The National Accreditation Board – Malta (NAB-MALTA) strongly believes that it is of utmost importance to maintain the trust that stakeholders expect from accreditation. The NAB-MALTA adheres to the requirements of EN ISO/IEC 17011: 2017 ‘Conformity assessment – Requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies’ and Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 that accreditation shall be undertaken impartially, and the maintenance of impartiality is a key priority at all levels within the NAB-MALTA.

The NAB-MALTA is structured in such a manner as to safeguard impartiality from commercial, financial and other pressures. As a public entity, it has no share ownership, commercial or other interest in any conformity assessment body (CAB) and it operates on a not-for-profit basis.

The Board and Management are committed to safeguard the objectivity and impartiality of the NAB-MALTA’s activities. Accreditation is a public authority activity  and the NAB-MALTA does not offer or provide any activities, or services, that conformity assessment bodies (CABs) provide.

The NAB-MALTA does not engage in any activities which could compromise its impartiality;  it does not provide consultancy to conformity assessment bodies, nor does it undertake any conformity assessment activities itself or have links with bodies providing consultancy to the conformity assessment sector, and it does not promote the services of any such body.  Any NAB-MALTA events are open to all under the same conditions.

All NAB-MALTA accreditation schemes are administered in a non-discriminatory manner and are open to CABs whose accreditation applications fall within its defined scope of activities.

All personnel involved directly in the accreditation process are required to be free from any undue pressures including commercial or financial pressures which may impact on their ability to act impartially or objectively. All personnel are required to declare conflicts of interest. Accreditation decisions are made by competent persons independent of the assessment of the CAB under review.

The NAB-MALTA evaluates potential threats to impartiality on an on-going basis using a number of mechanisms including internal audit, management review, risk management processes and consultation with appropriate interested parties.  Where any such risks are identified, the NAB-MALTA puts appropriate measures in place to eliminate or minimise them. These measures are monitored for effectiveness.

In the event that customers or other stakeholder have concerns regarding the impartiality or objectivity of the NAB-MALTA, the NAB-MALTA has non-discriminatory procedures in place for handling complaints and appeals.

Date of Issue: 08/11/2019 Revision 0