering of services the fines are to be applied to economic entities in the legally fixed order.

Article 12. Responsibility for the infringement of legislation about standardisation

1. Corresponding executive authorities, local self-governing bodies and economic entities, as well as public associations bear responsibility for infringement of legal requirements about standardisation in accordance with the present Law and other legislative acts of the Azerbaijan Republic.
2. According to the legislation of the Azerbaijan Republic bodies, executing state control over the observance of state standards requirements and their officials bear administrative, civil and criminal responsibility for non-fulfilment or undue fulfilment of their duties, exceeding the limits of authorities, disclosure of state or commercial secret, allowance of ungrounded audits and intrusions, resulted in damage as well as infringement of legislation about standardisation.
3. Disputes, arisen during the fulfilment of legal requirements about standardisation are to be solved in court.

Chapter IV. Financing of works on state standardisation and state control
Article 13. Works on state standardisation, financed from budget

The following works on standardisation are financed from budget in the Azerbaijan Republic:

· elaboration, publication, distribution and sending out of state standards and other normative documents to interested users, fixing requirements to products (works, services) in relation to its safety for life, health, property as well as environment;
· elaboration and (or) participation in elaboration of international (regional) and intergovernmental standards, norms, rules and recommendations on standardisation;
· participation in the work of international (regional) and intergovernmental bodies of standardisation;
· elaboration of draft normative legal acts on concrete projects of standardisation, as well as elaboration and management of organisational, methodical and general technical systems and complexes of standards;
· conducting of scientific and investigation works on standardisation;
· organisation of state control over the observance of state standards requirements;
· compiling, maintaining and keeping of special State register and catalogue of funds of operating state standards, other normative standardisation documents of the Azerbaijan Republic in the order fixed by the corresponding executive body, as well as international (regional) and intergovernmental standards, norms, rules and recommendation on standardisation, national standards of foreign states;
· other works on standardisation, carried out by the executive power bodies, having correspondent authorities, related with taking of measures on standardisation, being of state significance.
Article 14. Sources of financing of state standardisation

Financing of works, conducted according to the state standardisation system is carried out at the expense of following sources in the Azerbaijan Republic:

· budget means;
· means, obtained from rendering of services on standardisation (sale of publications, data and recommendations);
· means, allocated for normative provision of certain state programs and projects;
· means, directed to pay normative expenditures for the ensurance of products (works, services) quality, as well as other standardisation requirements;
· part of means, obtained from the application of sanctions and fines, determined by the legislation;
· gratuitous and charitable contributions.
The President of the Azerbaijan Republic
Heydar Aliyev.
Baku, April 16, 1996.
¹ 60-IG.