Chronological Development of the Institutionalisation of Czecho-Slovak Metrology and Its Organisations
1875 – Signing of the Metre Convention
The Metre Convention was signed on 20 May 1875 in Paris by 17 signatory states, including Austria-Hungary, establishing the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM).
Slovak Institute of Metrology (SMU)
1918 – Czechoslovak Central Inspectorate for the Verification Service (Prague)
Established by Ministry of Public Works Decree No. 52/1918 Coll. (20 November 1918) and Decree of the Czechoslovak Government No. 611/1919 Coll.
The functions of the institute in its later form, operating as a scientific-research institute in the Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR), during the wartime period, and in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (ČSSR), were carried out from 1918 to 1966 under the jurisdiction of state authorities responsible for the fields of verification of measuring instruments, metrology, and measurement.
1922 – Accession of the Czechoslovak Republic to the Metre Convention
Decree of the Minister of Foreign Affairs No. 351/1922 Coll. of 7 December 1922 on the accession of the Czechoslovak Republic to the Metre Convention, signed in Paris on 20 May 1875.
1966 – Metrological Institute (Prague)
Established on 1 January 1966 by the founding charter issued by the Chairman of the Office for Standardization and Measurement (ÚNM), pursuant to Act No. 35/1962 Coll. on the State Measurement Service.
1968 – Czechoslovak Metrological Institute (ČSMÚ)
Established on 1 April 1968 by an amendment of the founding charter of the Metrological Institute in Prague and by the subsequent transfer (delimitation) of competences.
Head office: Bratislava
Branch office: Prague
The establishment was linked to the implementation of the constitutional and legislative framework of the Czechoslovak federation, in particular Constitutional Act No. 143/1968 Coll.Jozef Skákala played a key role in its establishment.
1980 – Introduction of SI Units in Czechoslovakia
SI units were officially introduced in Czechoslovakia by State Technical Standard ČSN 01 1300 effective 1 January 1976, with a four-year transitional period ending on 1 January 1980.
1993 – Czech Metrology Institute (ČMI)
Established on 1 January 1993 by Decree of the Ministry of Economy of the Czech Republic dated 21 December 1992, following the dissolution of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (ČSFR) and in accordance with Act No. 576/1990 Coll. on Metrology, for the implementation of the necessary transformation of the former federal metrological system.(Simultaneously, the Czech Office for Technical Standardization, Metrology and State Testing – ÚNMZ – was established on 1 January 1993.)
1993 – Slovak Institute of Metrology (SMU)
The Slovak Institute of Metrology (SMÚ) was established on 1 January 1993 as a contributory organization under the authority of the Slovak Office of Standards, Metrology and Testing (ÚNMS SR). It serves as the supreme state institution for metrology in the independent Slovak Republic and as the national metrology institute, by a founding charter dated 30 December 1992.SMÚ operated in accordance with Act No. 505/1990 Coll. on Metrology, which was later replaced by Act No. 157/2018 Coll. on Metrology, as amended, currently in force.
The Institute is established under § 6 of Act No. 157/2018 Coll. on Metrology and on the Amendment and Supplementation of Certain Acts, as amended.The Slovak Republic has been a member state of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) in Paris since 13 January 1993, continuing the Czecho-Slovak membership from 1922.SMÚ has been a signatory of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA) since 14 October 1999 and is a full member of EUROMET (currently the European Association of National Metrology Institutes – EURAMET e.V.).SMÚ is also a member of COOMET and participates in activities within WELMEC and the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML).
1994 – Slovak Legal Metrology (SLM)
The Slovak Legal Metrology (SLM) was established on 1 January 1994 as the successor organization to the State Legal Metrology Service of the Slovak Republic, as a contributory organization founded by the Slovak Office of Standards, Metrology and Testing (ÚNMS SR). Its founding charter was issued on 30 December 1993.Pursuant to Government Resolution No. 1203/2004 of 15 December 2004, SLM was transformed into a non-profit organization on 3 January 2005, for the purpose of providing metrological services for official verification, calibration, testing, certification, and inspection in Slovakia.The organization’s headquarters were located in Banská Bystrica until 2024 and were subsequently relocated to Bratislava.
