The Custodian Group of the Declaration of Sydney serves as the independent steward of the Declaration and its ethical commitments. Custodians are entrusted with preserving the integrity, intent, coherence, and long-term accessibility of the Declaration. They act in a capacity of ethical stewardship rather than regulatory authority and are responsible for ensuring that the Declaration remains a trustworthy, non-commercial, and publicly accessible ethical reference for the global neurosurgical community.
The Custodian Group is responsible for:
maintaining the official and current version of the Declaration
overseeing revisions in accordance with defined governance procedures
safeguarding the Declaration against misrepresentation or misuse
ensuring transparency, version control, and long-term public access
serving as a point of ethical reference and contact
The Custodian Group does not regulate clinical practice, certify technologies, or issue binding rules. The Declaration remains a guiding ethical commitment rather than a legal or regulatory instrument.
Custodians serve in their personal capacity and do not represent institutions, employers, professional societies, or commercial entities. The group is multidisciplinary and geographically diverse, reflecting the global and interdisciplinary nature of computational neurosurgery.
The structure, responsibilities, and limits of custodianship are defined in the Custodianship Charter, which is publicly available on this page.
The Custodianship Charter defines the principles, responsibilities, and limits governing the stewardship of the Declaration of Sydney.
The Charter exists to protect the ethical integrity, independence, continuity, and public accessibility of the Declaration over time. The Charter supports the Declaration; it does not override or reinterpret it. Amendments to the Charter may not be used to indirectly alter the ethical commitments articulated in the Declaration.
The Charter is designed to:
safeguard the Declaration against misuse, distortion, or capture
ensure transparent, accountable, and proportionate stewardship
preserve independence from commercial, institutional, or political influence
maintain continuity beyond any single conference, institution, or funding body
The Charter is a governance document, not a legal instrument, and does not create regulatory authority or binding obligations.
In keeping with the Declaration's principles, the Charter is publicly available and versioned. Updates are documented to ensure transparency and traceability over time.
The Charter is intended to be stable, restrained in revision, and proportionate to the responsibilities of ethical stewardship.
For questions regarding the Declaration, custodianship, or appropriate use of the Declaration, please contact:
© 2026 Declaration of Sydney. All rights reserved.
The Declaration of Sydney is a non-regulatory ethical reference. It does not replace clinical judgment, professional standards, or legal obligations. The Declaration serves to guide responsible innovation in neurosurgery.
