The Annex SL (also known as Annex L in the 2019th edition) is a section of the ISO/IEC Directives part 1 that prescribes how ISO Management System Standard (MSS) standards should be written. The aim of Annex SL is to enhance the consistency and alignment of MSS by providing a unifying and agreed-upon high level structure, identical core text and common terms and core definitions. The aim being that all ISO Type A MSS (and B where appropriate) are aligned and the compatibility of these standards is enhanced.[1][2][3][4]
Before 2012, various standards for management systems were written in different ways. Several attempts have been made since the late 90s to harmonize the way to write these but the first group that succeeded to reach an agreement was the Joint Technical Coordination Group (JTCG) set up by ISO/Technical Management Board.
Various of Technical Committees within ISO are currently working on revising all MSS published before Annex SL was adopted. Many standards are already following Annex SL such as ISO 9001, and ISO 14001.
According to Annex SL, a Management System Standard should follow the structure:[5]
Two kinds of standards for management systems are defined by the Annex SL:[6]
Sector specific to ISO 9001
Sector specific to ISO 9001
Sector specific to ISO/IEC 27001
Wikipedia List of ISO standards