Slovak Office of Standards, Metrology and Testing (ÚNMS SR) – Institutional Predecessors
1918 – Czechoslovak Central Inspectorate for the Verification Service in Prague
The Czechoslovak Central Inspectorate for the Verification Service was established by Ordinance No. 52/1918 Coll. of the Ministry of Public Works of 20 November 1918 on the establishment of the Czechoslovak Central Inspectorate for the Verification Service. Its territorial competence was subsequently defined by Ordinance No. 611/1919 Coll. of the Government of the Czechoslovak Republic of 18 November 1919, which divided the territory of Czechoslovakia into three supervisory verification districts.
1919 – Czechoslovak Electrotechnical Association (ESČ)
The Czechoslovak Electrotechnical Association (ESČ) was established on 1 June 1919 as the first professional association of electrical engineers. It contributed to the development of the first technical standards and to the process of state electrification, and operated its own testing laboratory, established in 1926.
1922 – Czechoslovak Standardization Society (ČSN)
The Czechoslovak Standardization Society (ČSN) was established as a public-benefit non-profit organization operating as a private-law entity and financed by contributions from its member companies.
1940 – Directorate of the Verification and Assay Service (Bratislava)
The Directorate of the Verification and Assay Service was established by Act No. 115/1940 Coll. of Laws of the Slovak State on the Offices of the Verification and Assay Service and was placed under the authority of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works of the wartime Slovak State.
1945 – Verification and Assay Directorate (Prague)
The Verification and Assay Directorate was based on organizational structures established during the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, specifically following Government Ordinances No. 175/1942 Coll. and No. 228/1943 Coll., which regulated the verification and assay offices and their branches. After the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945, state administration was gradually restored and reorganized.
1951 – Office for Standardization
Pursuant to Government Ordinance No. 45/1951 Coll. on Technical Standardization, the Office for Standardization was established, assuming the activities of the Czechoslovak Standardization Society (ČSN) and the Czechoslovak Electrotechnical Association (ESČ) under state authority.
1955 – State Office for Measures, Weights and Precious Metals under the Ministry of Finance of the Czechoslovak Republic, and Slovak Office for Measures, Weights and Precious Metals under the Ministerial Office of the Slovak National Council for Finance
The offices were established by Legal Measure No. 2/1955 Coll. of the Presidium of the National Assembly on the State Service for Measures and Weights, the State Service for Precious Metals, and the Testing of Weapons and Ammunition for Civilian Use. The verification service in Slovakia remained under the Ministerial Office for Construction until 1954.
1956 – Office for Inventions and Standardization (Prague)
The Office for Inventions and Standardization was established by Government Ordinance No. 19/1956 Coll. on the abolition of certain ministries and central state administration bodies, by merging the Office for Inventions and the Office for Standardization. It operated pursuant to Act No. 35/1957 Coll. on Technical Standardization.
1959 – Office for Standardization, Prague
The Office for Standardization was established by Government Ordinance No. 3/1959 Coll. on the Establishment of the State Committee for the Development of Technology, by dividing the State Office for Inventions and Standardization and thereby separating technical standardization into the Office for Standardization and the Office for Patents and Inventions. Both offices were subordinated to the State Committee for the Development of Technology, acting as the government authority for technical development.
Simultaneously, the State Office for Measures, Weights and Precious Metals and the Slovak Office for Measures, Weights and Precious Metals were abolished, and the responsibilities of the state service for measures and weights were transferred to the Office for Standardization.
1962 – Office for Standardization and Measurement (ÚNM)
The Office for Standardization and Measurement was established by Act No. 35/1962 Coll. on the State Measurement Service as the central state body, with responsibility for the State Measurement Service department.
1989 – Federal Office for Standardization and Measurement (FÚNM)
The Federal Office for Standardization and Measurement (FÚNM) was the federal state administration body responsible for technical standardization, metrology, and testing services. It was subordinated to the Federal Committee for Technical and Investment Development and continued to operate in the Czechoslovak Federative Republic until the end of 1992, pursuant to Act No. 505/1990 Coll. on Metrology.
