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NIST GCR 01-825 General Safety Requirements (Article 4 of the Directive)National Law: Where there are no specific Community provisions (European laws) governing the safety of the products in question, a product is deemed safe when it conforms to the specific rules of national law of the Member State in whose territory the product is in circulation. In other words, when there is no European law that covers the product, but the product complies with specific national regulatory requirements (Member State law) in the Member State in which it is placed on the market, the product is deemed to be "safe" according to the GPSD. Conformity Assessment Criteria and Standards: In the absence of specific rules, the conformity of a product to the general safety requirement must be assessed using standards. The Directive is specific. A product must be assessed using voluntary European standards or, where they exist, to Community technical specifications or, failing these, to standards drawn up in the Member State in which the product is in circulation, or to the codes of good practice in health and safety in the sector concerned, or to the state of the art and technology and to the safety that consumers may reasonably expect. In other words, Article 4 states that, unless specific relevant regulatory requirements exist at Community or national level, conformity to the safety requirement must be assessed using
Safeguard Clause: Even if a product conforms with the standards and specifications mentioned above, competent authorities (Ministries of National Governments) of the Member States still may impose restrictions on the product's placement on the market or withdraw the product from the market where there is evidence that, despite such conformity, the product is dangerous to the health and safety of consumers.
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| Technology Services, Standards Services Division, Global Standards and Information Group | Date Created: 01/25/02 |
