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01 - Eligibility Criteria for Authoritative Registrars

Document Status: Draft

Editor: Alina Nica Gales

Contributors: John Phillips; Sankarshan Mukhopadhyay; Ann Dao

1. Purpose and Scope for this document​

This document sets out the technical, legal, and governance criteria required for an authoritative registrar to be included in the GLobal Registrar Information Directory.

Logical Model

Context model of the Global Registrar Information Directory

Requirements​

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.

2. Project Definitions

For project glossary of terms, please see the project glossary.

3. Eligibility Requirements for Public Legal Registers in the GRID

The eligibility requirements for inclusion in the GRID are defined in this section.

  1. To be eligible for inclusion in the Global Registrar Information Directory (GRID), a Public Legal Register—such as those pertaining to immovable or movable property, commercial entities, legal persons, secured transactions, or intellectual and industrial property—SHALL meet the following legal and institutional criteria:

    1. The Register MUST be established by a legal instrument with statutory authority, such as a legislative act, statutory decree, or constitutional mandate, and SHALL be integrated within the formal legal and administrative framework of a sovereign State or recognized public international entity.

    2. The Register MUST be operated, administered, or placed under the formal supervision of a public authority duly established by law and vested with explicit and legally defined competence in the relevant domain of registration. This MAY include, without limitation, authorities responsible for land administration, commercial or corporate law, registration of legal entities, public asset management, or intellectual and industrial property. Competent authorities MAY comprise, inter alia, ministries or departments of justice, commerce, economy, territorial administration, or any equivalent body formally recognized under the national legal system or international law.

    3. The institutional form of the Register MAY vary—whether administrative, judicial, notarial, or autonomous in nature. However, the following substantive guarantees MUST be ensured:

      1. The Register SHALL possess recognized public legal status and operate within a binding legal framework.

      2. The managing body SHALL be subject to legal oversight by a competent authority, with enforceable accountability mechanisms.

      3. The Register SHALL serve the public function of creating, recognizing, publishing, or enforcing legal rights, statuses, or entitlements, producing legal effects under the applicable law.

    4. The Register SHALL be structured in accordance with essential registration principles that reflect international standards of legal certainty and transparency, adapted to the legal and functional context of the respective jurisdiction or register type. These principles MAY include, but are not limited to:

      1. Principle of legality: ensuring that all entries comply with applicable substantive and procedural legal norms through formal and/or substantive legal review;

      2. Principle of priority: recognizing that earlier-registered rights take precedence over later ones in case of conflict;

      3. Principle of successive tract: requiring chronological consistency and continuity of legal rights and holders (chain of title or legitimacy);

      4. Principle of specificity: mandating clear and structured identification of the object, subject, and content of the registered right or fact;

      5. Principle of publicity: providing secure and reliable public access to the content of the Register, and ensuring legal effects on third parties through transparency or statutory notice mechanisms;

      6. Statutory notice effect: providing that registered entries are legally presumed to be known by third parties and produce opposable legal effects under the applicable legal system.

  2. These principles SHALL be functionally present in eligible Registers, even if not formally codified, and SHALL be interpreted in accordance with their intended purpose of ensuring legal reliability, enforceability, and public trust.

  3. These requirements safeguard legal legitimacy, ensure continuity of service in the public interest, and promote consistency with the rule of law. Registers lacking a public legal mandate or oversight by a designated authority SHALL not be eligible under this standard.

  1. The register MUST perform a public legal function, supported by legislation or formal regulation.

  2. MUST generate recognized legal effects under its national legal system, including at least one of the following:

    1. Constitutive effect: registration creates the legal right or status (e.g., incorporation of companies, mortgages).

    2. Declarative effect: registration reflects and validates an existing legal situation, with public presumption (e.g., real estate ownership).

    3. Opposability to third parties: the registered rights or status are enforceable against third parties.

    4. Presumption of legitimacy: the registered data or rights are presumed accurate and attributed to the registered holder.

