Skip to main content
Version: Stage 4 - For Public Review

2026-08-06 1656 AEST

UN CEFACT GRID Project - EU​

Date: Aug 6, 2026

Attendees:

  • Hans Huber
  • Jo Spencer
  • John Phillips
  • Sankarshan
  • Keerthi Thomas

Summary​

Public Review Process
The project is undergoing a formal public review until 21 September 2025. Feedback is collected through standardized web forms and categorized within the repository.

Governance and Identity Models
The grid serves as a single curated registry template that respects national sovereignty rather than dictating legal frameworks. Digital identity assertions remain optional for participants to ensure flexibility across international jurisdictions.

Historical Record Management
Meeting participants established that future technical designs must support temporal queries to ensure legal validity. Systems must allow verifiers to confirm registration status at specific points in the past.

Decisions​

Needs Further Discussion​

  • Historical record management policy requirement The team recognizes the need to define a formal policy for historical record management to address current documentation gaps, a requirement that necessitates further development and alignment.

Aligned​

  • Documentation scope restricted to single instance The project documentation will strictly focus on describing a single instance of the UN CEFACT grid to ensure clarity and avoid scope confusion.

Next steps​

  • The group: Review Proposed Changes: Review the suggested updates to the project documentation made in the public review branch to ensure accuracy and consensus.

  • John Phillips: Update Project Website: Update the website content in batches starting in 2 weeks once the current proposed changes are reviewed and approved.

  • The group: Examine the provided issue and supporting documentation regarding historical record-keeping. Determine how to express requirements without mandating universal adoption by member states.

  • John Phillips: Publish additional materials and thoughts on how to manage historical data within the registry.

  • John Phillips: Support the team led by Alina in implementing a lightweight system for the Spanish register.

  • Keerthi Thomas: Coordinate with John Phillips offline regarding the United Kingdom interest in piloting the registry protocol and sandbox architecture.

Details​

  • Meeting Introduction and Intellectual Property: John Phillips opened the UN Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN CEFACT) grid project meeting by announcing it was being recorded for publication. Participants were reminded of the project's code of conduct and the royalty-free intellectual property rights approach, which is publicly available for review [00:00:01].

  • Technical Infrastructure and Repository: The project utilizes a GitHub repository hosted on a United Nations International Computing Centre (UNICC) compute space, rather than GitHub dot com. John Phillips clarified that while participants need to request an account on the UNICC space, it is a streamlined process compared to becoming a UN CEFACT expert. The website content, including the grid dot org pages, is generated from markdown files within this repository [00:01:54].

  • Public Review Milestone: The project is currently in a formal public review phase which began in April 2025 and will conclude on 21 September. This milestone is intended to gather sufficient, meaningful comments for the UN CEFACT bureau to determine if the project concept should proceed to instantiation [00:03:03].

  • Feedback Collection Process: John Phillips explained that the project accepts comments through web forms, email, and word documents provided by the UN CEFACT website. The team processes these comments by converting them into markdown tables and creating child issues within the repository [00:04:56]. A labeling system categorizes issues as "public review comment - for discussion" or "ready for review" to facilitate organized processing [00:05:51].

  • Digital Identity and Issuance Models: John Phillips addressed feedback from Chris Pap regarding the Digital Identity Legal Meaning and Data Structures document [00:06:43]. It was clarified that while the project encourages UN member states to issue Digital Identity Assertions (DIA), it is not a mandatory requirement for grid participation [00:07:38]. Changes are being made to a documentation branch to clarify these models, with plans to update the live website in batches [00:08:56].

  • Unverified Registrars and Participant Liability: The meeting covered issues regarding how the grid handles "unverified" registrars, specifically those who are not in the grid or who provide unsigned data [00:09:44]. John Phillips noted that the grid verifies cryptographic signatures to ensure data integrity, and the responsibility for trust ultimately lies with the relying party, not the grid [00:10:43].

