# CAES Governance

**Working Group:** CAES-WG  
**Specification Status:** Public Draft  
**Current Version:** v0.2.0 (Public Review)

The Evidence Pack specification in this directory is normative annex `0.2.0` for CAES v0.2.0 Level 2 and Level 3 (CAES-PAK-01). Other companion drafts that still say "Applies To: CAES v0.1.1" have not been revised into v0.2.0 normative text. The CLI validator and the public registry model are in that group. The conformance template, the test suite, and the contributing guide have been updated for the v0.2.0 fields and requirement IDs.

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## Purpose

The CAES Working Group (CAES-WG) exists to define and maintain the Constitutional AI Execution Standard (CAES).

The Working Group defines normative requirements for governed AI execution.  
It does not certify implementations.  
It does not provide commercial endorsement.  
It does not prescribe implementation architecture.

Its mandate is structural clarity.

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## Scope of Authority

CAES-WG governs:

- Specification text
- Normative requirements
- Compliance levels
- Conformance language
- Version history
- Mark usage policy

CAES-WG does not:

- Certify vendors
- Audit implementations
- Provide legal opinions
- Enforce compliance claims

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## Governance Model

CAES operates under a **minimal governance model**.

The Working Group is responsible for:

- Publishing versioned releases
- Reviewing amendment proposals
- Maintaining normative consistency
- Preventing dilution of structural requirements

All normative changes require a version increment.

There are no silent amendments.

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## Membership

CAES-WG membership may include:

- Specification authors
- Security researchers
- Governance experts
- Implementation maintainers

Membership does not imply ownership of the standard.

The specification is versioned, public, and vendor-neutral.

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## Decision Process

Amendments are:

1. Proposed publicly.
2. Documented with rationale.
3. Evaluated for structural impact.
4. Incorporated into a versioned release or declined with explanation.

Consensus is preferred.  
Structural integrity takes precedence over feature expansion.

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## Versioning Policy

- Backward-compatible clarifications increment the minor version.
- Structural changes increment the major version.
- Editorial corrections may increment patch versions.

Every release includes a changelog entry.

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## Guiding Principle

CAES must remain:

- Normative
- Minimal
- Deterministic
- Resistant to dilution
- Vendor-neutral

Scope creep is not progress.

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CAES-WG  
March 2026