International Organization for Standardization ISO

Organization Internationale de Normalisation, an international nongovernmental organization that develops international standards and cooperation in the area of standardization. It was founded in London in 1946 at a meeting of representatives of 25 countries. As of Jan. 1, 1973, standardization organizations from 70 countries were members of the ISO. The representative of the USSR in the ISO is the State Committee on Standards of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The ISO promotes the worldwide development of standardization to facilitate international trade and collaboration in intellectual, scientific, technical, and economic areas. The international standards being developed by the ISO on the basis of the coordination and unification of the national standards have the character of recommendations.

The supreme body of the ISO is the General Assembly, which meets at least once every three years. Between sessions of the General Assembly, the work of the ISO is directed by a council consisting of 14 members, who are elected for a term of three years. The General Assembly also elects the president of the ISO for a term of three years. The conduct of the organizational affairs is delegated to the Secretariat of the ISO, which is headed by a secretary-general. All technical work on the development of proposals for international standards is conducted by the technical committees, whose secretariats are headed by members of the organization. As of July 1, 1973, the ISO had 146 technical committees, whose work is determined by its members. By July 1, 1973, 2,400 international standards had been promulgated by the organization in all areas of science and technology.