Article 9 — Accreditation of certifiers

The accreditation of certifiers referred to in Article 2, point (15)(a), shall include an evaluation of compliance with the following requirements: (a) the certifier shall be established under the law of a Member State and shall have legal personality; (b) the certifier shall be a third-party body independent of the economic operator; (c) the certifier, its senior management and the personnel responsible for the conformity assessment shall not engage in any activity that may conflict with their independence of judgement or integrity in relation to the certification activities; (d) the certifier and its personnel shall operate in a non-discriminatory manner and carry out their activities with the highest degree of professional integrity and the requisite technical competence and shall be free from all pressures and inducements, including financial, which might influence their judgement or the results of their certification activities, especially as regards persons or groups of persons with an interest in the results of those activities. The impartiality of the certifiers, their senior management and the personnel responsible for carrying out the certification and tasks shall be guaranteed; (e) the certifier shall have the expertise, equipment and infrastructure required to perform the conformity assessment in relation to which it has been accredited; (f) the certifier shall have a sufficient number of suitably qualified and experienced personnel responsible for carrying out the conformity assessment tasks; (g) without prejudice to the powers of the competent authorities under Article 16(3), point (b), the personnel of a certifier shall observe professional secrecy with regard to all information obtained in carrying out the conformity assessment tasks; (h) where a certifier subcontracts specific tasks connected with certification or has recourse to a subsidiary, it shall take full responsibility for the tasks performed by subcontractors or subsidiaries and shall assess and monitor the qualifications of the subcontractor or the subsidiary and the work carried out by them. Only the tasks that fall within the scope of accreditation of the certifier may be performed by subcontractors or subsidiaries. Certifiers shall ensure that the activities of their subcontractors or subsidiaries do not affect the confidentiality, objectivity or impartiality of their certification activities.