eSwatini
Standards and Quality Act, 2003
Act 10 of 2003
- Assented to on 8 November 2001
- Commenced
- [This is the version of this document at 1 December 1998.]
Part I – Preliminary
1. Short title and commencement
This Act may be cited as the Standards and Quality Act, 2003, and shall come into force on a date to be appointed by the Minister by notice in the Gazette.2. Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—“auditor” means a person appointed as an auditor under section 23;“Authority” means the Swaziland Standards Authority established under section 3;“certification mark” means a mark declared to be a certification mark under section 18;“Chairman” means the person appointed as the chairman of the Council under section 5;“Chief Financial Officer” means a person appointed as Chief Financial Officer under section 13;“code of practice” means, a description of—(a)the terminology to be used;(b)the method to be applied or the procedure to be followed;(c)the material to be used;(d)any requirements to be met,in connection with the execution in an orderly systematic, practical, efficient, safe or effective manner of an act performed with a view to achieve a stated purpose or to obtain a stated result;“commodity” includes an element, characteristic, category, system, or item;“Council” means the Council of the Authority established under section 5;“Director” means the person appointed as such under section 6;“Directorate” means the Directorate of the Authority established under section 6;“Director of Audit” means a person appointed as such in terms of section 133 of the Constitution of Swaziland Act, No. 50 of 1968;“distinctive mark” means a mark declared as such under section 11;“financial auditor” means a person appointed as such under section 14;"inspector" means a person appointed as such under section 23;“issue” with regard to a standard or a publication, includes making available by means of electronics, photography or other medium, of that standard or publication;“licence” means a licence granted under section 18 to use the certification mark in relation to any commodity or process which conforms to a standard;“mandatory standard” means a standard which has been declared as such under section 17;“manufacture” includes producing, assembling, modifying, adapting, converting, processing or treating;“Minister” means the Minister responsible for Standards and Quality assurance;“organised industry” means Chambers of Commerce and Industry or similar groupings;“reference material” means any material or substance whose one or more characteristics are such that it may be used for the—(a)calibration of any apparatus;(b)testing of the occurrence of any method of measurement; or(c)determination, by comparison therewith, of any characteristic, including purity, of any other material or substance;“sales licence” means a licence referred to in section 17(8);“specification” includes the description of a commodity or substance from which it is to be made, processed, treated, or finished, with reference to its nature, quality, mass, efficacy, composition, strength, purity, assembly, grade, performance, durability, origin, age, reliability, quantity, dimension, design, capacity, operation, installation, marking, handling, packing, storage and transport of a commodity;“standard” means a document (which may include a specification, code of practice, standard method), established by consensus and approved by the Council that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given context;“standard method” means a description of the—(a)preparatory steps to be taken;(b)equipment, material or substance to be used;(c)procedure to be followed,for the purpose of determining the nature, purity, composition, dimensions, performance or other characteristics of any commodity;“technical regulation” is a regulation that provides technical requirements, either directly or by referring to or incorporating the content or part of a standard and declared a technical regulation by the Minister under section 35.Part II – Establishment, functions and management of the Authority
3. Establishment of the Swaziland Standards Authority
4. Functions of the Authority
The functions of the Authority are to:5. Establishment and composition of the Council of the Authority
6. Directorate of the Authority and staff
7. Vacation of office by Council members
A member of the Council shall vacate his office if he—8. Functions of the Council
9. Procedure at meetings of the Council
10. Committees of the Council
Part III – Financial and accounting provisions
11. Funds and assets
12. Borrowing powers
13. Accounts, audit and annual report
14. Appointment and powers of the financial auditor
15. Financial year
Unless the Minister otherwise indicates by notice in the Gazette, the financial year of the Authority shall be from 1st April to 31st March of the following year or for such longer or shorter period as the Minister may determine.Part IV – Standards, marks and licences
16. Standards
17. Mandatory standard, distinctive mark
18. Certification marks
19. Copyright in standards and publications
20. Appeals
21. Samples and information
If requested by the Director in writing, a person to whom a licence has been issued under this Act shall furnish, within such period as the Director may specify, such samples of any commodity to which the licence relates and all such information in regard to such commodity or its manufacture, production, processing or treatment, as the Director may specify in the request.22. Protection of Government, Authority, members and employees
The fact that any commodity complies or is alleged to comply with a standard or a mandatory standard or has been alleged to have been manufactured, produced, processed or treated in accordance with any such standard, or that a distinctive mark or certification mark is used in connection with any commodity, shall not give rise to any claim against the Government, Authority or any member or employee thereof.Part V – Inspectors and auditors
23. Appointment of inspectors and auditors
24. Powers of inspectors and auditors
Part VI – Miscellaneous provisions
25. Personal immunity of members and officers
Nothing done by a member of the Council or employee of the Authority in the bona fide exercise of their functions or in the execution of any provision of this Act shall render them personally liable to any action, liability, claim, demand or any prosecution.26. Offences and penalties
27. Offences by bodies corporate
Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body of persons—28. Restriction on execution against property of Authority
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other law—29. Secrecy
30. Victimisation
31. Pension scheme for the staff of the Directorate of the Authority
The Council may—32. Rights in discoveries, inventions and improvements by member of staff vests in Authority
33. Immovable and movable property to be made available to Authority where required
If any immovable or movable property is required for the purpose of the Authority, such property may be given, granted, donated, leased or otherwise transferred to the Authority by the Minister responsible according to applicable law.Part VII – Transitional savings and consequential provisions
34. Use of words associated with Authority by any person carrying on any activity business, trade or occupation
35. Regulations
After consulting the Council, the Minister may make regulations generally for the better carrying out of the provisions of this Act and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing:History of this document
08 November 2001
Assented to
01 December 1998 this version
Consolidation
Cited documents 0
Documents citing this one 3
Gazette 2
- Swaziland Government Gazette dated 2005-10-26 number 109
- Swaziland Government Gazette supplement dated 2010-11-26 number 133