Markdown for LLMs
Refuse when the order is undefined
The source Markdown for this article. Copy it into your assistant or download it as a text file.
# Refuse when the order is undefined
## Intent
I want an explicit refusal when time does not order events of one case.
## Wrong form and why it stays silent
```text title="Incorrect form"
// Два разных события в один момент исполняются в порядке строк дела.
```
Row order has no legal meaning. Two carriers of one instance with equal starts yield fatal SIMULTANEOUS_EVENTS; the fold does not return a partial history.
## Correct form
```law
language "law.core" version "0.2";
package recipes.k.r06 version "0.1.0";
namespace "urn:recipe:k-procedures:06";
entity Application;
event Tick { }
procedure Filing(app: Application) {
state Draft initial;
state Submitted;
state Done terminal;
transition Submit { from Draft; to Submitted; on Tick; }
transition Decide { from Submitted; to Done; on Tick; }
}
const FIRST: Tick = Tick { id: "urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:E1", time: @2026-09-02T09:00:00Z };
```
## Frozen execution scene
P and Q in the table are different instances; E1/E2/E3 are carriers with an explicitly given time.
All identifiers and instants are pinned in the scenes.
| Events and facts | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| two carriers of one instance | `truth(current_state(P,Done))` | `issue(SIMULTANEOUS_EVENTS);` / fatal; `results: []`; runner expected FAIL |
| different instants | `truth(current_state(P,Done))` | `truth_status == TRUE_ONLY;` / `COMPUTED` |
| equal time of different instances | `truth(current_state(P,Submitted))` | `truth_status == TRUE_ONLY;` / `COMPUTED` |
| one carrier of two transitions | `truth(current_state(P,Done))` | `issue(CARRIER_REUSED);` / fatal; `results: []`; runner expected FAIL |
| two grounds of one attempt | `truth(current_state(P,Submitted))` | `truth_status == TRUE_ONLY;` / `COMPUTED` |
```law
test "two carriers at one instant refuse" {
given {
context {
legal_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
timezone "UTC";
}
assert procedure_instance(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"));assert attempted_transition(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"), Submit, Tick { id: "urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:E1", time: @2026-09-02T09:00:00Z });assert attempted_transition(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"), Decide, Tick { id: "urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:E2", time: @2026-09-02T09:00:00Z });
}
evaluate truth(current_state(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"),Done));
expect issue(SIMULTANEOUS_EVENTS);
expect evaluation_status == NON_EXECUTABLE;
}
```
```law
test "separate moments transition" {
given {
context {
legal_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
timezone "UTC";
}
assert procedure_instance(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"));
assert attempted_transition(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"), Submit, Tick { id: "urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:E1", time: @2026-09-02T09:00:00Z });
assert attempted_transition(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"), Decide, Tick { id: "urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:E2", time: @2026-09-03T09:00:00Z });
}
evaluate truth(current_state(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"),Done));
expect truth_status == TRUE_ONLY;
expect evaluation_status == COMPUTED;
}
```
```law
test "equal times of different instances hold" {
given {
context {
legal_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
timezone "UTC";
}
assert procedure_instance(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"));assert procedure_instance(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:q"));assert attempted_transition(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"), Submit, Tick { id: "urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:E1", time: @2026-09-02T09:00:00Z });assert attempted_transition(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:q"), Submit, Tick { id: "urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:E2", time: @2026-09-02T09:00:00Z });
}
evaluate truth(current_state(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"),Submitted));
expect truth_status == TRUE_ONLY;
expect evaluation_status == COMPUTED;
}
```
```law
test "one carrier for two transitions refuses" {
given {
context {
legal_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
timezone "UTC";
}
assert procedure_instance(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"));assert attempted_transition(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"), Submit, Tick { id: "urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:E1", time: @2026-09-02T09:00:00Z });assert attempted_transition(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"), Decide, Tick { id: "urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:E1", time: @2026-09-02T09:00:00Z });
}
evaluate truth(current_state(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"),Done));
expect issue(CARRIER_REUSED);
expect evaluation_status == NON_EXECUTABLE;
}
```
```law
test "two grounds share one attempt" {
given {
context {
legal_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
timezone "UTC";
}
assert procedure_instance(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"));assert attempted_transition(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"), Submit, Tick { id: "urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:E1", time: @2026-09-02T09:00:00Z }) { id "a1"; }assert attempted_transition(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"), Submit, Tick { id: "urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:E1", time: @2026-09-02T09:00:00Z }) { id "a2"; }
}
evaluate truth(current_state(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"),Submitted));
expect truth_status == TRUE_ONLY;
expect evaluation_status == COMPUTED;
}
```
An independent instance with an earlier valid event does not get a partial result when a neighbour history is fatal. The runner of this scene is also expected FAIL.
```law
test "independent instance gets no partial answer" {
given {
context {
legal_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z;
timezone "UTC";
}
assert procedure_instance(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:q"));
assert attempted_transition(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:q"), Submit, Tick { id: "urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:Good", time: @2026-09-01T09:00:00Z });
assert procedure_instance(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"));assert attempted_transition(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"), Submit, Tick { id: "urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:E1", time: @2026-09-02T09:00:00Z });assert attempted_transition(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:p"), Decide, Tick { id: "urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:E2", time: @2026-09-02T09:00:00Z });
}
evaluate truth(current_state(entity_ref("urn:recipe:k-procedures:06:q"),Submitted));
expect issue(SIMULTANEOUS_EVENTS);
expect evaluation_status == NON_EXECUTABLE;
}
```
```python
>>> import runpy
>>> check = runpy.run_path("docs/recipes/k-procedures/resources/check.py")
>>> check["check_fatal"](https://github.com/arxohq/law/blob/master/docs/recipes/k-procedures/6)
'К6: fatal и пустой results проверены; частичной истории нет; lawc = lawref'
```
## Counterfactual
Mutation check — LDC-E1343.
Original fragment:
```text
time: @2026-09-02T09:00:00Z
```
Replacement:
```text
missing_time: @2026-09-02T09:00:00Z
```
Scenes with a condition removed are marked separately; the same inputs get a different outcome.
## Boundary
Fatal applies to the whole document, including another instance. Equal time of different instances is allowed: both read the state before the shared temporal group. A time correction must arrive as a corrected event with provenance, not as a hidden sort.
In two fatal rows of the ordinary set the runner returns the **expected FAIL**: document-level fatal leaves `results: []`, and the evaluation_status expectation belongs to a result. The documents of both evaluators match; a separate check requires severity fatal, the correct code, and absence of a partial fold. In these rows NON_EXECUTABLE is an unreachable test expectation, not a result actually returned.