Doug, Guidelines, whether relating to the LVD, EMC Directive or whatever do not have the same 'weight of law' as the requirements of the directives themselves.
Strictly speaking, Directives are not themselves law. They are first and foremost instructions to individual Member States (think countries) to pass national laws that are consistent with the provisions of the Directive. Please be aware that EU is a still a collection of separate countries, each with its own government, legal system and means of policing compliance. By no means is the EU a mirror of the USA (and I not making a political statement here, lest people infer otherwise). What we have then is a system of creating a set of more or less harmonious national laws based on a particular Directive. Guidelines are what they say they are. They are not law and national courts can take heed of them, or not, as the case may be. Of course, when it comes to matters of law you are ultimately talking about having to convince a judge or a jury, neither of whom are likely to understand the finer points of EMC! Therefore, many manufacturers prefer the warm-fuzzy feeling that comes from complying with the guidelines, irrespective of the fact that they are voluntary. Regards, Richard Hughes Safety Answers Limited In a message dated 11/11/2003 22:00:36 GMT Standard Time, [email protected] writes: It is hard to argue with the Guidelines! (although, do the EMC Guidelines have the same weight of law as the EMC Directive?)
