The PAS transposition process is based on the following key concepts:

A technical specification is called a Publicly Available Specification (PAS) if it meets certain criteria, making it suitable for possible processing as an international standard. These criteria (see clause 14.4) have been established in order to ensure a high level of quality and proper treatment of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) related matters.

Any organization that has developed and hence owns a PAS that is considered useful for transposition into an international standard is called the PAS originator. There are no fundamental restrictions as to what form the organization should have, but it should be recognized that constitutional characteristics of the organization are supposed to reflect the openness of the organization and the PAS development process.

A PAS originator may apply to JTC 1 for recognition as a Submitter of PASs for transposition. Once approved, the status of a recognized PAS Submitter will remain valid for an initial period of two years, with the possibility of further extension. (see clause 14.3.1).

The submission of the PAS must be accompanied by an Explanatory Report generated by the PAS originator. This report provides all information necessary to support the submission. In particular, it should contain statements as to the extent that the PAS criteria are met by the specification. It should also clearly define the technical concepts used in the PAS. JTC 1 has developed a template for the Explanatory Report.

The PAS together with the corresponding Explanatory Report is submitted for ballot.

These procedures apply to the transposition of PAS into international standards. Such a standard may be an IS (International Standard) or an ISP (International Standardized Profile). It is expected that these procedures will be used to process a broader class of documents from a more diverse set of sources than is currently served by the Fast Track process.

A PAS originator interested in submitting an existing or forthcoming specification into the transposition process shall apply to the JTC 1 Secretariat for recognition as a PAS Submitter. Such application shall be accompanied by an identification of the initial PAS(s) which are planned to be submitted and by statements of the PAS originator regarding the organization related criteria (see below). The completed documentation shall be submitted to P-members of JTC 1 for a three month ballot. Approval as a Recognized PAS Submitter gives a PAS originator the right to submit specifications into the transposition process for a period of two years with the possibility of further extension (see below). This status will lapse:

• If a National Body request for re-qualification is sustained by JTC 1;
• If the PAS originator failed to submit a specification to JTC 1 for transposition within the expected period (see clause 14.3.2).

The initiative to submit an application for recognition may come from a PAS originator or from an entity within the JTC 1 environment.

Since the ballot among JTC 1 National Bodies will take three months, the application for recognition should be submitted in time before the planned first submission of a PAS. While there are no particular requirements as to the format of the application, it should

• define the overall scope of the application;
• identify the initial PASs which are planned to be submitted, together with their scope;
• address all mandatory elements of the organization acceptance criteria contained in clause 7.3 of the Management Guide for the Transposition of Publicly Available Specifications

Six months prior to the expiration of an organization's status as an approved JTC 1 PAS Submitter, the JTC 1 Secretariat shall invite the submitter to review its future intentions as a PAS submitter and consider the following options with regard to its initial application for recognition as a JTC 1 PAS submitter:

• Revise (significant changes to the initial application, e.g. changes in scope, procedures),
• Withdraw (lapse), or
• Reaffirm (extend current status with no significant changes).

If the PAS submitter chooses to revise, it must submit a document to the JTC 1 Secretariat stating the changes to the answers to the questions in clause 7.3 of the PAS Management Guide from its previous application. If the Pas submitter chooses to reaffirm, it should identify subsequent PAS(s) intended for submission. In order to allow JTC 1 a timely reaction to the revision or affirmation, the necessary documentation should be submitted not later than three months prior to the expiration of its status as a PAS submitter. The JTC 1 Secretariat shall issue a three month letter ballot on the request for either a revision or reaffirmation. Failure to respond to the Secretariat's invitation for review of PAS submitter status will automatically result in lapse of a PAS submitter's status at the conclusion of its term.

Once a PAS originator has been recognized, a PAS submission to the JTC 1 Secretariat may occur within the scope as identified on the application (see clause 14.3.1). When submitting a PAS to the JTC 1 Secretariat, a Recognized PAS Submitter shall include an Explanatory Report and a statement that the conditions for recognition have not changed or an indication of the nature of changes that have occurred. The Explanatory Report particularly shall contain statements regarding the document related criteria (see clause 14.4). It should also explicitly mention how the JTC 1 Common Strategic Characteristics - Interoperability, Portability and Cultural and linguistic adaptability - are addressed.

 All submissions including the Explanatory Report shall occur in electronic form.

The first submission shall occur not later than six months after the initial recognition. On request by the PAS originator not later than six weeks before the end of this six month period, the period may be extended for another six months, subject to approval by the JTC 1 Chairman and Secretariat. Failure by the PAS originator to submit a specification within the expected period will result in the lapse of its recognition status.

Recognized PAS Submitters are encouraged to apply, if flexibility still exists, a documentation style close to the ISO/IEC style in order to ease the later alignment process at the time of any revision.

The JTC 1 Secretariat, after checking the recognition status of the submitter and the completeness of the application, shall forward the specification together with the Explanatory Report to the ISO/IEC Information Technology Task Force (ITTF) to initiate the appropriate ballot process among the JTC 1 National Bodies.

In view of the importance of the Explanatory Report for a successful transposition, the Recognized PAS Submitter may request counsel and advice from JTC 1 National Bodies, Subcommittees or Category A liaison organizations during the generation of this report and throughout the transposition process. The counseling process could include a review of the submissions.

