"ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, brings global experts together to agree on the best way of doing things – for anything from making a product to managing a process." 1/ For the last few years, it has been devising the following overarching set of standards for all of forensic science:
- Forensic sciences (TC 272) ISO/DIS 21043-1, Forensic sciences - Part 1: Terms and definitions - 5/27/2024, $58.00
- ISO/DIS 21043-3, Forensic Sciences - Part 3: Analysis - 5/26/2024, $62.00
- ISO/DIS 21043-4, Forensic Sciences - Part 4: Interpretation - 5/26/2024, $67.00
- ISO/DIS 21043-5, Forensic Sciences - Part 5: Reporting - 5/26/2024, $53.00 2/
These are
part of a series which, when completed, will include the different components of the forensic process from scene to courtroom ... . The series describes primarily “what” is standardized, not the “how” or “who”. Best practice manuals and standard operating procedures should describe “how” the requirements of this document would be met. 3/
It sounds like the standards in progress will not specify "the best way of doing things." Will they merely list the things that are in need of "standardization"? Will they be too open-ended to constitute what the U.S. Supreme Court refers to as "standards controlling the technique's operation"4/?
I cannot answer these questions because I have not seen the drafts that were open for public comment. Members of the public cannot read the drafts without paying IS0 the $240 listed above. If anyone who has paid to play has thoughts on these documents that they would like to share beyond the TC (Technical Committee) that drafted the standards, I'll post them--at no charge.
Notes
- Int'l Org. for Standardization, About ISO.
- ANSI Standards Action, Mar. 15, 2024, at 48.
- ISO 21043-1:2018(en) Forensic sciences — Part 1: Terms and definitions.
- Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., 509 U.S. 579, 594 (1993).