1991 – State Metrological Inspectorate, Brno
1993 – Slovak Metrological Inspectorate (SMI)
The State Metrological Inspectorate in Brno was established pursuant to Act No. 505/1990 Coll. on Metrology and by the Federal Office for Standardization and Measurement (FÚNM), with jurisdiction throughout the Czechoslovak Federative Republic (ČSFR). It is regarded, together with the Czechoslovak Metrological Institute (ČSMÚ), as a predecessor of the Czech Metrology Institute (ČMI).The Slovak Metrological Inspectorate (SMI) was established by the Slovak Office for Standards, Metrology and Testing (ÚNMS SR) pursuant to Section 28 of Act No. 567/1992 Coll. on Budgetary Rules of the Slovak Republic, as amended by Acts No. 159/1993 Coll. and No. 325/1993 Coll., and by the founding deed dated 30 December 1993.It continued to operate under Act No. 142/2000 Coll. on Metrology and currently exercises its competence under Section 5 of Act No. 157/2018 Coll. on Metrology, as amended.
1992 – Technical Testing Institute Piešťany (TSÚ)
Since 1949, the institute operated as part of the Research and Development Plant within the state enterprise Kovotechna Prague. From 1952, it functioned as the Testing Laboratory for Products and Materials, a branch of Kovotechna Prague, based on a decree of the Ministry of Mechanical Engineering of the Czechoslovak Republic. It was the first testing laboratory in the country.From 1965, it operated as a branch of the Mechanical Engineering Testing Institute in Brno. From 1975, it became the Czechoslovak Institute for the Certification of Instruments and Equipment in Piešťany, an independent entity under the competence of the Office for Standardization and Measurement.Since 2012, it has operated as the Technical Testing Institute Piešťany, a state-owned enterprise. Since 2024, it has operated as a joint-stock company wholly owned by the Slovak Republic.The Technical Testing Institute (TSÚ) provides testing services, product certification, quality management, metrological control of designated measuring instruments, and calibration of measuring devices and instruments, as well as inspection activities. It primarily serves manufacturers and importers of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, construction, gas, medical, metallurgical products, and consumer goods. It is currently the oldest and largest testing laboratory in Slovakia.
1993 – Czech Office for Technical Standardization, Metrology and State Testing (ÚNMZ)
It was established pursuant to Act No. 20/1993 Coll. for performing state administration in the areas of technical standardization, metrology, and state testing, as an administrative office under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic.
1993 – Slovak Institute for Technical Standardization (SÚTN)
It was established on 1 January 1993 in Bratislava by the Chairman of the Slovak Office of Standards, Metrology and Testing (ÚNMS SR) to carry out activities in the field of Slovak Technical Standards (STN). SÚTN operated as a budgetary organization until 2014, when it was abolished as part of the streamlining of state administration. Its responsibilities as the national standardization body were directly transferred to ÚNMS SR.
1993 – Office of Standards, Metrology and Testing of the Slovak Republic (ÚNMS SR)
ÚNMS SR was established on 16 December 1992 and became effective on 1 January 1993 as the central state administration authority in the Slovak Republic for technical standardization, metrology, and testing, pursuant to Act No. 2/1993 Coll. of 16 December 1992, amending and supplementing the Act on the Organization of Ministries and Other Central State Administration Bodies.Currently, its activities are governed by Act No. 575/2001 Coll. on the Organization of the Activities of the Government and the Organization of Central State Administration. ÚNMS SR serves as the central state administration authority in the areas of technical standardization, metrology, quality, conformity assessment, mutual recognition of conformity assessment results, removal of barriers to the free movement of goods, and accreditation of conformity assessment bodies.
1994 – Slovak National Accreditation Service (SNAS)
SNAS was established on 1 August 1994. The Slovak national accreditation system was initiated pursuant to Government Resolution No. 866/1993 and a decision by the Chairman of the Slovak Office of Standards, Metrology and Testing (ÚNMS SR).Currently, SNAS is a public-law institution operating on a non-profit basis pursuant to Act No. 53/2023 Coll. on the Accreditation of Conformity Assessment Bodies. It is the sole national accreditation authority in the Slovak Republic, performing accreditation of conformity assessment bodies in its capacity as a public authority.SNAS is a signatory to the EA MLA, ILAC MRA, and IAF MLA.