ISO/IEC DIS 29500 Ballot Resolution Meeting (BRM)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The rules governing the Ballot Resolution Process for DIS 29500 are published in the ISO/IEC JTC 1 Directives. This
document is an informative guide to the process, intended to clarify the procedures and supply
additional supporting information. Any queries on this document in particular, or the ballot
resolution process in general, should be addressed to the ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC 34 Secretariat, who
administers the procedure.
General
- 1.1 Why is a BRM being held?
- A ballot resolution process is an integral part of the Fast Track process as described
by the JTC 1 Directives. In the usual course of events, standards submitted to the Fast
Track will be subject to a BRM to resolve comments that have been submitted with the
preceding letter ballot.
- 1.2 Why did ODF (ISO/IEC 26300:2006) not have a BRM?
- All the National Standards Bodies (NBs) voting on this text voted to
“approve” it, and the comments accompanying the ballots were of a
nature that was not amenable to being addressed at a BRM; given these circumstances JTC 1
advised SC 34 that the BRM should be cancelled — advice SC 34 voted to approve.
- 1.3 What is the purpose of the BRM?
- The meeting is for resolving comments that NBs have submitted (with their votes)
on the text being Fast Tracked. This is done, essentially, by the meeting agreeing a set
of revisions to the originally submitted DIS 29500 text.
- 1.4 Will the BRM vote to approve or disapprove DIS 29500?
- Not directly, no. The BRM will vote (if voting is necessary) to approve individual
disposition of comments (essentially, instructions for textual revision) that
will be decided during the course of the meeting. In the light of these, NBs may opt to
alter their original vote as submitted for the September 2 letter ballot. It is these
altered (or unaltered) votes which will decide whether DIS 29500 becomes an IS.
Logistics
- 2.1 When and where will the BRM be held?
- The BRM will take place between Monday 25 February and Friday 29 February 2008
(inclusive), at the International Conference
Centre, Geneva.
- 2.2 Who may attend?
- The only people permitted to attend the meeting are
- representatives of the 87 NBs that are recorded as voting (either
“approve” “disapprove” or
“abstain”) in the 2 September letter ballot, and who remain
members of ISO/IEC;
- a delegation from the submitter (Ecma)
- ISO/IEC (ITTF) officials and administrators.
- 2.3 Who should attend?
- NBs that voted “disapprove” in the 2 September ballot have a duty to
send a delegation to the BRM.
- 2.4 Can press or observers attend?
- No, press and observers may not attend, and the meeting may not be recorded or broadcast
in any way.
- 2.5 Is it possible the meeting will extend beyond the 5 allotted days?
- No.
- 2.6 Is it possible to attend the meeting virtually using teleconferencing, etc?
- No.
- 2.7 How many delegates can each National Standards Body (NB) send?
- The venue is limited to seating approx. 120 delegates so it is likely, given the
interest in this process, that delegation sizes may need to be limited. NBs are advised to
register early with their preferred delegation, but be prepared to reduce the head count if
the meeting is oversubscribed. If it is necessary for some NBs to reduce the size of their
delegation, they will be notified before the end of 2007.
- 2.8 How does a NB that is eligible to attend register for the BRM?
- Submit an accredited delegate list to the SC 34 Secretariat Manager before December 11,
2007, indicating the one head of delegation responsible for any voting that may take
place.
- 2.9 Can an NB change the composition of its delegation, once registered?
- Yes, adjustments may be made up to 1 February 2008, by which point each NB shall have
submitted a final list which clearly identifies their delegates.
- 2.10 What happens if a NB does not submit a delegation list by 11 December?
- It is likely that NB will not be able to attend and participate in the BRM.
- 2.11 May a NB send more than their allotted number of delegates to Geneva and vary the makeup
of their delegation present at the meeting depending on the topic under discussion at the
BRM?
- No.
Meeting preparation
- 3.1 Will a revised version of DIS 29500 be distributed before the meeting?
