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IEC central office on the Microsoft OOXML standard fast track 2007
From Wikileaks
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File
iec-cetral-office-on-the-fast-track-process-2007.pdf
Download from: Sweden, US, Sweden2, Latvia, Slovakia, UK, Finland, Netherlands, Tonga, SSL, TOR
Summary
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standardization_of_Office_Open_XML for context.
In interpreting this document, it needs to be kept in mind that although it is true that the document is highly relevant in the context of the OOXML fast track process, the document does not directly refer to that particular fast track process. Rather it is a response to a question which had been asked at a previous meeting of ISO/IEC JTC1's Special Working Group on the Directives about the fast-track process in relation to amendments to standards.
Who wrote this document? No author's name is specifically given, but the origin of the document is given as "IEC Central Office", and the document speaks authoritatively and the first person singular pronoun is used in a way which implies that it would be clear to the intended readers of the document who must be the author.
According to this article on IEC's web site, IEC has a "Technical Officer responsible for ISO/IEC JTC 1". This is Gabriel Barta, who also helped to manage the so-called Ballot Resolution Meeting on OOXML.
Remarkably there is a striking contradiction between the leaked document's stance that the fast-track process should be used only for standards which do not need changes, and the exceedingly great number of demands of changes which had been submitted for OOXML of which according to IEC's own admission were too many to discuss all of them in a week-long conference.File size in bytes
1. To my best knowledge, this file has never before been made publicly available online or offline.
2. This file is important because it proves that despite what officials of ISO (International Stnadardization Organization) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) are now pretending, approval as an international standard via the so-called "fast track" process was totally inappropriate and irregular for Microsoft's OOXML document format.
3. The audience is journalists (as well as book authors like e.g. Andy Updegrove) who are working on informing the public on the extraordinary events related to Microsoft's efforts (supported by officials of ISO and IEC) towards getting the document format of their "Office 2007" product approved as an international standard in near-total disrespect of how standardization is supposed to work.
4. ISO, IEC as well as national standardization organiozations like e.g. Germany's DIN should be able to confirm the autheticity of the document (but might be unwilling to do so). I would expect Steve Pepper, who resigned as the chairman of Standards Norway's ISO JTC/IEC committee on OOXML in protest over a specific Norwegian irregularity, to be willing to talk to journalists. He also should have access to this document and he should therefore be able to confirm its authenticity.
5. I'm leaking this document to expose the hypocrisy of the ISO/IEC officials in pretending that the approval of OOXML via the fast-track process was somehow acceptable despite the vast amount of changes that were applied with no or minimal discussion during the one-week "ballot resolution meeting", and to contribute to the public pressure on the ISO/IEC officials to take the currently-pending appeals from four countries seriously.
6. Making the document publicly available reasonably quickly is important in view of the current process of handling the four appeals against the approval of OOXML as an international standard.