This TF schedules meetings as needed. Each meeting will be announced on the GSWG mailing list and the #governance-architecture-tf Slack channel.

The meetings (and Zoom links) are available on the ToIP meeting calendar:
https://zoom-lfx.platform.linuxfoundation.org/meetings/ToIP?view=month

Zoom Meeting Links / Recordings

Video and Transcript: https://zoom.us/rec/play/U5vj41fRmFCLsoHI1vYxkl6vDFTjQw_gQgcxKuGBXKRgknRNeTqITQXiOjcHIrJn_36BxRJSTkixqD74.Wuw-PZcS1w9kgJvQ?eagerLoadZvaPages=&accessLevel=meeting&canPlayFromShare=true&from=share_recording_detail&continueMode=true&componentName=rec-play&originRequestUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fzoom.us%2Frec%2Fshare%2FdaWjZNYXDWajEu_AHcuVwZjAqnMC54_YTWD-HKgrl_yzm8YWlHAeny2A7Y7q3A8H.JFmmaOWFKZtO_Z8i

Meeting starts 04:25 in

Attendees

@Neil Thomson

@Scott Perry

@Makki Elfatih

@sankarshan

@John Phillips

Agenda Items and Notes (including all relevant links)

Summary of meeting:

Summary of meeting generated by NoteBookLM from the transcript and chat messages.

Meeting Minutes: Governance Architecture Task Force

Date: Recorded on 25 June 2025.

Attendees: Makki Elfatih (Hkdolts), Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay (Dhiway Networks Private Limited), John Phillips (Sezoo), Neil Thomson (QueryVision), Scott Perry (Digital Governance Institute).

1. Meeting Opening and Introductions The meeting commenced with greetings between attendees. Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay noted missing previous calls and being unsure of the topic. John Phillips noted the recording started upon arrival and formally called the meeting to order around 4 minutes past the hour, stating that content before that would be ignored for minutes construction.

2. Review of Actions from Last Meeting John Phillips stated the agenda would cover actions from the last meeting and Scott Perry’s efforts to register for the UN/CEFACT project, as posted by Neil Thomson on Slack.

Key Points & Discussions:

• UN/CEFACT Global Trust Registry - Expert Registration Delay:

◦ John Phillips noted a delay in processing applications to join the UN/CEFACT Registered Experts process, specifically happening in the US. He expressed hope to expedite the process via the UN/CEFACT Secretariat to recognise applicants who have acknowledged intellectual property rights.

◦ John Phillips mentioned Scott Perry would be in Geneva next week and offered to facilitate introductions with key UN/CEFACT figures like Nancy Morris, Steve Capel (Vice Chair), and Zachary Zeus.

◦ Scott Perry expressed frustration with the bureaucracy involved, stating he doesn't have the time or patience for it. He already knows Nancy Morris and has had an introductory call with Steve Capel.

◦ John Phillips acknowledged Scott's sentiment and stated Scott doesn't need to do any more than he has, expressing hope for expedition through other mechanisms.

• Sharing Documents and AI-Generated Research:

◦ John Phillips indicated he would share a document he developed looking at the Global Trust Registry landscape under the UN. Cfap project. He used AI (Google Gemini 2.5 Pro) for deep research over several weeks and made the links shareable.

◦ John Phillips explained his practice of naming AI-generated documents with "Gemini: " to indicate AI involvement and declare AI content in the footer.

◦ He presented a 64-page document on trust registries, covering concepts, established structures (land, buildings, organisations, ships, planes), and legal/governance frameworks, noting it contains 275 credible references. The link was shared.

◦ John Phillips also presented a second, more interesting document for the Global Trust Registry project: a compendium of national business registries across 28 countries. This table details registry names (e.g., Australia Business Register), governing authorities (e.g., ASIC), legal bases (e.g., Australian Corporations Act 2001), services, and links to publicly available information, with direct references to sources. The link was shared.

• DIACC Documents and Tim Baumer:

◦ Neil Thomson reported that DIACC has moved many materials to ISO and is now charging for some official documents, but a substantial number remain exposed, including trust registry information. He will catalogue these.

◦ Neil Thomson clarified that Tim Bouma is no longer involved with those DIACC documents, as he's now part of the Digital Governance Council. Neil also used AI search to gather common knowledge about trust registries and shared it in the Trust over IP Google Drive.

◦ Scott Perry confirmed Tim Bouma’s separation from DIACC and suggested he might be able to find and share a DIACC document on Trust Registries himself.

◦ John Phillips emphasised the goal is to find publicly available information on how people conduct trust registry governance, even if reading ISO standards requires payment.

• Document Storage and Longevity:

◦ John Phillips stated that files of substance needing longevity should go in a formal folder, suggesting the Confluence space used by the group as the formal space for work.

◦ Neil Thomson noted the existence of shared Google Drives owned by Trust over IP.

◦ John Phillips agreed that if materials are in the Trust over IP Google Drive and under their control, that is acceptable, but stressed putting links to documents in places where they sustain.

• Global Trust Registry Project Scope (Unc. Fact):

◦ John Phillips explained the project aims to create a global trust registry catalog, where countries apply to Unc. Fact to have their registries recognised or listed. This involves an authentication process to ensure legitimate organisations are reaching out.

◦ The project will capture data declared by countries (e.g., land, businesses), including legal acts recognising those registries. Countries will maintain data accuracy.

◦ Makki Elfatih suggested considering heritage assets and historical sites (e.g., National Register of Historic Places) for the registry.

◦ John Phillips clarified that the UN/CEFACT focuses on trade and commerce due to the UN's mandate, so while other registries are important, the immediate focus is on simpler registries like business organisations, land, and assets relevant to supply chains. He used the example of proving beef was reared on non-deforested land for sale in Europe as a commercially oriented, legally required use case for land registries.

