diff --git a/pkg/chaincode/lifecycle.go b/pkg/chaincode/lifecycle.go
index aa3640a..21e9f3f 100644
--- a/pkg/chaincode/lifecycle.go
+++ b/pkg/chaincode/lifecycle.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 
 	"github.com/hyperledger/fabric-protos-go-apiv2/peer"
+	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -85,3 +86,40 @@ func (d *Definition) validate() error {
 	}
 	return nil
 }
+
+func CreateChaincodeDefinition(channelName, packageID, name, version, endorsementPlugin, validationPlugin, signaturePolicy, channelConfigPolicy string, seq int64, initflag bool, pollections *peer.CollectionConfigPackage) (*Definition, error) {
+	signaturePolicyEnvelope, err := FromString(signaturePolicy)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	applicationPolicy := &peer.ApplicationPolicy{
+		Type: &peer.ApplicationPolicy_SignaturePolicy{
+			SignaturePolicy: signaturePolicyEnvelope,
+		},
+	}
+	if channelConfigPolicy != "" {
+		applicationPolicy = &peer.ApplicationPolicy{
+			Type: &peer.ApplicationPolicy_ChannelConfigPolicyReference{
+				ChannelConfigPolicyReference: channelConfigPolicy,
+			},
+		}
+	}
+	data, err := proto.Marshal(applicationPolicy)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	chaincodeDef := &Definition{
+		ChannelName:         channelName,
+		PackageID:           packageID,
+		Name:                name,
+		Version:             version,
+		EndorsementPlugin:   endorsementPlugin,
+		ValidationPlugin:    validationPlugin,
+		Sequence:            seq,
+		ValidationParameter: data,
+		InitRequired:        initflag,
+		Collections:         pollections,
+	}
+	return chaincodeDef, nil
+}
diff --git a/pkg/chaincode/signaturepolicy.go b/pkg/chaincode/signaturepolicy.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ef4f64a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/chaincode/signaturepolicy.go
@@ -0,0 +1,372 @@
+/*
+Copyright IBM Corp. All Rights Reserved.
+SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+*/
+
+package chaincode
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"reflect"
+	"regexp"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/Knetic/govaluate"
+	cb "github.com/hyperledger/fabric-protos-go-apiv2/common"
+	mb "github.com/hyperledger/fabric-protos-go-apiv2/msp"
+	"google.golang.org/protobuf/proto"
+)
+
+// Gate values
+const (
+	GateAnd   = "And"
+	GateOr    = "Or"
+	GateOutOf = "OutOf"
+)
+
+// Role values for principals
+const (
+	RoleAdmin   = "admin"
+	RoleMember  = "member"
+	RoleClient  = "client"
+	RolePeer    = "peer"
+	RoleOrderer = "orderer"
+)
+
+var regex = regexp.MustCompile(
+	fmt.Sprintf("^([[:alnum:].-]+)([.])(%s|%s|%s|%s|%s)$",
+		RoleAdmin, RoleMember, RoleClient, RolePeer, RoleOrderer),
+)
+
+var regexErr = regexp.MustCompile("^No parameter '([^']+)' found[.]$")
+
+// a stub function - it returns the same string as it's passed.
+// This will be evaluated by second/third passes to convert to a proto policy
+func outof(args ...interface{}) (interface{}, error) {
+	toret := "outof("
+
+	if len(args) < 2 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("expected at least two arguments to NOutOf. Given %d", len(args))
+	}
+
+	arg0 := args[0]
+	// govaluate treats all numbers as float64 only. But and/or may pass int/string. Allowing int/string for flexibility of caller
+	if n, ok := arg0.(float64); ok {
+		toret += strconv.Itoa(int(n))
+	} else if n, ok := arg0.(int); ok {
+		toret += strconv.Itoa(n)
+	} else if n, ok := arg0.(string); ok {
+		toret += n
+	} else {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unexpected type %s", reflect.TypeOf(arg0))
+	}
+
+	for _, arg := range args[1:] {
+		toret += ", "
+
+		switch t := arg.(type) {
+		case string:
+			if regex.MatchString(t) {
+				toret += "'" + t + "'"
+			} else {
+				toret += t
+			}
+		default:
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("unexpected type %s", reflect.TypeOf(arg))
+		}
+	}
+
+	return toret + ")", nil
+}
+
+func and(args ...interface{}) (interface{}, error) {
+	args = append([]interface{}{len(args)}, args...)
+	return outof(args...)
+}
+
+func or(args ...interface{}) (interface{}, error) {
+	args = append([]interface{}{1}, args...)
+	return outof(args...)
