Priority in a special territory

Intention

I want to turn priority on only when a territorial condition is established.

Priority applies only while the territorial condition holds.

Correct formFrozen execution sceneBoundary

Incorrect form and why it stays silent

Incorrect form

priority ZonePriority { prefer Special over General; reason lex_specialis; }

Removing when extends priority to every case. Even when the condition is true, a conflict still requires the same grounded head.

Correct form

Arxo Law

language "law.core" version "0.2";
package recipes.b.r08 version "0.1.0";
namespace "urn:recipe:b-rules:08";

entity Person;
relation eligible(p: Person);
relation special(p: Person);
relation allowed(p: Person);
relation special_zone();
rule General defeasible { for p: Person; when eligible(p); then allowed(p); }
rule Special defeasible { for p: Person; when eligible(p) and special(p); then not allowed(p); }
priority ZonePriority {
    prefer Special over General;
    when special_zone();
    reason lex_specialis;
}

Frozen execution scene

Facts and choice	Question	Answer
special zone	truth(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:p")))	FALSE_ONLY / COMPUTED
zone not established	truth(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:p")))	BOTH / COMPUTED
priority condition removed	truth(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:p")))	FALSE_ONLY / COMPUTED
opposite conclusions about different persons	truth(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:p")))	TRUE_ONLY / COMPUTED

special zone

Arxo Law

test "special zone" {
    given {
        context {
            legal_time @2026-09-13;
            decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00+05:00;
            knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00+05:00;
            timezone "Asia/Almaty";
        }
        assert eligible(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:p")); assert special(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:p")); assert special_zone();
    }
    evaluate truth(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:p")));
    expect truth_status == FALSE_ONLY;
    expect evaluation_status == COMPUTED;
}

zone not established

Arxo Law

test "zone not established" {
    given {
        context {
            legal_time @2026-09-13;
            decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00+05:00;
            knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00+05:00;
            timezone "Asia/Almaty";
        }
        assert eligible(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:p")); assert special(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:p"));
    }
    evaluate truth(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:p")));
    expect truth_status == BOTH;
    expect evaluation_status == COMPUTED;
}

priority condition removed

Arxo Law

test "priority condition removed" {
    given {
        context {
            legal_time @2026-09-13;
            decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00+05:00;
            knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00+05:00;
            timezone "Asia/Almaty";
        }
        assert eligible(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:p")); assert special(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:p"));
    }
    evaluate truth(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:p")));
    expect truth_status == FALSE_ONLY;
    expect evaluation_status == COMPUTED;
}

opposite findings about different persons

Arxo Law

test "opposite findings about different persons" {
    given {
        context {
            legal_time @2026-09-13;
            decision_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00+05:00;
            knowledge_time @2026-09-13T09:00:00+05:00;
            timezone "Asia/Almaty";
        }
        assert eligible(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:p")); assert eligible(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:q")); assert special(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:q")); assert special_zone();
    }
    evaluate truth(allowed(entity_ref("urn:recipe:b-rules:08:p")));
    expect truth_status == TRUE_ONLY;
    expect evaluation_status == COMPUTED;
}

Counterfactual

Mutation: when special_zone(); → when allowed(higher);; rejection LDC-E2104. Scenes that delete a fragment are marked explicitly in the table.

Boundary

special_zone is an explicit context fact of the teaching case, not geocoding. For a condition on a pair of applications higher/lower are available; subject identity is checked by conflict of heads.