This chapter examines the relationship between Human Oversight by Design (HObD), as outlined in Article 14 of the AI Act, and socio-technical standardisation, aiming to understand their roles as regulatory techniques within AI development and deployment. It argues that the growing influence of sociotechnical standards, which aim to protect health, safety as well as fundamental rights, intersects with ‘Legal Protection by Design’ norms like HObD in ways that require critical legal analysis. By exploring these concepts through the lenses of rule setting, monitoring, and enforcement, the chapter highlights how public and private actors, particularly standardisation bodies and technology providers, are increasingly intertwined in regulatory processes. This shift toward co-regulation raises critical challenges related to ensuring accountability and maintaining the legitimacy of regulations influenced by private actors. Ultimately, the chapter demonstrates that the intersection of these hard and soft law approaches to AI regulation creates complex normative issues.