+}
+
+func firstPass(args ...interface{}) (interface{}, error) {
+	toret := "outof(ID"
+	for _, arg := range args {
+		toret += ", "
+
+		switch t := arg.(type) {
+		case string:
+			if regex.MatchString(t) {
+				toret += "'" + t + "'"
+			} else {
+				toret += t
+			}
+		case float32:
+		case float64:
+			toret += strconv.Itoa(int(t))
+		default:
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("unexpected type %s", reflect.TypeOf(arg))
+		}
+	}
+
+	return toret + ")", nil
+}
+
+// SignedBy creates a SignaturePolicy requiring a given signer's signature
+func SignedBy(index int32) *cb.SignaturePolicy {
+	return &cb.SignaturePolicy{
+		Type: &cb.SignaturePolicy_SignedBy{
+			SignedBy: index,
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+// NOutOf creates a policy which requires N out of the slice of policies to evaluate to true
+func NOutOf(n int32, policies []*cb.SignaturePolicy) *cb.SignaturePolicy {
+	return &cb.SignaturePolicy{
+		Type: &cb.SignaturePolicy_NOutOf_{
+			NOutOf: &cb.SignaturePolicy_NOutOf{
+				N:     n,
+				Rules: policies,
+			},
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+func secondPass(args ...interface{}) (interface{}, error) {
+	/* general sanity check, we expect at least 3 args */
+	if len(args) < 3 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("at least 3 arguments expected, got %d", len(args))
+	}
+
+	/* get the first argument, we expect it to be the context */
+	var ctx *policyContext
+	switch v := args[0].(type) {
+	case *policyContext:
+		ctx = v
+	default:
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unrecognized type, expected the context, got %s", reflect.TypeOf(args[0]))
+	}
+
+	/* get the second argument, we expect an integer telling us
+	   how many of the remaining we expect to have*/
+	var t int
+	switch arg := args[1].(type) {
+	case float64:
+		t = int(arg)
+	default:
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unrecognized type, expected a number, got %s", reflect.TypeOf(args[1]))
+	}
+
+	/* get the n in the t out of n */
+	n := len(args) - 2
+
+	/* sanity check - t should be positive, permit equal to n+1, but disallow over n+1 */
+	if t < 0 || t > n+1 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid t-out-of-n predicate, t %d, n %d", t, n)
+	}
+
+	policies := make([]*cb.SignaturePolicy, 0)
+
+	/* handle the rest of the arguments */
+	for _, principal := range args[2:] {
+		switch t := principal.(type) {
+		/* if it's a string, we expect it to be formed as
+		   <MSP_ID> . <ROLE>, where MSP_ID is the MSP identifier
+		   and ROLE is either a member, an admin, a client, a peer or an orderer*/
+		case string:
+			/* split the string */
+			subm := regex.FindAllStringSubmatch(t, -1)
+			if subm == nil || len(subm) != 1 || len(subm[0]) != 4 {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error parsing principal %s", t)
+			}
+
+			/* get the right role */
+			var r mb.MSPRole_MSPRoleType
+
+			switch subm[0][3] {
+			case RoleMember:
+				r = mb.MSPRole_MEMBER
+			case RoleAdmin:
+				r = mb.MSPRole_ADMIN
+			case RoleClient:
+				r = mb.MSPRole_CLIENT
+			case RolePeer:
+				r = mb.MSPRole_PEER
+			case RoleOrderer:
+				r = mb.MSPRole_ORDERER
+			default:
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error parsing role %s", t)
+			}
+
+			/* build the principal we've been told */
+			mspRole, err := proto.Marshal(&mb.MSPRole{MspIdentifier: subm[0][1], Role: r})
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("error marshalling msp role: %s", err)
+			}
+
+			p := &mb.MSPPrincipal{
+				PrincipalClassification: mb.MSPPrincipal_ROLE,
+				Principal:               mspRole,
+			}
+			ctx.principals = append(ctx.principals, p)
+
+			/* create a SignaturePolicy that requires a signature from
+			   the principal we've just built*/
+			dapolicy := SignedBy(int32(ctx.IDNum))
+			policies = append(policies, dapolicy)
+
+			/* increment the identity counter. Note that this is
+			   suboptimal as we are not reusing identities. We
+			   can deduplicate them easily and make this puppy
+			   smaller. For now it's fine though */
+			// TODO: deduplicate principals
+			ctx.IDNum++
+
+		/* if we've already got a policy we're good, just append it */
+		case *cb.SignaturePolicy:
+			policies = append(policies, t)
+
+		default:
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("unrecognized type, expected a principal or a policy, got %s", reflect.TypeOf(principal))
+		}
+	}
+
+	return NOutOf(int32(t), policies), nil
+}
+
+type policyContext struct {
+	IDNum      int
+	principals []*mb.MSPPrincipal
+}
+
+func newContext() *policyContext {
+	return &policyContext{IDNum: 0, principals: make([]*mb.MSPPrincipal, 0)}
+}
+
+// FromString takes a string representation of the policy,