◦ Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay raised the issue of UN-recognised countries (193 members) and how this impacts listings (e.g., Taiwan, sanctions).

◦ John Phillips acknowledged this takes the project into international and national law. His co-lead, Alina Nica Gales, and Assoc. Professor Jeanne Huang are discussing mutual recognition of legal systems and UNCITRAL (international trade law).

◦ John Phillips' preference is to recognise what exists rather than trying to solve or create new global laws, noting that laws are only significant if adopted. The goal is to make existing information transparent.

◦ The project aims to enable participants in supply chains to verify claims (e.g., a Spanish beer manufacturer is recognised) using authoritative sources. This provides an independent view of trustworthiness, preventing fraudulent claims.

◦ The project's vision involves digital identity anchors published by authorities, allowing buyers to verify supplier business IDs and cryptographic signatures. The "Global Trust Registry" will confirm if a registry in Country X is the recognised authority to issue credentials on Y (e.g., business identity, land, assets).

• Trust Query Protocol and Verifiability:

◦ Neil Thomson observed that Trust over IP's query language focuses on authorising trust registries or verifiers, questioning if the vocabulary is expressive enough for all legal complexities. He also raised the importance of linking trust registry entries to verifiable data and the chain of verifiable data (e.g., for Spanish beer production).

◦ John Phillips hopes the "simple" trust query protocol (e.g., "is Authority X allowed to issue credentials on Y in Place X?") will be sufficient for the UN/CEFACT project's aim of recognising authoritative registries.

◦ He also explained that the United Nations Transparency Protocol (UNTP) deals with linking verifiable data to support claims, instrumenting supply chains with verifiable credentials to traverse a "transparency graph".

• ISO 18013-5 Implementation and Governance:

◦ John Phillips mentioned AI-powered deep research into how countries implementing ISO 18013-5 (mobile driving licenses) address governance, recognition, and protections, particularly for server retrieval.

◦ The research found that legal systems universally require protections and made statements about them. It also observed that technology alone is insufficient; legal and governance protections are needed alongside technical ones.

• Transparency, Trustworthiness, and Challenges:

◦ Neil Thomson emphasised the need for continuous checking of authority chains and the risk of legitimate players being acquired by bad actors.

◦ John Phillips countered that legitimate acquisitions are recognised in law and ought to be reflected in registries. The Unc. Fact project won't solve all existing global problems but aims to make transparent what is.

◦ He suggested that transparency would highlight where things are done well, naturally leading to trust (e.g., Singapore vs. Panama registries).

◦ The project aims to move from PDF/phone calls to verifiable credentials and document exchange with signatures, making it prohibitively expensive for bad actors and promoting a "race to the top" for legitimate companies. This also protects buyers from liability for buying "dodgy products".

◦ Neil Thomson added that the quality of verifiability depends on the trustworthiness of the auditor or law firm.

◦ John Phillips noted the complexity of international law and mutual recognition, which is being explored by lawyers. He hopes the catalog of legal bases for registries will provide value, even if equivalence across systems remains a challenge for others to solve. He acknowledged that increased transparency might lead to less legal uncertainty, potentially affecting lawyers' work.

3. Decisions and Actions Agreed:

• John Phillips will continue efforts to expedite Scott Perry's UN/CEFACT project registration.

• John Phillips shared links to his AI-generated research documents (Global Trust Registry landscape and Compendium of National Business Registries) in the chat during the meeting and committed to ensuring they are in the minutes.

• Neil Thomson will catalog exposed DIACC documents that include trust registry information.

• Scott Perry offered to search for and share DIACC documents related to Trust Registries.

• It was agreed that material of substance needing longevity should be stored in the formal Confluence space or the Trust over IP shared Google Drive, not Slack or Discord.

• The upcoming Global Trust Registry meetings, including one scheduled for today, will be rescheduled for the week after next due to conflicts and to allow for more updates.

• All project information, including minutes and recordings, will be publicly accessible via the collaborative Unc. Fact environment (an Atlassian Confluence space).

4. Meeting Close John Phillips confirmed that the 4 main actions were covered. Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay and Makki Elfatih expressed their satisfaction with the session. John Phillips thanked attendees and closed the meeting.

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Next Steps: Consider which specific aspects of the Global Trust Registry project (e.g., the authentication process for countries, data capture requirements, or the legal basis for registries) would be most critical for senior leadership to understand first for strategic recommendations.

Chat notes

00:13:04 Scott Perry (Digital Governance Institute): https://diacc.ca/trust-framework/ PCTF Trust DIACC - Trust Registries - Final Recommendation V1.0

00:17:47 John Phillips (Sezoo): https://docs.google.com/document/d/17uDT0wiUYr8QUfuOyNFY1qAutdoufNJldluffRRRq1k/edit?usp=sharing00:20:05

John Phillips (Sezoo): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HnIsNf0eIx2MaG9Kl52SeVLL_dF6UZsHlEbM-d34kig/edit?tab=t.000:22:35

sankarshan mukhopadhyay (Dhiway Networks Private Limited): Did I hear that these are countries recognised by the UN? In other words, I am guessing Taiwan will not find a listing etc

00:28:28 Scott Perry (Digital Governance Institute): Gemini is a powerful tool. Chart is impressive. I will have to sign off...

00:31:48 sankarshan mukhopadhyay (Dhiway Networks Private Limited): “Mutual recognition of legal systems that underlines the exchange/trade” I think was a topic that came up at one of the virtual IIWs as an extension to machine readable governance.

00:36:47 Makki Elfatih (Hkdolts): Is the explainer available publicly?

00:37:25 Neil Thomson (QueryVision): Sounds like a Business profile of self asserted and verifiable credentials for the key issues about their business and process