European Court of Justice Judgment on Free Standards
11 April 2024
In a recent appeal heard at the European Court of Justice (Case C-588/21 P), the Court ruled that four harmonized standards form part of EU law and access must be freely available without charge. The Court decided that there is an overriding public interest in free access to harmonized standards that have been cited in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). Although the case related to just four standards, in practice it is likely to apply to future requests for access to all harmonized standards that have been cited in the OJEU.
BSI is now working with CEN, CENELEC and the other members of CEN and CENELEC to understand the implications of the judgment. We are looking at how the judgment can be delivered whilst ensuring the future sustainability of the standards system.
