There is a described a method of certifying compliance with a designated process defined by a plurality of rules which are specified in a public template, wherein at least one rule associated with a process includes a certification requirement which requires compliance with that rule to be certified by a rule certifying authority. A processing apparatus operating in a secure environment receives rule compliance data and checks the received rule compliance data to verify that any certification requirement has been satisfied. If the processing apparatus confirms that all the rules specified in the public template are satisfied, then the processing apparatus issues a process compliance certificate which is digitally signed by the process certifying authority.