The Working Group was created with the following terms of reference at the meeting of the EC in June 1999. The working group was renewed, with the addition of one member, at GA 24 in August 2000.

The Working group on Extrasolar Planets:

• Will be a Working Group of IAU Division III;

• Will be appointed for an intial period up to the next General Assembly, then renewable for three years at at time.

• Shall consist of 9-12 persons with scientific knowledge of the field. A proposal for the membership and Chairman should be prepared jointly by the presidents of Division III, Commission 16, and Commission 51 for approval by the EC.

• Shall have as its charge to act as a focal point for international research on extrasolar planets and organise IAU activities in the field, building on the preparatory work done by Commission 51. In particular, it should organise comparative reviews of techniques used to detect extrasolar planets and establish criteria for detections of varying degrees of certainty. As part of this activity, it is authorised to maintain lists of objects satisfying these criteria; if it so wishes, this responsibility may be delegated to a technical subgroup appointed by the WG Chair.

• Shall report on its activities to the annual meetings of the Executive Committee and make recommendations on such matters as it finds suitable, including any changes in the organization of IAU activities in the field.