Acronyms

1.    General

This document describes the TCS Policy Management Authority (PMA), its roles and its members.

All TCS CPS texts (available in the document repository) refer to a TCS Policy Management Authority as the body that maintains the CPS and related agreements referenced within the CPS document.

2.    Membership

TCS PMA members are PKI policy experts appointed by GÉANT, the contracting party for the TCS. The TCS PMA members oversee the TCS CPS texts. Currently, the following people are members of the TCS PMA:

• Kent Engström (Linköping Univ/SUNET),
• Teun Nijssen (Tilburg University/SURFnet),
• Dominique Launay (RENATER),
• Kurt Bauer (ACONET),
• David Groep (Nikhef),
• Nicole Harris (GÉANT).

GÉANT is registered with the Chamber of Commerce in Amsterdam: registration number 40535155.

For efficiency purposes, TCS PMA membership is restricted to a limited number of participants selected from the community.

Membership is for a period of three years. PMA members may serve several terms. Current members may elect to resign from the PMA or might have to be replaced. In this case GÉANT will consult with the remaining PMA members to nominate a new member.

GÉANT is ultimately responsible for the TCS PMA membership.

3.      Role

The TCS CPS texts define the role of the PMA.

The TCS PMA is responsible for determining the suitability of certificate policies illustrated within the CPS texts. The Authority is also responsible for determining the suitability of proposed changes to the CPS prior to the publication of an amended edition.

Changes to the CPS can be requested by any of the GÉANT Association Members participating in the TCS. The PMA may be contacted by e-mail at: tcs-pma@lists.geant.org.

Upon the PMA accepting such changes deemed by the CA’s Policy Authority to have significant impact on the users of the CPS, an updated edition of the CPS will be published at the TCS repositorywith suitable incremental version numbering used to identify new editions. Generally, the TCS PMA will post changes thirty days prior to their effective date unless such change is necessitated by a change in industry standards, is required for TCS to maintain its certificate operations, or is required by law or regulation. In those cases, TCS will endeavor to provide reasonable notice in light of the circumstances.

Revisions not denoted “significant” are those deemed by the TCS’s PMA to have minimal or no impact on existing subscribers and relying parties using certificates and CRLs issued by the TCS CAs. Such revisions may be made without notice to users of the CPS and without changing the version number of this CPS.

Revisions introducing new TCS products are published within two business days after their approval.

Controls are in place to ensure that the TCS CPS is not amended and published without the prior authorisation of the PMA.