PREAMBLE
Measurement and testing are essential elements in the commercial
and regulatory life of any society. All parties have an interest
in having these functions carried out competently and using sci-
entifically valid methods. Testing is recognised as an important
element in acceptance of commodities and products and so the cr-
edibility of testing is an important element in the promotion of
free international trade. Calibration of measuring and test equ-
ipment used in laboratories provides traceability of their resu-
lts to units of the SI and thus establishes a basis for world w-
ide comparability.
The independent third party assessment to international standar-
ds of the technical competence of laboratories by nationally re-
cognised accreditation bodies has become an important means of
establishing customer confidence in test reports and calibration
certificates. Over the past twenty years the International Labo-
ratory Accreditation Conference has played a key role in helping
develop international accreditation standards and guides and in
harmonising national approaches. It has also laid the foundation
on which international mutual recognition agreements can be bui-
lt.
Establishment of the World Trade Organisation and the requireme-
nts of its agreement of Technical Barriers to Trade Provisions
are now pressing the world's conformity assessment practitioners
to create an efficient, transparent, fair and harmonised means
of international acceptance of traded goods. The laboratory acc-
reditation community is one element and must now present itself
as a coherent world activity ready to play its part and to co-o-
perate with complementary international bodies in the scientific
, quality, standards and commercial fields to deliver the system
needed to facilitate trade.
While the relatively informal linking of the international labo-
ratory accreditation community in the biennial conferences has
been adequate in the past, pace has quickened and laboratory ac-
creditation must now be able to respond quickly in world fora w-
ith a coherent signle voice and to he able to deliver assurances
on compliance with standards on a world scale. In recognition of
this, the laboratory accreditation community has resolved to co-
operate in a more structured way and has created the Internatio-
nal Laboratory Accreditation Co-operation and developed this Me-
morandum of Understanding to give formal manifestation of this
commitment.
Following up of the practice in most developed laboratory accre-
ditation bodies ILAC will also coordinate the accreditation pra-
ctices for inspection bodies.
1.AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF ILAC
1.1 This Memorandum of Understanding is an expression of intere-
st by signatories to work together in their mutual interest.
They undertake through their participation in ILAC to use t-
heir best endeavours to enable the co-operation to pursue t-
he following aims:
1.1.1 to harmonise the operating procedures of participating ac-
creditation bodies;
1.1.2 to promote the use of accreditation of laboratories;
1.1.3 to open and maintain channels for the flow of informatoin
and knowledge;
1.1.4 to help develop and promote the use of international stan-
dards and guides;
1.1.5 to encourage the development of regional co-operations and
to work towards the avoidance of unnecessary duplication
of work between them;
1.1.6 to promote the advancement and acceptance of mutual recog-
nition agreements;
1.1.7 to help all interested accreditation bodies to develop th-
eir systems;
1.1.8 to co-operate with other national, regional and internati-
onal bodies with similar complementary objectives.
1.2 Through the pursuit of these aims ILAC aspires to achieve t-
he following objectives:
1.2.1 the provision of a world forum for information exchange a-
nd harmonisation of procedures;
1.2.2 the establishment of mutual confidence between regional o-
rganisations and between participating accreditation bodi-
es;
1.2.3 the provision of a unified and coherenet voice on accredi-
tation of laboratories in world fora;
1.2.4 the achievement of a world wide network of mutual recogni-
tion agreements which:
- recognises the international equivalence of reports and
certificates of accredited laboratories;
- enhances the authority of reports and certificates of a-
ccreditated laboratories;
- facilitates mutual acceptance of reports and certificat-
es by the WTO members in accordance with the provisions
of the WTO/TBT agreement.
2.TASKS
The tasks which ILAC will have to undertake to achieve these ai-
ms and objectives include the:
2.1 developing of harmonised application and guidance documents
on accreditation of laboratories;
2.2 publishing of papers, guidelines and reports;
2.3 providing of mutual assistance through exchange of informat-
ion and experts in such fields as assessor training, profic-
iency testing, comparisons, etc.;
2.4 encouraging of and oversight of inter-regional laboratory i-
ntercomparisons to promote equivalence of world wide practi-
ce;
2.5 developing and refining of procedures for the evaluaton and
surveillance of organisations participating in mutual recog-
nition agreements;
2.6 encouraging of members to:
- exchange information;
- participate in interlaboratory comparisons;
- harmonise procedures;
- co-operate on training assessors;
- participate in regional activities;
2.7 organising of expert meetings;
2.8 developing of an ILAC position on world conformity assessme-
nt and testing issues;
