The regulatory body has to establish and implement a management system that will enable it to achieve its safety goals; all processes within the management system must be open and transparent. The management system should also be continuously assessed and improved.

The management system of the regulatory body has three purposes. The first purpose is to ensure that the responsibilities assigned to the regulatory body are properly discharged. The second purpose is to maintain and improve the performance of the regulatory body by means of the planning, control and supervision of its safety-related activities. The third purpose is to foster and support a safety culture in the regulatory body through the development and reinforcement of leadership and good attitudes and behaviour in relation to safety on the part of individuals and teams.

The management system maintains the efficiency and effectiveness of the regulatory body in discharging its responsibilities and performing its func­tions. This includes the promotion of enhancements in safety, and the fulfil­ment of its obligations in an appropriate, timely and cost-effective manner so as to build confidence.

The management system also describes, in a coherent manner, the planned and systematic actions necessary to provide confidence that the statutory obligations placed on the regulatory body are being fulfilled. Furthermore, regulatory requirements should be considered in conjunction with the more general requirements under the management system of the regulatory body, and this helps to prevent safety from being compromised.

The regulatory process is a formal process based on specified policies, principles and associated criteria and follows specified procedures as estab­lished in the management system. The process should ensure the stability and consistency of regulatory control and should prevent subjectivity in decision making by the individual staff members of the regulatory body. The regulatory body should be able to justify its decisions if they are chal­lenged. In connection with its reviews and assessments and its inspections, the regulatory body should inform applicants of the objectives, principles and associated criteria for safety on which its requirements, judgements and decisions are based, as described in the IAEA general safety requirements (IAEA, 2006b).