Statement regarding the 2021 Global Assembly

Last reviewed: October 2026

In December 2021, Deborah Foulkes raised concerns about intellectual property relating to the sortition methodology used for the selection of the Assembly members of the 2021 Global Assembly. Those concerns were directed at the Sortition Foundation, a delivery partner for the Global Assembly that was responsible for designing the sortition methodology. Ms Foulkes’s position is that the methodology draws on her own earlier work.

An internal review by other Global Assembly partners, including Iswe, identified the UK Intellectual Property Office as an appropriate independent route for resolving the dispute. In 2023, the Sortition Foundation offered to enter mediation with Ms Foulkes through this service. We understand that mediation did not proceed.

Since that time, Ms Foulkes has published a number of allegations concerning Iswe, including allegations about how the original complaint was handled. Iswe rejects these allegations.

The underlying intellectual property dispute is a matter between Ms Foulkes and the Sortition Foundation. Iswe is not aware of any court, regulator, mediator or other independent body having made a finding of intellectual property infringement in relation to these allegations, or of wrongdoing by Iswe. Iswe expresses no view on the merits of that dispute, and reserves all of its rights in relation to this matter.

If you have any questions about Iswe's role in this matter, please contact hello@iswe.org.