Article 1

Definition, Scope, Mandate and Regulation

1.  The Bharat Pacific Consortium (BPC) (hereinafter referred to as "The Consortium") is a policy & industry advocacy community of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law. Its substantive authority is prescribed by the Secretariat of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law (hereinafter referred to as the "Secretariat"), and its procedural authority is governed by the Core Team of the Indian Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law (hereinafter referred to as “Conference”), led by the President of the Conference (hereinafter referred to as the "Liaison Services").

2.  In the event of an emergency or force majeure, the authority of the Secretariat shall override that of the Liaison Services.

3.  The Bharat Pacific is based on the following mandate, as prescribed by the Secretariat:

(a)   To discuss policy, legal and ethical issues related to artificial intelligence ethics and law;

(b)  To make proposals and innovate on legal issues related to AI and international affairs;

(c)  To enable and examine the applicative value of regional and localised artificial intelligence strategies across India and the Indo-Pacific;

4.  The Bharat Pacific Consortium must be convened once a year.

Article 2

Organization of the Forum

1.  The Bharat Pacific Consortium consists of:

(a)  The Advisory Council of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law (hereinafter “The Advisory Council”), which shall preside over the Public and Private Meetings of The Bharat Pacific Forum;

(b)  The Technical Committees (hereinafter “Committees”) and Forums established by the Secretariat as described in Schedule 2; and

(c)  The Members of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law (hereinafter “Members”)

2.  The members of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law may request the Advisory Council to convene a Public Meeting, provided they have a quorum of at least 100 members (including consortium members).

3.  No position or responsibility accorded to the President, the Vice President, any Distinguished Expert or Member of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law, which includes any position or responsibility in any of its committees and forums, involves any form of remuneration or compensation.

Article 3

The Advisory Council

1.  The Advisory Council shall consist of:

(a)   A President;

(b)  A Vice President;

(c)   Distinguished Experts nominated by the Secretariat;

(d)  Two or three Session Consultants, nominated by the Liaison Services or the Secretariat during the term of the Conference.

2.  Election of President and Vice President

(a)   Only individuals / Members who have been nominated may be elected as President or Vice President.

(b)  The Liaison Services or the Secretariat may nominate candidates, or any of the members may submit their nominations for the election.

(c)   The voting process to elect the President/Vice President shall be done through a first-past-the-post system. The candidate who receives the most votes in the election process shall be appointed by the President of the Conference as the President/ Vice President of the Advisory Council.

(d)  In the event that there is no quorum, the Secretariat shall have the authority to self-nominate and appoint a qualified professional as the President/ Vice President of the Advisory Council.

3.  Tenure of the President and Vice President

(a)  The tenure of the appointed President and Vice President shall be at the pleasure of the Chairperson/ Board of Trustees.

(b)  The Secretariat may extend the tenure of the appointed President and Vice President for a regular tenure, at the pleasure of the Chairperson/Board of Trustees.

(c)  If the Secretariat finds that the nominated and appointed President/Vice President is contravening the objectives of The Bharat Pacific Consortium or the Secretariat, the Secretariat is required to remove the position-holder, as they deem fit, subject to the Guidelines on the Positions of Responsibility and Resignation adopted.

4.  In the event that no President/ Vice-President of the Advisory Council has been appointed, the President of the Conference, or the Secretariat may perform the routine functions necessary to allow committee sessions to take place.

5.  The Secretariat and the President of the Conference shall not act in the capacity of the President/Vice-President.

Article 4

ISAIL Members

1.  The Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law offers the following categories of membership:

a.  Individual Membership (Annual / Lifetime): Open to any person interested in the objectives and activities of ISAIL, subject to the eligibility criteria and terms set by the Secretariat.

b. Student Membership (Annual): Open to students pursuing undergraduate, postgraduate, or doctoral studies in relevant fields, subject to the eligibility criteria and terms set by the Secretariat.

2.  The membership fees, benefits, and other terms for each category of membership shall be determined and updated by the Secretariat on their respective websites.

3.  Membership in ISAIL is subject to approval by the Secretariat or its designated authority.

4.  Members of ISAIL's social media communities, messaging app groups of The Bharat Pacific Community / The Bharat Pacific AI Community, or paid subscribers to ISAIL's publications shall not be considered "Members" of ISAIL unless expressly designated as such by the Secretariat.

5.  The Secretariat reserves the right to modify, suspend, or terminate any category of membership or the membership of any individual or institution at its discretion, in accordance with the bye-laws and objectives of ISAIL.

Article 5

Rules of Procedure

1. The Bharat Pacific Consortium must meet every year in a regular session.

2. Closing date: The Consortium shall, at the beginning of each session, fix a closing date for the session, on the recommendation of the Liaison Services.

3. Notification of regular session

·    The President of the Conference/ Chairperson shall notify the Members of The Consortium, at least 10 days in advance, of the opening of a regular session.

4.          Temporary adjournment of session

• The Consortium may decide at any session to adjourn temporarily and resume its meetings at a later date.

