A stabilized standard is one that has ongoing validity and effectiveness but is mature and insofar as can be determined will not require further maintenance of any sort. While a standard is in stabilized status it will no longer be subject to periodic maintenance but will be retained to provide for the continued viability of existing products or servicing of equipment that is expected to have a long working life.
The options
available to Sub Committees and National Bodies at the Five Year review of
standards are increased to include such a category of standard. The full range of options at these reviews are now:
·
Confirm
·
Revise
·
Declare as Stabilized
·
Withdraw
At least one five-year review cycle must pass after the last modification to an existing standard before it can recommended for stabilization by the owning committee.
To initiate the introduction of the category, Sub Committees are invited to review the standards under their responsibility and may recommend that such standards be re-classified as stabilized standards. Each recommendation shall be accompanied by a statement of rationale. Sub Committees may make such recommendations to the JTC 1 Secretariat until 2002-06-30 when the JTC 1 Secretariat will issue a 60-day Letter ballot to participating National Bodies to confirm the status of these standards.
Following the introductory period, a Sub committee will recommend that a standard be put in stabilized status as a part of the routine 5 year review process. In each case the recommendation is accompanied by a statement of rationale and results in a JTC 1 letter ballot as is done in the case of a reaffirmation recommendation.
Once a standard is stabilized it will be recorded on a master list of stabilized standards kept by the ISO Central Secretariat and available to the JTC 1 Secretariat and to all Sub Committee Secretariats. This record will include the date of first addition to the list and the rationale provided as above. Stabilized standards will also be indicated as such on the ISO Catalogue.
Stabilized standards are no longer subject to the routine 5 year review process; however, each Sub Committee shall periodically review a current list of its own stabilized standards to ensure that they still belong in stabilized status.
Where a Sub Committee or National Body becomes aware that a stabilized
standard is no longer in use or its use has been superseded or it now unsafe to
continue to use the standard, the Sub Committee or National Body may request
JTC 1 to issue an immediate 60 day letter ballot to reclassify the standard as
withdrawn.
If a new work proposal is generated and adopted against a stabilized standard, the standard is automatically removed by the Secretariat from the list of stabilized standards. A new work proposal against a stabilized standard must explicitly note that the standard is stabilized and that the effect of adoption of the new work proposal will be to return the standard to active status. To be eligible once again for stabilization the standard must go through the same process as it did initially, including no modification for at least one five year maintenance cycle.
The owning JTC 1 Sub Committee may act to remove a standard from
stabilized status at any time and it may request a 60 day letter ballot to
reinstate the standard as current.