2.9 liaising with other relevant world organisations such as CI-
TAC, BIPM, ISO, IEC, OECD, OIML, UILI and the WTO;
2.10 disseminating of information on ILAC to parties with an i-
nterest;
2.11 identifying to 1SO, IEC of any perceived need for standar-
ds and guides relating to laboratory accreditation and to
participate in the development of such standards and guid-
es;
2.12 other tasks as will be decided by ILAC's General Assembly.
3.CONSTITUTZON
3.1 Membership
ILAC will consist of two classes of membership:
3.1.1 Full Members
Full members are bodies (recognised in their economy as)
offering a multi-disciplinary laboratory accreditation se-
rvice conforming to the requirements of the relevent ISO/
IEC Guides. The presumption is that there will be one such
body per economy. In the event of there being more than o-
ne such eligible body in a signle economy, a prior condit-
ion of membership of bodies in that economy will be selec-
tion by these bodies of a signle representative who will
act as the spokesman for that economy and exercise the vo-
te of that economy in General Assembly.
3.1.2 Associate Members
Organisations or economies which are in the process of de-
veloping an eligible accreditation system but have not yet
accreditation experience, or representatives of economies
which have in mind to set up such a system are eligible to
join ILAC as associate members. The condition applying to
multiple membership from a single economy also applies to
associate membership.
3.2 The ILAC General Assembly is the highest decision making bo-
dy and consists of one Delegate nominated by each full and
associate member. It will meet annually. Voting, when requi-
red in General Assembly, will be conducted on the basis of
one vote per economy represented. International organisatio-
ns with interests related or complementary to laboratory ac-
creditation will be invited by the Chairman to participate
in General Assemblies as observers, and include ISO, IEC, W-
TO, BIPM, OIML, IAF, OECD and representation of world consu-
mer interests.
3.3 The ILAC General Assmebly will elect from its Delegates a C-
hairman for a period of two years and also a Vice-Chairman.
The election of the Vice-Chairman will be on the presumption
that he or she will also be Chairman-elect. Any Member whose
Delegate is elected as Chairman may appoint another individ-
ual as its delegate to exercise that members' voting right.
3.4 The ILAC General Assembly will appoint an Executive Committ-
ee to conduct the business of ILAC between General Assembli-
es. The Executive Committee will be constituted of:
- The Chairman;
- Vice-Chairman;
- Chairmen of ILAC Committees;
- representatives of each formally constituted regional acc-
reditation co-operation;
- 2 members representing unaffiliated countries (not belong-
ing to regional co-operations);
- the Secretary.
3.5 To provide continuity, the immediate past Chairman will ret-
ain his membership of the ILAC Executive Committee for a pe-
riod of one year after the end of his period in office.
3.6 The Executive Committee will be responsible for maintaining
ILAC's external relations.
3.7 Decisions in the Executive Committee will be reached by con-
sensus.
3.8 The ILAC General Assembly will establish committees as requ-
ired to conduct ILAC business effectively. One essential co-
mmittee will be a Laboratory Liaison Committee.
4.MULTILATERAL MUTUAL RECOGNITION ARRANGEMENTS
ILAC will foster the environment within which mutual recognition
agreements between regional co-operations and between regions a-
nd countries can take place. It will be the guardian and arbiter
of mutually agreed evaluation procedures and have the responsib-
ility for ensuring that compliance with standards is maintained
by arranging that adequate external observation of evaluaton and
surveillance takes place.
5.SECRETARIAT
The General Assembly will appoint a permanent secretariat to be
funded through membership fee.
6.RELATIONSHIP WITH STAKEHOLDERS
ILAC will maintain a relationship with each of its stakeholder
groups through on-going dialogue, observership at General Assem-
blies and periodically by sponsoring international conferences
open to all interested parties.
7.FEES
The costs of ILAC conferences and General Assemblies will be co-
vered by registration fee. On the basis of a budget presented to
and approved by the General Assembly the cost of the Secretariat
will be met through a fee levied on each participating economy
linked to the economic strength of the economy. Associate Member
economies will pay one half of the full membership fee.
8.PERIOD OF MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
8.1 This Memorandum of Understanding will come into effect upon
the signature of eligible members from at least ten economi-
es reflecting a balanced world regional representation. It
will thereafter remain open to further participation from w-
ithin the eligible membership as defined in Section 3.1.
8.2 This Memorandum of Understanding will continue until its te-
rmination is proposed to the ILAC General Assembly by at le-
ast one-third of the full membership of ILAC. To be carried,
a proposition to terminate the ILAC Memorandum of Understan-
ding requires a three-fourths majority of votes in the Gene-
ral Assembly.
8.3 This Memorandum of Understanding may be otherwise amended by
a resolution of the General Assembly supported by a three-f-
ourths majority of votes.
8.4 In the next two years the Memorandum of Understanding will
be reviewed by the General Assembly and if necessary be ada-
pted.