5.          Notification of special session

·    The Chairperson shall notify the Members and the President of the Advisory Council, at least 14 days in advance, of the opening of a special session convened at the request of the Secretariat, and at least 10 days in advance in the case of a session convened at the request of a majority of the Members or upon the concurrence of a majority in the request of any Member.

·    In the case of an emergency or a special session convened, the Chairperson shall notify Members at least 12 hours before the opening of the session.

6.          General principles

·    The meetings of The Consortium shall be held in public unless the Advisory Council or the Secretariat decides that exceptional circumstances require that the meeting be held in private.

·    Meetings of other committees and subcommittees shall also be held in public unless the organ concerned decides otherwise.

7.          Private meetings

·    All decisions of the Consortium taken at a private meeting must be announced at an early public meeting of the Forum.

·    At the close of each private meeting of The Bharat Pacific Consortium, and of the Committees, Forums and groups, the President of the Advisory Council may issue a communiqué through the Liaison Services.

Article 6

Rules on Presentation and Voting of Resolutions, Reports and Statements

1.  Statements

a.  The President and the Vice President shall deliver 5-minute opening and closing joint statements.

b.  The Members are requested to deliver Plenary Speeches, jointly or individually, through Position Papers a week before the Session. They may then commit to short speeches on the current development of the positions they keep.

c.  The Advisory Council and the Liaison Services may allow the delivery of Speeches through Position Statements.

d.  Once a set of agendas is finalised, the mandate will be effectively renewed and the President/Vice President may call for Members to deliver short statements during the Public Sessions/Formal Meeting for not more than 3 minutes.

e.  The Liaison Services has the sole right to decide the agendas, however, the advice given by the President and the Vice President in this matter shall be binding.

f.  Unless the Statement(s) violate Article 12, there shall be no voting of affirmation or appreciation in any form possible unless the President/Vice President deems it fit based on the advice of Session Consultants.

2.  A Statement that procures and requests the Advisory Council to prorogue, continue or render procedure to the Session of The Bharat Pacific Consortium with regards to:

a.  Voting on resolutions and reports;

b.  Voting on conducting private/public meetings;

c.  Rendering temporary or yearly adjournment; and

d.  Appreciation/affirmation of any statement if it does not violate Article 12, is called a motion.

3.  Reports and Resolutions

a.  Resolutions are unilateral or plurilateral statements which condone any form of action or achievement to be rendered.

b.  Reports are documentations representing the commitments of the Committees or individual Members.

4.  Resolutions require a vote of either:

a.  Beyond 50% of the quorum (which is at least 30%); or

b.  2/3rd of the members present and voting, to be institutionalised.

5.  Reports require a vote of 50% of the members and present & voting, to be institutionalised.

Article 6a

Use of Intellectual Property

Any report, minutes of a meeting, outcome report, discussion report, discussion paper or any case study or any other research work / document developed & submitted in lieu of any public / private meeting of The Bharat Pacific Consortium or any meeting of a Committee / Forum are the properties of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law, with the moral authorship rights vested in the concerned authors of the work and the publication, distribution & usage rights vested in the Secretariat. 

Article 7

Consultative Functions of the ISAIL Committees, Forums, the Expert Panels and Groups

The function, authority and responsibility of the ISAIL committees, forums are outlined in the Schedule 2 of the Charter.

Article 8

Amendments

The ISAIL Secretariat holds exclusive authority to amend the Charter. However, Committees, Forums, and members of the Advisory Council are entitled to propose amendments. These suggested amendments may be approved, rejected, or deferred at the Secretariat's discretion.

Article 9

Disqualification Grounds and Liaison Services of the Secretariat

If a Member fails to prove all information submitted is truthful and accurate, or involves unlawful or unprofessional activities, their membership may be disqualified.

The Members, by participating in the ISAIL committees and their sessions, understand that falsification of any information provided will disqualify them from participation in The Bharat Pacific Consortium and falsification of information or impersonation may result in legal actions. 

Members agree that all materials produced for this Conference will be original work.

LIST OF SCHEDULES

Schedule 1

Language Usage and Ethics - for both Public and Private Meetings of the Forum, its Committees and Groups

1. No ad hominem arguments will be appreciated

2. No defamatory statements shall be recorded and ascertained

3. Keep the statements concise

4. Avoid personalized remarks

5. Remarks must be policy-based

6. Agree to Disagree or Agree with opinions and remarks

7. Facts and truths are different, and both are acknowledged. Whether they are appreciated or endorsed by the Members or the members of the Advisory Council, does not represent the views of the members and office bearers of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law.

8. Reports, technical documents are mostly encouraged to be cited. However, if any statement of proof is required, and is not available, then the statement shall be regarded as an opinion of the concerned delegate with limited acknowledgment.

The clauses in the schedule are of indicative, non-exhaustive, reflective & directive nature for the Secretariat and the Liaison Services to take legitimate action under Article 9 of the Charter. 

Schedule 2

Constitution, Regulation and Authority of the Technical Committees

The Secretariat, except precluded by a notification of the Board of Trustees, has the authority to establish technical committees as a part of the Advisory Council whose members.