- Ecma will circulate a draft disposition of comments document to NBs by 14 January 2008.
This will blend proposed revisions with examples of how edits will look in place
in the DIS 29500 text. Ecma has been requested to produce a revised version of the DIS and
will make a best effort to do so.
- 3.2 How will Ecma arrive at their disposition of comments?
- Ecma will informally share their preliminary thoughts and proposed dispositions for NB
review and comment in advance of the formal distribution on 14 January. Information on
this process has been sent to all NBs who voted on the DIS 29500 ballot.
At the meeting
- 4.1 Will IPR issues be discussed at the BRM?
- No. IPR issues in this process are the exclusive preserve of the ITTF. IPR decisions
have previously been delegated by all the ISO and IEC members (NBs) to the CEOs of IEC and
ISO, and they in turn have examined them and found no outstanding problems. NBs seeking
reassurance in such matters must pursue them through other avenues than the BRM.
- 4.2 Will questions of policy and “contradiction” be discussed at the
BRM?
- No.
- 4.3 What will be discussed at the BRM?
- The BRM is a technical meeting which will address the comments made by NBs in their 2
September ballot returns, and Ecma’s responses to them. Since the meeting will emit a
sequence of editorial instructions to the DIS 29500 project editor, any deliberations
which cannot result in such instructions are out of order.
- 4.4 Will certain NBs’ comments be given priority?
- The JTC 1 Directives do not allow for prioritisation of comments. However, the Convener
of the BRM may organise the review of comments so as to maximise the chances of producing
an improved quality text.
- 4.5 What if there is not time in the meeting to satisfy NBs’ concerns?
- If NBs find the outcome of the BRM inadequate then their recourse is to disapprove the
DIS.
After the meeting
- 5.1 Is there a further ballot on the DIS 29500 text after the BRM?
- No. The BRM is the end of the formal scrutiny process and there is no further balloting,
formal deliberation or revision.
- 5.2 How long will NBs have after the meeting to inform ITTF of a changed vote?
- If a NB wishes to modify its vote from that of the 2 September ballot, it must inform
ITTF within 30 days of the end of the BRM. At this time, ITTF will re-tally the votes and
the fate of DIS 29500 will be decided.
Voting
- 6.1 In what circumstances may NBs change their vote from that of 2 September?
- NBs may change their vote if the BRM agrees to amend the text of the DIS in any way.
- 6.2 In what ways may an NB change its vote?
- NBs that voted in the 2 September ballot may change their vote from any of
“approve”, “disapprove” or
“abstain” to any of “approve”,
“disapprove” or “abstain”.
- 6.3 What is the mechanism for changing a vote?
- Any NB wishing to change its vote must inform ITTF of this intention and confirm the
intention in writing.
- 6.4 Why must countries inform ITTF and not JTC 1?
- Because ITTF is responsible for administering the voting of NBs on FDISs and DISs.
- 6.5 What voting status will NBs have?
- For voting at the BRM, and in the ongoing DIS 29500 ballot the voting status (either “P”
member or “O” member) is fixed as per the result of the 2 September letter ballot.
- 6.6 Who are “P” members for the purposes of voting?
- In all voting on the DIS 29500 fast track, “P-members” means P-members of JTC 1 (who
voted as such in the 2 September ballot), not P-members of SC 34 or any other
ISO/IEC committees.
- 6.7 What criteria may NBs use in deciding whether (or not) to switch their votes?
- No constraints are placed upon the criteria NBs may use for deciding their voting
position.
- 6.8 If votes are taken during the BRM, who votes?
- Those present.
- 6.9 May NBs vote by proxy?
- No formal NB proxies are possible at the BRM.
- 6.10 If a NB expert did not participate in the BRM, may this NB subsequently change their
vote?
- All ISO/IEC JTC 1 NBs will receive the results of the BRM immediately after the meeting.
Upon review of the BRM results, any NB that voted in the 2 September ballot may change their vote, whether
or not their expert(s) attended the BRM.
