Anna Follows up with ISO on RA Agreement

The Association of National Numbering Agencies (Anna) has requested to meet with the International Organization for Standards (ISO) regarding the new registration authority agreement for the ISIN standard, officials tell Inside Reference Data.

Earlier this year, ISO carried out a legal review of the various agreements it has with organizations that act as registration authorities for the implementation of ISO standards. The agreements have been revised to clarify a number of ambiguities that arose during the legal review, and Anna received the new version of its agreement in June.

A high-level overview of the proposed changes was presented to the Anna membership at the general meeting in the same month, and the feedback was discussed at the board-level in August.

London-based Anna chair Dan Kuhnel says the board decided it would be better to arrange a meeting with ISO instead of engaging in a written exchange. "In the interest of efficiency, we decided we would approach ISO and request a face-to-face meeting," he says.

The main concern with the new agreement is the right for ISO to intervene if a numbering agency does not fulfil its role, according to Kuhnel. It is up to each individual jurisdiction to appoint a numbering agency, and Anna, which has 82 full members and 27 partner members, only provides guidance in the process. In some countries, it is even written into law. "We can't supersede jurisdictional laws," he says, explaining that these are the things Anna would like to clarify to ISO in the proposed meeting.

However, when Anna received the first draft, there was no deadline for feedback. Kuhnel says the agreement appears to be based on a template, but includes some specificities that apply to Anna. "There are some specific concepts related to how Anna gives responsibilities to the numbering agencies that have been added," he says.

Last month, Geneva-based Mike Smith, senior advisor, technical policy, ISO, told Inside Reference Data that the new version is based on a basic template that is "adapted for each particular organization and standard." The changes to the agreement are "fairly cosmetic," he said.

ISO is yet to announce a date for when the new agreement will be effective from.