This CAcert sub-policy extends the Organisation Assurance Policy ("OAP") by specifying how the CAcert Organisation Assurance Program ("COAP") is to be conducted by the assigned Organisation Assurer ("OA") under the supervision of the Assurance Officer ("AO") for entities within the defined scope.
<li>organisations registered in Europe with an official Trade Office Registry ("Approved Registry"), following the European style of Chambers of Commerce.
<li>The organisation must be registered with an Approved Registry.
</li>
<li>The Approved Registry must have a mandate to register certain types of organisations (e.g. private companies, clubs Societies & Associations, partnerships, cooperatives, mutual societies, foundations, etc.)
<strong>Registered Names</strong> may be used for Organisation Assurance where an Approved Registry allows them to be registered without formal incorporation (e.g. Sole Traders, Doing-Business-As (DBAs), Partnerships, Church and Religious groups, etc.)<br/>
<i>Such entities have varying legal status and liabilities and may not be capable of legally becoming a Member of CAcert independently of the individuals within. The Organisation Assurer (OA) must then take care to identify the legal entity(s) seeking Organisation Assurance).</i>
<strong>Foreign Entities</strong> may be able or required to register with an Approved Registry but they must apply for Organisation Assurance where they are based; foreign registrations are not valid for Organisation Assurance.<br/>
<i>For example: companies are frequently incorporated in the United Kingdom, but operated primarily in another European country. These foreign entities may require to register locally and submit financial and/or yearly reports, extracts of home documents, reports from professionals such as accountants, etc, to authorities in the operating country but must apply for Organisation Assurance in the United Kingdom.</i>
Historical supplemental documents may be accepted where it can be shown that material changes have not been made (e.g., via absence of subsequent submissions in official document listings).
<i>Examples of Registries are: Chambers of Commerce in (continental) European, Companies House in the United Kingdom, Ministry of Justice, Finance, or Commerce in east Europe, and the Secretary of State in each of the United States of America.</i>
An Organisation can be accepted for Assurance under this policy if registered with a formal Trade Office Registry. The criteria for a Trade Office Registry is:
</p>
<ol>
<li>The Registry follows the general model of <i>Trade Offices</i>, in that, it is a formal authority for dealing with local trade matters effecting organisations (not individuals);
</li>
<li>The Registry is formally empowered to register corporate entities (organisations) under national law;
</li>
<li>The Registry has a reliable search facility service that provides reliable documentary evidence of the registration entry of an organisation. The service may carry costs which are reimbursed from the organisation applicant;
</li>
<li>The Registry (or, its search facility) can provide an Extract of the registration of the entity, below.
</li>
</ol>
<p>
Approved Registries are defined in Appendix I. Addition of new Registries is by means of the routine Policy on Policy process, and is controlled by the policy group, on submission by Organisation Assurer.
<li>The application must be made by an individual who is duly authorised to sign on behalf of the organisation:
<olstyle="list-style-type: lower-roman;">
<li>The Secretary as verified in the Extract. This is the preferred and best option;
</li>
<li>A full Director of the managing or Executive board, as verified in the Extract;
</li>
<li>Any other Applicant must prove that they are duly authorised to sign on behalf of the entity. For example, via explicit written delegation or under company rules. This will require due diligence to be conducted by the Organisation Assurer, to the standard and/or for approval by the Organisation Assurer.
<li>The Partners must be verified via the Extract;
</li>
<li>The applying Partner (signatory) must be a Member and Assurer;
</li>
<li>Where the Assurer-Partner is not the managing Partner, further due diligence should be conducted. For small partnerships, the Organisation Assurer should be satisfied that the managing partner is aware-in-writing of the activity. For large partnerships, the verified role and title of the Assurer-Partner is sufficient and applicable to the activity.
</li>
<li>The Assurer-Partner may delegate the role of Organisation Administrator to another Assurer within the Organisation.
</li>
</ol>
<h3>
4.4 CAcert Organisation Assurance (COAP) Form
</h3>
<p>
On the CAcert Organisation Assurance Programme Form (COAP Form), the following must be specified:
The essential purpose of the information is to permit the Organisation Assurer and others to clearly and accurately identify the entry held by the Registry.
</p>
<h2>
5. Roles and Responsibilities
</h2>
<h3>
5.1 Organisation Assurance Officer
</h3>
<p>
The Organisation Assurance Officer is to maintain an accessible file or frequently asked questions (FAQ) for each Registry showing:
</p>
<ol>
<li>The <i>type</i> or form of each entity that is registerable;
</li>
<li>The <i>location</i> and conditions of access to the Registry's search facility;
</li>
<li>The Extract <i>form</i> or manner;
</li>
<li>The unique registration <i>Identifier</i> or number <i>form</i> or manner, as allocated to each registered organisation;
</li>
<li>A <i>list of Organisation Assurers</i> currently authorised to conduct organisation assurances against the Registry;
</li>
<li>The nature or <i>regime of any supplemental / historical documents</i> that may be acceptable;
</li>
<li>The form of <i>due diligence for verifying signatories</i> that are not identified in the Extract;
</li>
<li>
<i>Any restrictions applicable</i> to the Registry, as decided by Policy Group, the Arbitrator, or as advised by the Organisation Assurer.
</li>
</ol>
<p>
The Organisation Assurance Officer is also to maintain training and testing material applicable. Elements of the challenge may be confidential, but only for the purposes of maintaining the efficacy of the challenge.
<atitle="Department of Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver"href="http://www.mcit.gov.cy/mcit/drcor/drcor.nsf/aboutus_en/aboutus_en?OpenDocument">www.mcit.gov.cy</a>
