ANNEX XI of ATEX 94/9/EC directive: NOTIFICATION OF BODIES

ANNEX XI : MINIMUM CRITERIA TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT BY MEMBER STATES FOR THE NOTIFICATION OF BODIES

1. The body, its director and the staff responsible for carrying out the verification tests shall not be the designer, manufacturer, supplier or installer of equipment, protective systems, or devices referred to in Article 1 (2) which they inspect, nor the authorized representative of any of these parties. They shall become involved neither directly nor as authorized representatives in the design, construction, marketing or maintenance of the equipment, protective systems or devices referred to in Article 1 (2) in question. This does not preclude the possibility of exchanges of technical information between the manufacturer and the body.

2. The body and its inspection staff shall carry out the verification tests with the highest degree of professional integrity and technical competence and shall be free from all pressures and inducements, particularly financial, which may influence their judgement or the results of the inspection, especially from persons or groups of persons with an interest in the result of verifications.

3. The body shall have at its disposal the necessary staff and possess the necessary facilities to enable it to perform properly the administrative and technical tasks connected with verification; it shall also have access to the equipment required for special verification.

4. The staff responsible for inspection shall have:

- sound technical and professional training;

- satisfactory knowledge of the requirements of the tests which they carry out and adequate experience of such tests;

- the ability to draw up the certificates, records and reports required to authenticate the performance of the tests.

5. The impartiality of inspection staff shall be guaranteed. Their remuneration shall not depend on the number of tests carried out or on the results of such tests.

6. The body shall take out liability insurance unless its liability is assumed by the State in accordance with national law or the Member State itself is directly responsible for the tests.

7. The staff of the body shall be bound to observe professional secrecy with regard to all information gained in carrying out its tasks (except vis-à-vis the competent administrative authorities of the State in which its activities are carried out) under this Directive or any provision of national law giving effect to it.