The Secretariat has approved the constitution of the following committees:

1. ISAIL Global Affairs Committee 

2. ISAIL Region Committee 

3. ISAIL Policy Innovation Committee

4. ISAIL AI Development Committee

5. ISAIL Ethics Committee (ad hoc)

Each technical committee is empowered to establish the following entities as permitted by the Board of Trustees, the Advisory Council or the Managing Trustee:

• Expert Panels

• ISAIL-Affiliated Law & Policy Centres

• Regional Chapters, national, regional and local

• Scientific Groups

• Interest Groups

• Emergency Groups or Temporary Groups

• ad hoc Committees

• Joint Groups, in collaboration with other organisations

Each group’s mandate shall be confined with specific objectives and intent. The objectives and intent have to be decided in consensus by the groups themselves.

Each Committee shall have Chairpersons and Co-Chairpersons nominated solely by the Secretariat.  

The President or the Vice-President of The Advisory Council, or any one of the Distinguished Experts of the Advisory Council, have the right to act as the ad hoc chairpersons for any of the committees at the pleasure of the Secretariat of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law.

The functions of the Committees are stated as follows:

• General Functions & Responsibilities

1.  The members nominated in the committees are required to hold at least 2 virtual / physical meetings of their respective committees in a month. Virtual meetings are however recommended.

2.  Only at the authorisation of the Secretariat or the Advisory Council, the members of the respective committees may hold their committee meetings on a joint basis. 

3.  Once every 4 committee meetings are held, the members of the respective committees may be required to submit an outcome report, on the deliberations that their respective committees had undergone, and the decisions taken in each of the meetings.

4.  All deliberations held in the committee meetings shall be considered private, and cannot be shared in public domain, except otherwise authorized by the Secretariat or the Liaison Services to do so. 

5.  In case any notification, report, communique or document is developed in a committee, the publication & distribution of any such document, must be decided by the members of the committee in consensus, once authorized by the Secretariat or the Liaison Services to do so.

6. Any member of a duly constituted committee may propose and hold committee sessions related to their committee's mandate and objectives.

7. All proposals for committee sessions must be submitted in writing to the Secretariat, detailing the purpose, agenda, and expected outcomes of the session. The Secretariat shall review the proposal and provide necessary logistical support for approved sessions.

 Specific Functions for the Global Affairs Committee

• Reach out to international organizations and partners. This includes building relationships with organizations and partners that are working on issues related to artificial intelligence and law.

• Promote the Society's activities and interests to other countries. This includes organizing events and conferences, and publishing articles and reports.

• Specific Functions for the Region Committee

  • Oversee the activities of the Society's regional chapters. This includes providing guidance and support to the chapters, as well as helping to resolve any disputes or conflicts.

  • Coordinate the activities of the chapters. This includes organizing joint events and conferences, and sharing resources and information.

• Specific Functions for the Policy Innovation Committee

  • Develop and implement legal, ethical & policy standards & guidelines. Review research proposals and technical, legal & ethical standards. This includes ensuring that all research proposals and standard drafts submitted to the Society are ethical and compliant with the Society's guidelines.

  • Foster collaboration between technical, policy and legal experts. This includes bringing together technical and legal experts to discuss the implications of emerging technology trends for artificial intelligence and law.

  • Conducting relevant research paper & book reading sessions, writing competitions, mentor research interns at the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law.

• Specific Functions for the AI Development Committee

  • Identify and track emerging technology trends. This includes staying up-to-date on the latest technological developments in artificial intelligence and law, and identifying those that are most relevant to the Society and its members.

  • Invite research labs/centres, start-ups and MSMEs to participate in key roundtables to demonstrate their technical and commercial artificial intelligence use cases, and provide an open and inclusive documentation of these use cases.

Schedule 3 

Functions of the Advisory Council

1.  The Members of the Advisory Council, which include the President and the Vice-President may offer suggestions and participate in deliberations with the members of the Secretariat on areas of law and policy, especially related to digital technologies, intellectual property, global governance and Indo-Pacific affairs.

2.  All members of the Advisory Council are requested to involve with the office bearers of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law, with a peer-to-peer approach, i.e., engage on an individual basis at mutual convenience. 

3.  The advice, recommendations and suggestions of the members of the Advisory Council will remain confidential and cannot be interpreted as obligatory for the members and office bearers of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law. However, any legal and policy recommendations, which are expressly offered to be published, are not considered as confidential.

4.  The members of the Advisory Council are invited to participate in the meetings & sessions of the Committees and individual or group meetings of The Bharat Pacific, where research-related and policy-related developments are discussed in good faith.

5.  The members of the Advisory Council are permitted to use the titular affiliation of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence accorded to them.

6. Any Distinguished Expert of the Advisory Council may recommend individuals for the individual membership of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law, subject to the following conditions:

a) The recommended individual must provide a valid government-issued identification for verification purposes.

b) The recommendation shall be submitted in writing to the Secretariat, along with the individual's profile and supporting documents.

c) The Secretariat shall review the recommendation and make a final decision on the individual's membership based on the Society's eligibility criteria and due diligence process.

d) The Distinguished Expert making the recommendation shall be responsible for ensuring the authenticity and relevance of the information provided about the recommended individual.