What are standards?

What is a standard?

A standard is a document that provides requirements, specifications, guidelines, or characteristics that can be used to ensure that materials, products, processes, and services are fit for their purpose. Standards are established by consensus and approved by recognized bodies. They are used worldwide, not only in highly developed countries but also in developing ones.

Serbian standard is a standard adopted by the Institute for Standardization of Serbia (ISS), as the national standardization body, and which is publicly available. It is marked with an designation beginning with the acronym SRPS.

International standard is a standard adopted by an international organizations for standardization (ISO or IEC).

European standard is a standard adopted by the European organizations for standardization (CEN/CENELEC/ETSI). It is applied as an identical national standard, with the obligation to withdraw all national standards that are in conflict with it. If a European standard is adopted based on a request from the European Commission for application in harmonized European Union legislation, it is called a harmonized standard.

The application of Serbian standards is voluntary, meaning there is no automatic legal obligation to apply them. However, laws and technical regulations can refer to standards, making compliance with them mandatory.