Standard (technology)

The norms are technical-legal documents with the following characteristics:

• They contain technical specifications of voluntary application.
• They are developed by consensus of the parties concerned:
  • Manufacturers.
  • Administrations.
  • Users and consumers.
  • Research centers and laboratories.
  • Professional Associations and Colleges.
  • Social agents, etc.
• They are based on the results of experience and technological development.
• They are approved by a recognized national, regional or international standardization agency.
• They are available to the public.

The standards offer a common language for communication between companies, public administration, users and consumers. The rules establish a socioeconomic balance between the different agents that participate in commercial transactions, the basis of any market economy, and are a necessary pattern of trust between client and supplier.

Types of rules

There are three types of rules:

• Morales rules.
• Technical standards.
• Legal standards.

A de facto standard can be defined as a technical specification that has been developed by one or more companies and has become important due to market conditions. It is often used to refer to customary rules.

A de jure standard can be defined, in general, as a technical specification approved by a recognized standardization body for its application on a repeated or continuous basis, without said standard being of compliance mandatory (GATT and definitions of EEC directives 83/189). Rules are institutions.