Impartiality: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)
Impartiality (French: impartialité) means that a certification body assesses and decides objectively, without its judgements being swayed by commercial, financial or personal interests. It is a central requirement of ISO/IEC 17021-1 for every management system certification, ISO 53001 included.
Updated: · edition covered: ISO/UNDP 53001:2026
In an ISO/UNDP 53001 audit
For a certification body, impartiality takes the form of verifiable arrangements: an analysis of the risks that threaten it, a ban on consulting for the systems it certifies, separation between the audit team and the decision-makers, and a committee that oversees these arrangements.
For the audited organisation, it shows in how the audit is run. The auditor proposes no solutions, recommends no provider and sells no training linked to the audit, and discloses any prior link with the organisation before accepting the assignment. See the impartiality page, the impartiality committee and the ISO/UNDP 53001 standard.
Oversight and recourse at Gardiant
At Gardiant Certification, an impartiality committee of three to five members, meeting at least once a year, reviews the analysis of impartiality risks and how they are handled. An organisation that doubts the objectivity of an audit can also use the complaints procedure: receipt is acknowledged within five working days and a reply given within thirty days.
See also
- Conflict of interest: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)A conflict of interest (French: *conflit d'intérêts*) is a situation in which a personal, commercial or financial interest could compromise, or appear to compromise, the objectivity of an auditor or a certification body.
- Certification body: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)A certification body (French: *organisme certificateur*) is an independent entity that audits an organisation's management system and decides, on the basis of the results, whether to grant, maintain or withdraw a certificate.
- Certification decision: definition (ISO/UNDP 53001)A certification decision (French: *décision de certification*) is the act by which a certification body grants, refuses, maintains, renews, suspends or withdraws an ISO 53001 certificate.