OVAIC · Open Verifiable AI Consortium
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Statutes of the Open Verifiable AI Consortium (OVAIC)

Adopted unanimously by the founding members on 19 October 2026. The English version is binding. Tento dokument je zveřejněn v angličtině a v pěti dalších jazycích. Závazný je anglický text. English

I. Name, seat, purpose

Art. 1 Name and seat. Under the name "Open Verifiable AI Consortium (OVAIC)" an association within the meaning of Art. 60 et seq. of the Swiss Civil Code exists with its seat in Zurich. The association is politically and religiously neutral.

Art. 2 Purpose. The association promotes methods that make claims and decisions of artificial intelligence systems independently checkable. It creates lasting public value for future generations and does not pursue profit.

Art. 3 Means. The association pursues its purpose in particular through:

  1. an open, public test bed;
  2. interoperability profiles;
  3. joint, reproducible reports;
  4. support for members contributing to open standards.

Art. 4 Principles. The association acts according to the principles of the charter: independence, reproducibility, open correction, plurality, no verdicts on trustworthiness. It does not certify products, systems or persons.

II. Membership

Art. 5 Categories.

  1. Members: legal entities and organisations working on verification, provenance, evaluation or agent trust. Each member has one vote.
  2. Observers: standards bodies, public authorities and individual experts. They take part without a vote.
  3. Founding members: members who sign the statutes at the foundation. They hold no special rights.

Art. 6 Admission.

  1. Admission is by written application, accepting the statutes, the charter and the policies.
  2. With the application the organisation discloses its products, its beneficial owners and any conflicts of interest.
  3. The Board reviews the application, including compliance with the sanctions applicable in Switzerland, and decides within 60 days. A refusal states its reasons.
  4. A refusal may be appealed to the next General Assembly within 30 days.

Art. 7 Resignation. A member may resign in writing for the end of a calendar year with three months' notice. The fee for the current year remains due.

Art. 8 Exclusion. The Board may exclude a member for important reasons, in particular a breach of the statutes, the charter, the policies or applicable sanctions, or non payment of the fee after a reminder. The member is heard first and may appeal to the General Assembly within 30 days.

III. Finances

Art. 9 Resources. The resources of the association are membership fees, donations, grants and income from events. Grants may not carry conditions that affect independence or results. Grants above CHF 10,000 are published with the name of the giver.

Art. 10 Fees.

  1. Every member pays an annual fee under the fee regulation adopted by the General Assembly.
  2. Fees may be graded by the size of the organisation. Voting rights never depend on the amount of the fee.
  3. On written request the Board may reduce or waive a fee.

Art. 11 Liability. Only the assets of the association are liable for its obligations. Personal liability of the members is excluded.

Art. 12 Financial year. The financial year is the calendar year.

IV. Bodies

Art. 13 Bodies. The bodies of the association are:

  1. the General Assembly;
  2. the Board (Steering Group);
  3. the auditors.

A. General Assembly

Art. 14 Convening.

  1. The ordinary General Assembly meets once a year in the first half of the year.
  2. An extraordinary General Assembly meets when the Board so decides or one fifth of the members request it in writing.
  3. The invitation with the agenda is sent by email at least 30 days in advance.
  4. Meetings may be held in person, online or both. Resolutions may also be passed in writing or electronically.

Art. 15 Powers. The General Assembly:

  1. elects the Board and the auditors;
  2. approves the annual report, the annual accounts and the budget;
  3. sets the fees;
  4. decides on appeals concerning admission and exclusion;
  5. amends the statutes and the charter;
  6. decides on dissolution.

Art. 16 Resolutions.

  1. Each member has one vote. A member may be represented by another member; nobody represents more than two members.
  2. Resolutions are passed by consensus where possible, otherwise by a majority of the votes cast.
  3. Amendments to the statutes or the charter require two thirds of the votes cast.
  4. A member does not vote on results that concern its own method.
  5. At the start of every meeting the statement under the Antitrust and Competition Policy is read. Minutes are kept of every meeting.

B. Board

Art. 17 Composition and election.

  1. The Board consists of five to seven persons nominated by member organisations.
  2. The term of office is one year. Re election is allowed, at most three times in a row.
  3. No organisation holds more than one seat. Organisations under common control or with the same beneficial owners count as one organisation. The Board should reflect different regions and kinds of organisations.
  4. The Board constitutes itself and elects the President, the Vice President and the Treasurer.

Art. 18 Duties. The Board manages the current business, represents the association, decides on admissions and exclusions, sets up working groups and oversees compliance with the policies.

Art. 19 Meetings. The Board meets at least four times a year, also online. It has a quorum when a majority is present. It decides by majority; in a tie the President has the casting vote.

Art. 20 Signature. The association is bound by the joint signature of two Board members.

Art. 21 Compensation. Board members serve on a voluntary basis. Documented expenses are reimbursed.

C. Auditors

Art. 22 Auditors. The General Assembly elects two auditors each year who are not members of the Board. They examine the annual accounts and report to the General Assembly. If the association is required to have an audit under Art. 69b of the Swiss Civil Code, an auditing firm is elected.

V. Working groups

Art. 23 Working groups. Working groups are open to all members. Their results are published under an open licence (code Apache 2.0, texts and data CC BY 4.0) in accordance with the Intellectual Property Policy.

VI. Final provisions

Art. 24 Dissolution. Dissolution requires three quarters of the votes cast at a General Assembly convened for that purpose. Any remaining assets go to a tax exempt organisation with the same or a similar purpose seated in Switzerland. Distribution to the members is excluded.

Art. 25 Language. English is the official language of the association towards members and the public. Correspondence with Swiss authorities and the commercial register, accounting, tax and legal matters, and the internal reports and accounts are in German. The English version of the statutes is binding; the German version serves for the commercial register. Out of respect for the members, further language versions are adopted as official translations by resolution of the General Assembly.

Art. 26 Transitional provision. Until the first ordinary General Assembly the Board may consist of three to seven persons. Relationships of Board members and member organisations with the initiator are disclosed. By the first ordinary General Assembly a majority of the Board shall come from organisations independent of the initiator.

Art. 27 Entry into force. These statutes were agreed at the founding meeting of 18 October 2026, adopted unanimously by the founding members on 19 October 2026 and entered into force on that date.