FULL MEMBER
SIGNATORIES
We, the undersigned, being authorised by our governments of bei-
ng representatives of National or Regional Third-Party accredit-
ation bodies as designated by their governments, endorse the te-
rms of this Memorandum of Understanding and untertake to use our
best endeavours to fulfill its objectives.
In ILAC eoconomies with several accreditation bodies being elig-
ible to become full ILAC members, we also undertake responsibil-
ity for the co-ordination of ILAC activities within our economi-
es.

ARGENTINA
Organisation: Argentine Accreditation Body
Authorised representative: Ing. Beatriz Garcia
Signature: [signed] Date: 13 September 1996

AUSTRALIA
Organisation: National Association of Testing
Authorities, Australia
Authorised representative: JohnA Gilmour
Signature:[signed] Date: l3 September l996

BRAZIL
Organisation: National Institute for Metrology
Standardization and
Industrial Quality-INMETRO
Authorised representative: Wilson Barbosa de Oliveira
Signature:[signed] Date: l3 September l996

CANADA
Organisation: Standards Council of Canada
Authorised representative: Peter Holden
Signature:[signed] Date: l3 September l996

PEOPLE' S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Organisation: China National Accreditation
Committee of
Laboratories(CNACL)
Authorised representative: WangYiming
Signature:[signed] Date: l3 Septemberl996

CYPRUS
Organisation: CYS
Authorised representative: Dr. K. Tsimillis
Signature:[signed] Date: l3Septemberl996

CZECH REPUBLIC
Organisation: Czech Accreditation Institute
Authorised representative: Ing Jiri Ruzicka
Signature:[signed] Date: l3Septemberl996

PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Organisation: State Administration for
Import & Export Commodity
Inspection of the People's
Republic of China
Authorised representative: Tian Runzhi

Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996
FINLAND Mittatekniikan keskus (Centre
Organisation: for Metrology and
Accreditation)
Authorised representative: Ulla Llhteenmaki
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

FRANCE
Organisation: COFRAC
Authorised representative: Daniel Pierre
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

GERMANY
Organisation: Deutscher AkkreditierungsRat (
DAR)
Authorised representative: Prof. Dr. H-U Mittmann
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

GUATEMALA
Organisation: Comision Guatemalteca de Normas
(COGUANOR)
Authorised representative: Lic Ana Patricia de Pontaza
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

HONGKONG
Organisation: Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditat-
ion Scheme (HOKLAS)
Authorised representative: Dr. L. H. Ng
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

INDONESIA
Organisation: Komite Akreditasi Nasional - KAN
(Accreditation Body of Indonesia
)
Authorised representative: Bambang H. Hadiwiardjo
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

IRELAND
Organisation: The National Accreditation Board


Authorised representative: Dr. F.T. Smyth
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

ISRAEL
Organisation: ISRAC- Israel Laboratory
Accreditation
Authorised representative: Nahum Granot
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