The Recognized PAS Submitter is encouraged to make a recommendation concerning the assignment of the document to a given SC. This recommendation (or in its absence, the JTC 1 Secretariat's recommendation) shall be circulated to JTC 1 P-members together with the ballot. P-members shall be given the opportunity to comment on the specific assignment. However, comments on assignment shall not prejudice the vote. In cases where the SC assignment is in question or where the document does not appear appropriate for any existing SC, the JTC 1 Secretariat should perform the duties normally assigned to the SC Secretariat until the final SC assignment is determined.

14.3.3.1 The JTC 1 Secretariat forwards the PAS, together with the Explanatory Report and related documentation to the ISO/IEC Information Technology Task Force (ITTF).

14.3.3.2 The ITTF shall take the following actions:

14.3.3.3 The period for combined DIS voting shall be six months. In order to be accepted the DIS must meet the following voting criteria :

14.3.3.4 Upon receipt of notification from the ITTF that a DIS has been registered, the JTC 1 Secretariat shall inform the Secretariat of the SC recommended for assignment of the project of the DIS number, title, and ballot period dates, and shall send the SC Secretariat a copy of the DIS and its attached Explanatory Report. The JTC 1 Secretariat shall also inform the ITTF of the SC that will deal with the DIS ballot results, in order that the table of replies and any comments accompanying the votes may be sent by ITTF directly to the SC Secretariat as well as to the JTC 1 Secretariat.

14.3.3.5 Reflecting the importance of the PAS process, the JTC 1 Secretariat shall also inform JTC 1 National Bodies and Liaison Organizations, and those organizations authorized to be PAS submitters, of the initiation of any PAS ballot, the results of the ballot, and the identity of the JTC 1 committee which will be responsible for any future work.

14.3.3.6 The PAS Submitter shall receive a copy of the ballot document.

14.3.3.7 Upon receipt of the notification from the JTC 1 Secretariat that its SC has been assigned the responsibility for dealing with the DIS, the SC Secretariat shall so inform the SC National Bodies, and shall make plans for the handling of ballot results through the formation of a ballot resolution group, as follows. The SC Secretariat shall:

The ballot resolution meeting shall be open to representation from all affected interests (including the Recognized PAS Submitter) and shall be convened in a timely manner.

14.3.3.8 Upon receipt of the DIS ballot results, and any comments, the SC Secretariat shall distribute this material to the SC National Bodies and the Recognized PAS Submitter. The SC Secretariat shall also send notification of the ballot resolution group meeting to any National Bodies having voted to disapprove the DIS that are not National Bodies of the SC. The National Bodies shall be requested to consider the comments and to form opinions on their acceptability.

National Bodies of the relevant SC shall appoint to the ballot resolution group one or more representatives who are well aware of the National Body position. National Bodies having voted negatively, whether or not a National Body of the relevant SC, have a duty to delegate a representative to the ballot resolution group meeting. In circumstances where physical representation is not possible, participation via e-mail correspondence should be explored as an alternative method of representation.

14.3.3.9 At the ballot resolution group meeting, decisions should be reached preferably by consensus. If a vote is unavoidable, the vote of the National Bodies will be taken according to normal JTC 1 procedures. If the decisions reached are not acceptable to the Recognized PAS Submitter, the document may be withdrawn and the procedure terminated.

14.3.3.10 If, after the deliberations of this ballot resolution group, the requirements of 14.3.3.3 are met, the Project Editor shall prepare the amended DIS and send it to the SC Secretariat who shall forward it to the ITTF for publication as an IS. For its initial publication, the document is not required to be in ISO/IEC format, but can be published in its original format. The form of publication (e.g., reprint of original document or distribution of ISO/IEC cover page with reference) is to be determined by ITTF and the Recognized PAS Submitter as part of any publication agreements. However, subsequent revisions shall be in the format prescribed by the ISO/IEC Directives - Part 3.

14.3.3.11 If it is impossible to agree to a text meeting the above requirements, the proposal has failed. In this case, JTC 1 shall make known to the Submitter the reasons which have led to the negative result. Based on this information, the Submitter may choose to re-submit the specification after modification.

14.3.3.12 In either case the Convener, in coordination with the Project Editor, shall prepare a full report which shall be distributed by the SC Secretariat to the SC and to the ITTF.

14.3.3.13 The time period for these different steps shall be:

14.3.3.14 If the proposed standard is accepted, it will be published following ISO and IEC standing copyright policy. Its maintenance will be handled by JTC 1 in accordance with JTC 1 rules.

It is at the discretion of the Recognized PAS Submitter to withdraw the document from the transposition process at any point prior to publication. It is also the right of the Recognized PAS Submitter to request that the document remain unchanged throughout the transposition process. Such a request should be clearly stated in the Explanatory Report, and may be an issue in the ballot process. Changes to the specification during the ballot process are, however, not acceptable as they will lead to confusion.

JTC 1 has established criteria that serve as a basis for the judgement as to whether a particular organization can be recognized and whether its specification can be accepted as a candidate for transposition into an international standard. Such criteria may also be used by potential submitters to determine the level of suitability of their specification for the standardization process. The PAS criteria are broadly classified into two categories and address the following topics:

Details can be found in the Management Guide for the Transposition of Publicly Available Specification which is available from JTC 1 National Bodies and the JTC 1 Secretariat.