FAQ31

Can the publicly available terms &conditions of the inspection body, containing its policy and/or a commitment statement concerning the protection of the clients’ information, be considered as a legally enforceable commitment to confidentiality? Consequently, can the client of the inspection body use these terms & conditions as legal evidence to the responsible authority when the inspectin body discloses confidential information concerning the client? In other words, do such published terms & conditions have the same strength as the contractual agreement referred to in the above-mentioned clause?

STANDARD: ISO/IEC 17020  ·  CLAUSE: 4.2  ·  TOPIC: Confidentiality  

Answer:

It is the responsibility of the inspection body to understand the prevailing legal system and demonstrate that the commitments they have established are legally enforceable under that legal system. In this particular case, it should be checked if the inspection body’s commitment through “publicly available terms & conditions” is considered as a legally enforceable commitment under the legal system in question.