  • Sovereign Rights and Authority to Act: John Phillips discussed the "authority to act" within the grid, emphasizing that the project does not dictate legal frameworks for organizations. Because every UN member state maintains their own legal framework for defining authority, the project simply recognizes that a state has identified an authoritative registrar, respecting national sovereignty [00:12:50].

  • Credential Lifecycle and Status Management: The group discussed the lifecycle of credentials and the "credential status block" for managing revocations [00:14:59]. While Chris Pap suggested using W3C bit string status lists, John Phillips and Sankarshan noted this is insufficient for managing the full lifecycle. Issue #75 was highlighted as a key discussion point regarding the "historical" records of a registrar, specifically what happens when a participant withdraws [00:16:04].

  • Historical Records and Legal Requirements: Sankarshan and Hans J. Huber engaged in a detailed discussion regarding the necessity of maintaining historical records [00:18:31]. Hans J. Huber and Jo Spencer argued that for the grid to support legally valid encounters, it must provide a way to demonstrate non-repudiation and history, as courts would require evidence of past states [00:19:39] [00:22:02].

  • Grid Instances and Governance: A significant portion of the meeting focused on the definition of "instances" of the grid [00:24:48]. John Phillips stressed that the UN CEFACT grid is intended to be a single, curated instance under UN control [00:25:29]. Participants explored the possibility of other organizations, such as Global ACI, creating their own grid-like structures using the open-source pattern, but clarified that these would not be part of the UN CEFACT instance [00:27:09].

  • Grid as a Registry Template: The group reached a consensus that the grid functions as a template for registries of registries [00:30:05]. Jo Spencer and John Phillips reaffirmed that while other instances might exist for different contexts, the project’s documentation is focused on defining the single UN CEFACT instance to prevent confusion [00:30:54].

  • Open Source Licensing and Uniqueness: Hans J. Huber inquired about the open-source license model. John Phillips confirmed it uses a permissive, royalty-free approach, allowing others to adapt the code [00:37:37]. They noted that the grid's value proposition is tied to the UN’s unique role as the only entity that recognizes countries, a function that cannot be replicated by other instances [00:39:26].

  • Defining Historical Record Management: Sankarshan and Jo Spencer discussed the technical challenge of whether the grid needs to store historical data [00:40:31] [00:42:43]. Jo Spencer advised against implementing rigid historical mechanisms that might not suit all potential uses of the grid, suggesting the responsibility for verifying historical context should lie with the verifier [00:41:35].

  • Future Documentation on Records: John Phillips identified a gap in current documentation regarding how the grid handles records after a member state withdraws. The group plans to draft a blueprint for record and lifecycle management [00:43:52]. Keerthi Thomas highlighted the need to balance data retention with the long-term stability of government entities [00:44:41].

  • Temporal Data and Querying: The meeting concluded that, for the grid to serve legal purposes, future technical designs must support queries that include a time dimension, allowing users to verify the validity of a registration at a specific point in the past [00:47:54] [00:50:14].

  • Pilot Projects and UK Interest: John Phillips provided updates on pilot projects, including the Spanish pilot led by Alina Nica Gales and interest from the Intra-American Development Bank regarding Colombia, Brazil, and Uruguay [00:51:54]. Keerthi Thomas confirmed significant interest from the UK, noting that the Digital Catapult is considering a sandbox trial for the protocol [00:52:50]. The meeting ended with an encouragement for all participants to raise issues and engage with the documentation before the September 21 deadline [00:53:57].

Chat​

00:02:02.374,00:02:05.374

sankarshan: https://opensource.unicc.org/un/unece/uncefact/gtr

00:02:06.834,00:02:09.834

John Phillips: https://opensource.unicc.org/un/unece/uncefact/gtr

00:02:23.843,00:02:26.843

sankarshan: and the project website: https://grid.unece.org/

00:23:11.495,00:23:14.495

sankarshan: In case Hans would like to read the issue/text: https://opensource.unicc.org/un/unece/uncefact/gtr/-/issues/75

00:35:21.808,00:35:24.808

sankarshan: not honey ? ;)