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.
