EWIVS Certification GmbH operates its own personal certification regulations based on the international standard EN ISO/IEC 17024, in which the qualification profiles, admission requirements, examination forms and validity periods of the certificates are defined independently and in accordance with the standard. The EN ISO/IEC 17024 standard itself does not require a nationally uniform examination programme, but defines requirements for personal certification bodies with regard to impartiality, competence, standardized examination processes and regular review of the certified persons. Against this background, it is generally permissible for EEIGS to develop their own certification programs (“own rules”), provided that these comply with the structural and procedural requirements of the standard.
From a legal perspective, however, a distinction must be made between the substantive alignment with EN ISO/IEC 17024 and formal accreditation in the sense of European accreditation law. The EU regulation in Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008 is aimed at a system of national accreditation bodies in the EU and EEA states that are members of the European cooperation for Accreditation (EA) and ensure mutual recognition via the EA-MLA system. Certificates from personal certification bodies that are accredited by such national accreditation bodies (e.g. DAkkS in Germany) in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17024 benefit from this EU-wide recognition logic.
EWIVS refers to accreditation by “NILLA European Accreditation” and presents itself as an accredited certification body for the certification of persons in accordance with ISO 17024. However, this form of accreditation must be distinguished from accreditation by a national accreditation body within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008, unless NILLA is integrated into the EA-MLA system as such a state-mandated body. In this case, there is no automatic obligation under EU law for authorities and courts of the EU Member States to recognize certificates from EEIGS in the same way as certificates from certification bodies accredited by DAkkS or other EA member accreditors.
EWIVS Certification operates internationally and currently offers personal certification in several countries in Europe, the USA, the United Arab Emirates and parts of Africa. In view of this broad geographical presence, it is in fact virtually impossible to fully map all regional and national peculiarities of accreditation law and to obtain a separate, formal accreditation for each individual country. In addition to the considerable administrative complexity, multiple accreditation in numerous jurisdictions would result in a financial outlay that is generally not feasible for a privately organized certification body; the decision in favour of a central, private accreditation regime (e.g. NILLA) is therefore understandable, but does not replace the specific legal position of national accreditation within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008.
The internal design of EWIVS as a certification body – separation of training/consulting and certification, structures to ensure impartiality, a documented management system, defined certification procedures and requirements for the technical competence of auditors and technical experts – corresponds to the self-image of a personal certification body in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17024. This can justify a high level of quality in technical terms, but does not replace the specific accreditation embedded in public law by a national accreditation body within the meaning of European law. For experts who hold an EEIGS certificate, this means that they must choose their designation and advertising statements in such a way that it is clearly recognizable which certification body and which type of accreditation they rely on; equality with DAkkS-accredited ISO 17024 certificates or with publicly appointed experts cannot be automatically derived from this, but remains a question of individual case assessment by clients, courts and authorities.
In summary, it can be stated that The activities of EEIGS in the field of personal certification in accordance with their own rules based on EN ISO/IEC 17024 are technically legitimate and can offer practical added value for certificate holders, particularly due to their international orientation. However, legal certainty in the narrow sense of European accreditation law, in particular with regard to official and judicial recognition throughout the EU, only results from accreditation by a national accreditation body in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008 and participation in the EA-MLA system; in this respect, the position of EEIGS certificates compared to classically DAkkS-accredited 17024 certificates must be presented in a differentiated and transparent manner.