ITALY
Organisation: Sistema Nazionale di Accreditam-
ento Laboratori (SINAL)
Authorised representative: Sergio Allulli
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

ITALY
Organisation: Servizio di Taratura in Italia (
Authorised representative: SIT) Paolo Soardo
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

JAPAN
Organisation: Agency of Industrial Science and
Authorised representative: Technology (AIST) Keikou Terui
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

JAPAN
Organisation: The Japan Accreditation Board f-
or Conformity Assessment
Authorised representative: Dr. Takashi Ohtsubo
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

JAPAN
Organisation: Japan Calibration Service System
Authorised representative: Tsutomu Tosaka
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

KOREA
Organisation: Korea Laboratory Accreditation
Scheme (KOLAS)
Authorised representative: Seung-Bae Lee
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

MEXICO
Organisation: SINALP - Sistema Nacional de Ac-
reditamiento de Laboratories de
Pruebas
Authorised representative: Dr Fernando Hernandez Lezama
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

NETHERLANDS
Organisation: Raad voor Accreditatie (RVA)
Authorised representative: Dr J G Leferink
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

NEW ZEALAND
Organisation: Testing Laboratory Registration
Council of New Zealand
Authorised representative: Dr. J. H. Garside
Signature: [signed] Date: 13 September 1996

NORWAY
Organisation: Norwegian Accreditation
Authorised representative: Helge Kildal
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

PHILPPINES
Organisation: Bureau of Product Standards Lab-
oratory Accreditation
Scheme (BPSLAS)
Authorised representative: Joselito C. Soler
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

POLAND
Organisation: Polish Centre for Testing and C-
ertification Accreditation Offi-
ce

Authorised representative: Stanislaw Walenta
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

ROMANIA
Organisation: Romanian Testing Laboratories N-
etwork (RELAR)
Authorised representative: Prof. Dr. Eng Ion Hohan
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

SINGAPORE
Organisation: Singapore Laboratory Accreditat-
ion Scheme
Authorised representative: Dr. Jimmy Chen Wie Jing
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

SLOVAKIA
Organisation: Slovak National Accreditation S-
ystem (SNAS)
Authorised representative: Dr. Lubomir Sutek
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

SOUTH AFRICA
Organisation: South African National Laborato-
ry Accreditation Service
Authorised representative: Michael A. Feet
Signature: [signed] Date: 13 September 1996

SPAIN
Organisation: Entidad Nacional de Acreditacion
Authorised representative: Antonio Muiioz Muiioz
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

SWEDEN
Organisation: Swedish Board for Accreditation
and Conformity Assessment (SWE-
DAC)
Authorised representative: Lars Ettarp
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

SWITZERLAND
Organisation: Swiss Accreditation Service (S-
AS)
Authorised representative: Hanspeter Ischi
Signature:[signed] Date: l3 September l996

CHINESE TAIPEI
Organisation: Chinese National Laboratory Ac-
creditation (CNLA)
Authorised representative: Tsai-Hui-Yan signing for Tso-C-
hen Chen
Signature:[signed] Date: l3Septemberl996

THAILAND
Organisation: Thai Industrial Standards Inst-
itute
Authorised representative: Ratanaporn Chuengsanguan sit
Signature:[signed] Date: l3 September l996

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Organisation: Trindad and Tobago Laboratory
Accreditation Syetem
Authorised representative: James Morris
Signature:[signed] Date: l3 September l996

TURKEY
Organisation: National Council for Quality a-
nd Accreditation (NCQA)
Authorised representative: Pelin Unlu signing for Mehmet
Yilmaz Ariyoruk
Signature:[signed] Date: l3 September l996

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Organisation: Americah Association for Labor-
atory Accreditation
(AALA)
Authorised representative: Peter S. Unger
Signature:[signed] Date:l3 September l996

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Organisation: NVLAP
Authorised representative: James L. Cigler
Signature:[signed] Date: l3 September l996

VIETNAM
Organisation: Directorate for Standards and
Quality (STAMEQ)
Authorised representative: Nguyen Hun Thien Siboning for
Huynh Van Quang
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

ILAC Chairman 1996
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996

ILAC Chairman 1998
Signature:[signed] Date: 13 September 1996