OIML President Highlights Four Years of Innovation and Growth in Legal Metrology
At the 60th CIML Meeting and 17th OIML Conference in Paris, Dr Bobjoseph Mathew, President of the International Committee of Legal Metrology (CIML), presented his report for 2022–2025, outlining a period of transformative growth for the Organisation Internationale de Métrologie Légale (OIML).
Dr Mathew described the period as one of strategic expansion and inclusivity, during which the OIML maintained financial stability while strengthening international partnerships and advancing digitalisation. Membership grew with the addition of Ethiopia in 2022 and Montenegro in 2023, alongside new Corresponding Members including Saint Lucia, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela.
The OIML’s 2026–2029 budget cycle will focus on digitalisation, support for Countries and Economies with Emerging Metrology Systems (CEEMS), and the development of new technical publications. Between 2022 and 2025, the OIML issued nine Recommendations, ten Documents, and three Guides, further cementing its position as a global authority on metrology standards.
The OIML Certification System (OIML-CS) expanded to cover 41 instrument categories, issuing 1 978 certificates since 2018. Under Dr Mathew’s leadership, digitalisation became a central organisational priority, driven by the Digitalisation Task Group through e-learning platforms, machine-readable standards, and participation in the Joint Statement of Intent on digital transformation.
Capacity building for CEEMS advanced through regional workshops in Germany, Bangkok, Dubai, and Mozambique, with the Chiang Mai Declaration of 2023 reaffirming global commitment to developing emerging metrology systems.
The OIML strengthened its collaboration with international organisations including BIPM, ISO, IEC, ILAC, IAF, UNIDO, and UNESCO. Key milestones included the recognition of World Metrology Day as a UNESCO International Day and renewed cooperation through global and regional metrology networks such as AFRIMETS, APLMF, COOMET, GULFMET, SIM, and WELMEC.
Dr Mathew concluded by reaffirming OIML’s mission to uphold trust, innovation, and inclusivity in global measurement systems. He highlighted that legal metrology is evolving beyond accuracy to become “the language of trust in a digital world.”
