V.  Accreditation - The Right Combination
A.  The Process of Accreditation

In the search for interoperability, "accreditation" in the PKI industry is seen as an alternative to licensing or regulation of PKI.  In the emerging global vocabulary, CAs and PKIs are "assessed" by those who "evaluate standards" before the fact, and by auditors who "audit compliance with standards" after the fact.   Accrediting bodies "accredit" the evaluators and auditors as competent to serve in these capacities. 

Dec 13, 1999 - The So-Called "EU Electronic Signature Directive,"  Directive 1999/93/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 on a Community framework for electronic signatures. (Document 399L0093, OJ L 013, 19/01/2000 p. 0012 - 0020).
Sep 16, 1999 Official Version (June 28, 1999) of the European Electronic Signature Directive, the "Common Position" .  Courtesy of Hans Hilsson (updating June 22, 1999 posting).
  July 22, 1999 Update - Final Approved Report (7/20/99) of the EESSI Expert Team.  Courtesy of Hans Nilsson, Chairman.
  June 22, 1999 - The June 18, 1999 Final Draft of the EESSI Expert Team Report, for the European Electronic Signature Standardization Initiative, for discussion July 1, 1999 at the EESSI Open Meeting in Brussels.  Implementation of the European Commissioni's Directive to provide a common framework for electronic signatures.  The Project Leader of the Expert Team is Hans Nilsson, iD2 Technologies, Sweden, and other members of the team are Patrick Van Eecke, ICRI-K.U.Leuven, Belgium, Manuel Medina, Univ of Catalunya, Spain, Denis Pinkas, Bull, France, and Nick Pope, Security and Standards Consultancy, UK.  A clear compilation and synthesis of the existing universe of relevant technical and legal standards (with a wealth of links) by seasoned expert to provide a focussed path forward for PKI in the EU. In EESSI terminology, the equivalent of PKI digital signatures are "enhanced electronic signatures," which become "qualified electronic signatures" if they are based on qualified certificates and are created by a secure signature creation device.

  June 2, 1999 -The PKI Assessment Guidelines (PAG) are a major project in process of the American Bar Association Information Security Committee, chaired by Michael Baum, Esq. of VeriSign, Inc.  The most recent meeting was in Palo Alto Jun 1-2, 1999.  The next meeting is in Ottawa Aug 26-28, 1999.  Access to the current draft of the PAG is restricted to those who are working on it.  A public "request for comment" draft is expected to be released on the Internet at the end of 1999.  The Co-Reporters are Charles R. Merrill and Randy Sabett.

  1999 Edition of  BS 7799 British Standard intended for use as a reference docuemnt by managers and employees who are responsible for information security within their organization.  Commonly accepted policy and best practices for information security.  Requirements/ guidance on procedural and technical controls.  Part 1: 1995 is The Code of Practice.  Part 2:1998 is The Requirements Specification.

  Spring 1998 - Merrill, Charles R., McCarter & English LLP, "The Accreditation Guidelines: A Progress Report on a Work in Process of the ABA Information Security Committee,"  38 Jurimetrics 345 (ABA Section of Science & Technology Spring 1998)