Definition
The part of a system's permission record that names who accepts liability for the automation's delays and errors, the instrument that binds them, and the exclusions they claim, called carve-outs. It exists because a system may not hide behind algorithmic error: the operating institution answers for what its delegation does.
Carve-outs are recorded before an incident rather than assembled after one. A limitation the issuer knows about is priced at deployment; the record exists so the residual risk everyone else carries is visible in the issuer's words, not the defendant's.
StructuralAgency
Tests that show it is in place
- Every grant names the party accepting liability and the instrument that binds them.
- Carve-outs, caps, and exclusions appear on the record, not in a dispute.
- Subcontracting does not diffuse liability: the head grant answers for every hop of a chain.
Evidence to keep
- Artifact: Grant records with a liability object naming accepting party, instrument, and carve-outs.
- Behavior: A deployment with no recorded liability acceptance does not pass its safety-case review.
- Metric: Share of consequential grants with a named liability party and a recorded instrument.
References
- STD-08 Delegation · Standard
- STD-01 Temporal Bill of Rights · Standard