# Learn a person’s duties

## Intent

I want to learn a person’s duties.

## Wrong form and why it stays silent

Absence of a chosen reading must not be passed off as absence of duties. A group with one alternative is also not a choice.

```text title="Incorrect form"
alternatives Yes;
```

## Correct form

```law
language "law.core" version "0.2";
package recipe.m03 version "1.0.0";
namespace "urn:recipe:m-queries:03";
source Act { kind policy; }
edition E of Act { language ru; officiality unofficial; materialization_status ABSTRACT_ONLY; in_force [@2026-01-01, infinity); }
fragment F in E { kind article; locator "1"; text ru unofficial "Учебная норма имеет два прочтения."; }
entity Person;
relation registered(p: Person);
relation filed(p: Person);
relation receipt(p: Person);
rule Create strict { for p: Person; when registered(p); then duty Filing { bearer p; achieve filed(p) during [@2026-09-01, @2026-09-30]; }; }
rule NoDuty strict { for p: Person; when registered(p); then receipt(p); }
interpretation Yes of F { status disputed; include Create; }
interpretation No of F { status disputed; include NoDuty; }
interpretation_group Meaning { alternatives Yes, No; selection exactly_one; }
```

## Frozen execution scene

| Input / variant | Question | Expectation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. no choice | `positions()` | `evaluation_status == INTERPRETATION_REQUIRED;  not positions_present();` |
| 2. there is a duty | `positions()` | `evaluation_status == COMPUTED;  position(Filing, ACTIVE);` |
| 3. no duty | `positions()` | `evaluation_status == COMPUTED;  not positions_present();` |
| 4. no ground | `positions()` | `evaluation_status == COMPUTED;  not positions_present();` |

```law
test "missing reading choice requires interpretation" {
    given {
        context { legal_time @2026-09-13; decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; timezone "UTC";  }
        assert registered(entity_ref("urn:recipe:m-queries:p"));
    }
    evaluate positions();
    expect evaluation_status == INTERPRETATION_REQUIRED; expect not positions_present();
}
```

```law
test "duty holder reported" {
    given {
        context { legal_time @2026-09-13; decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; timezone "UTC"; interpretation Yes; }
        assert registered(entity_ref("urn:recipe:m-queries:p"));
    }
    evaluate positions();
    expect evaluation_status == COMPUTED; expect position(Filing, ACTIVE);
}
```

```law
test "no duty reports nothing" {
    given {
        context { legal_time @2026-09-13; decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; timezone "UTC"; interpretation No; }
        assert registered(entity_ref("urn:recipe:m-queries:p"));
    }
    evaluate positions();
    expect evaluation_status == COMPUTED; expect not positions_present();
}
```

```law
test "missing ground reports nothing" {
    given {
        context { legal_time @2026-09-13; decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00Z; timezone "UTC"; interpretation Yes; }

    }
    evaluate positions();
    expect evaluation_status == COMPUTED; expect not positions_present();
}
```

`positions()` returns the positions of the whole presented case. For the single
position of scene 2, `holder == "urn:recipe:m-queries:p"` is checked;
this is an explicit holder check, not a hidden query filter.
An independent question `truth(registered(p))` on the same input without a reading
choice returns `TRUE_ONLY / COMPUTED`, although the choice issue remains.
An empty list in scene 1 must not be read as proof that a duty is absent.

Check of result fields and extra inputs:

```python
>>> import runpy
>>> checks = runpy.run_path("docs/recipes/m-queries/resources/check.py")
>>> checks["positions"](https://github.com/arxohq/law/blob/master/docs/recipes/m-queries/3)
True
```

## Counterfactual

The sidecar mutation reproduces `LDC-E0201`. Counterfactual table variants are executed separately; input errors are not passed off as NEITHER.

## Boundary

The positions collection and the normative status of a concrete position are different levels. A duty without a performance fact remains ACTIVE inside the window; unknown performance after the window is not examined here.

## Pitfall

The choice status belongs to the dependent result — see [Two readings of one norm](/recipes/z-interpretations/choose-reading/).