Legal Significance of Standards
DIN Standards are benchmarks of technical performance and play a significant role in legislation.
Anyone can use DIN Standards, and their use is voluntary. They only become mandatory if they are referred to in agreements, laws or regulations.
Standards can prevent legal disputes because they set out unambiguous specifications. References to standards in laws and regulations relieve the state and private parties of the responsibility for developing detailed technical specifications.
Even where DIN Standards are not expressly named in a contractual agreement, they are often used to settle legal disputes, especially in product liability cases. Here the standards user can make a prima facie showing of due diligence.
Nevertheless, DIN Standards are not written for the general reader – anyone using standards should have enough technical knowledge that they can take reasonable responsibility for their actions.