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REQUIRES_JUDGMENT — Only a named authority can settle this point

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# REQUIRES_JUDGMENT — Only a named authority can settle this point

## What it means

Some questions turn on judgment, not computation: whether hardship is
undue, whether a delay was reasonable, whether conduct was proportionate.
The package names the authority whose decision settles the point, and the
engine waits for that decision. Until it arrives as a fact, the question
stays open — the engine will not compute in place of the authority.

This status is neither a refusal nor a negative answer. It is a pending
question with a named addressee.

## When you see it

```law
language "law.core" version "0.2";
package demo.diagnostics version "0.1.0";
namespace "urn:law:demo:diagnostics";

entity Applicant;

external judgment relation hardship(a: Applicant) {
    authority HearingOfficer;
}

relation applied_for_permit(a: Applicant) kind empirical;
relation hardship_waiver(a: Applicant) kind institutional;

rule HardshipWaiver strict {
    for a: Applicant;
    when applied_for_permit(a) and hardship(a);
    then hardship_waiver(a);
}
```

```lawtest
language "law.core" version "0.2";
package demo.diagnostics version "0.1.0";
namespace "urn:law:demo:diagnostics";

test "hardship waits for the hearing officer" {
    given {
        context { legal_time @2026-03-01; decision_time @2026-03-01T09:00:00Z; knowledge_time @2026-03-01T09:00:00Z; timezone "UTC"; }
        assert applied_for_permit(entity_ref("urn:demo:diagnostics:ann")) { origin case_input; }
    }
    evaluate truth(hardship_waiver(entity_ref("urn:demo:diagnostics:ann")));
    expect evaluation_status == REQUIRES_JUDGMENT;
}
```

Hardship is decided by the hearing officer, and no decision is on file.
The waiver question stays open.

## What to do

Obtain the authority's decision and file it with the case. Once the
decision is among the facts, the waiting question computes normally. If
no decision can be obtained, the question honestly remains open.

## Related

- [Testing a package](/language/testing-a-package/) — how scenarios pin outcomes.
- [COMPUTED](/diagnostics/COMPUTED/) — the healthy outcome once the decision arrives.