+// parses it and returns a SignaturePolicyEnvelope that
+// implements that policy. The supported language is as follows:
+//
+// GATE(P[, P])
+//
+// where:
+//   - GATE is either "and" or "or"
+//   - P is either a principal or another nested call to GATE
+//
+// A principal is defined as:
+//
+// # ORG.ROLE
+//
+// where:
+//   - ORG is a string (representing the MSP identifier)
+//   - ROLE takes the value of any of the RoleXXX constants representing
+//     the required role
+func FromString(policy string) (*cb.SignaturePolicyEnvelope, error) {
+	// first we translate the and/or business into outof gates
+	intermediate, err := govaluate.NewEvaluableExpressionWithFunctions(
+		policy, map[string]govaluate.ExpressionFunction{
+			GateAnd:                    and,
+			strings.ToLower(GateAnd):   and,
+			strings.ToUpper(GateAnd):   and,
+			GateOr:                     or,
+			strings.ToLower(GateOr):    or,
+			strings.ToUpper(GateOr):    or,
+			GateOutOf:                  outof,
+			strings.ToLower(GateOutOf): outof,
+			strings.ToUpper(GateOutOf): outof,
+		},
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	intermediateRes, err := intermediate.Evaluate(map[string]interface{}{})
+	if err != nil {
+		// attempt to produce a meaningful error
+		if regexErr.MatchString(err.Error()) {
+			sm := regexErr.FindStringSubmatch(err.Error())
+			if len(sm) == 2 {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("unrecognized token '%s' in policy string", sm[1])
+			}
+		}
+
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	resStr, ok := intermediateRes.(string)
+	if !ok {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid policy string '%s'", policy)
+	}
+
+	// we still need two passes. The first pass just adds an extra
+	// argument ID to each of the outof calls. This is
+	// required because govaluate has no means of giving context
+	// to user-implemented functions other than via arguments.
+	// We need this argument because we need a global place where
+	// we put the identities that the policy requires
+	exp, err := govaluate.NewEvaluableExpressionWithFunctions(
+		resStr,
+		map[string]govaluate.ExpressionFunction{"outof": firstPass},
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	res, err := exp.Evaluate(map[string]interface{}{})
+	if err != nil {
+		// attempt to produce a meaningful error
+		if regexErr.MatchString(err.Error()) {
+			sm := regexErr.FindStringSubmatch(err.Error())
+			if len(sm) == 2 {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("unrecognized token '%s' in policy string", sm[1])
+			}
+		}
+
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	resStr, ok = res.(string)
+	if !ok {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid policy string '%s'", policy)
+	}
+
+	ctx := newContext()
+	parameters := make(map[string]interface{}, 1)
+	parameters["ID"] = ctx
+
+	exp, err = govaluate.NewEvaluableExpressionWithFunctions(
+		resStr,
+		map[string]govaluate.ExpressionFunction{"outof": secondPass},
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	res, err = exp.Evaluate(parameters)
+	if err != nil {
+		// attempt to produce a meaningful error
+		if regexErr.MatchString(err.Error()) {
+			sm := regexErr.FindStringSubmatch(err.Error())
+			if len(sm) == 2 {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("unrecognized token '%s' in policy string", sm[1])
+			}
+		}
+
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	rule, ok := res.(*cb.SignaturePolicy)
+	if !ok {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid policy string '%s'", policy)
+	}
+
+	p := &cb.SignaturePolicyEnvelope{
+		Identities: ctx.principals,
+		Version:    0,
+		Rule:       rule,
+	}
+
+	return p, nil
+}
diff --git a/test/e2e_test.go b/test/e2e_test.go
index 82b5d4b..ef64eba 100644
--- a/test/e2e_test.go
+++ b/test/e2e_test.go
@@ -246,20 +246,9 @@ var _ = Describe("e2e", func() {
 			})
 
 			time.Sleep(time.Duration(20) * time.Second)
-
-			chaincodeDef := &chaincode.Definition{
-				ChannelName:         channelName,
-				PackageID:           "",
-				Name:                "basic",
-				Version:             "1.0",
-				EndorsementPlugin:   "",
-				ValidationPlugin:    "",
-				Sequence:            1,
-				ValidationParameter: nil,
-				InitRequired:        false,
-				Collections:         nil,
-			}
-
+			PolicyStr := "AND ('Org1MSP.peer','Org2MSP.peer')"
+			chaincodeDef, err := chaincode.CreateChaincodeDefinition(channelName, "", "basic", "1.0", "", "", PolicyStr, "", 1, false, nil)
+			Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
 			// Approve chaincode for each org
 			runParallel(peerConnections, func(target *ConnectionDetails) {
 				ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(specCtx, 30*time.Second)