  3. The contents of the entries MUST benefit from judicial or legal protection, meaning that courts or competent authorities recognize their legal validity and enforceability, unless proven otherwise under the applicable legal framework.

  4. Registers that serve solely as administrative archives or document repositories, without generating legal rights, obligations, or enforceability against third parties under the applicable legal system, are not eligible.

  1. A Register SHALL be eligible for inclusion in the Global Trust Registry only if its entries produce recognized legal consequences under the applicable legal system. The following minimum legal functions MUST be fulfilled:

    1. Legal Effectiveness and Binding Nature: Entries in the Register MUST be enforceable against third parties and produce legal effects erga omnes under national or international law. This includes recognition by courts and competent authorities as having probative and opposable value.

    2. Presumption of Validity and Evidentiary Weight: Registered entries SHALL benefit from a presumption of accuracy, authenticity, and legal validity—whether rebuttable or irrebuttable—and MUST be admissible as authoritative evidence in judicial, arbitral, or administrative proceedings.

    3. Legal Certainty and Protection of Legitimate Expectations: The Register MUST ensure legal certainty for acquirers, creditors, investors, and right-holders, enabling reliance on registered information in good faith and protecting against conflicting or undisclosed claims.

    4. Ex Ante Legal Scrutiny: The registration procedure MUST include a mechanism of legal review—formal (documentary compliance) and/or substantive (legal assessment)—performed by qualified legal professionals or public officials acting under legal authority. This SHALL prevent the registration of acts that are void, fraudulent, or legally defective.

  2. These conditions distinguish Public Legal Registers from purely administrative or fiscal repositories lacking legal enforceability. Admission to the Global Trust Registry depends on a Register’s ability to confer legal certainty, promote legitimate reliance, and operate as an instrument of public trust and legal security within both national jurisdictions and transnational digital frameworks.

4. Classification of Authoritative Registers

Authoritative registers eligible for inclusion in the GTR MAY be classified into the following broad categories, based on their legal function and subject matter:

  • Registers of rights over immovable property: including land registries, real estate property registers, or title-based registration systems.

  • Registers of legal persons and business entities: such as commercial or corporate registers, including central business registers and registries of foundations, cooperatives, or associations.

  • Registers of movable assets and secured transactions: such as pledges, financial leasing, or registries of vehicles or industrial machinery.

  • Civil status and population registers: including registries of births, marriages, and deaths; national identification databases.

  • Registers of trademarks, patents, and intellectual property: managed by national or regional intellectual property offices.

Registers that are purely administrative, technical, or statistical in nature, or that lack recognized legal effects (such as repositories of certifications, licenses, permits, or infrastructure records without enforceability), are excluded from eligibility.

Each register MUST clearly identify its legal foundation, scope of application, and the identifiers it manages, as well as ensure verifiability and reliability of the data under its responsibility.

Further annexes may specify interoperability formats, examples by country, and a model compliance checklist.

5. Structural and Technical Guarantees

To be admitted into the Global Trust Register, each register MUST also meet the following operational and technical conditions:

5.1. Identification and Traceability​

  1. Possess a unique national identifier.

  2. Be clearly associated with a competent public authority.

  3. If no official electronic platform exists, ensure verifiable institutional mechanisms for the consultation and issuance of official attestations or certifications.

5.2. Accessibility and Transparency​

  1. Have an official digital platform, or a documented and auditable access system.

  2. Ensure secure and traceable consultation mechanisms, with controls over access to personal or sensitive data.

  3. Provide protocols to ensure the authenticity and integrity of certified or attested data.

5.3. Reliability and Update Mechanisms​

  1. Ensure regular and preferably automated updates of register entries.

  2. Provide procedures for rectification, challenge, or cancellation of entries.

  3. Maintain internal quality control and audit systems.

6. Evaluation and Admission Procedure

The inclusion of a register in the Global Trust Register requires:

  1. A formal application submitted by the competent authority of the Member State.

  2. A technical-legal report issued by the competent public authority responsible for the register, certifying compliance with the present standard.

  3. A successful evaluation and validation by a UNECE technical committee specializing in public legal registers.