Precedent
Precedent defines a legal ruling as a record with string label, natural-number σ-weight for jurisdictional level (1 trial, 2 appeal, 3 supreme), and age in years. Legal theorists extending Recognition Science σ-conservation to stare decisis would cite this to construct corpus models that track authoritative weight. The declaration is a direct record type with automatic derivation of decidable equality and representation.
claimA precedent is a record consisting of a label (string), a σ-weight $s : ℕ$ (jurisdictional level), and an age $a : ℕ$ (years since adoption).
background
The module models common-law precedent as σ-conserving structure on the legal-decision graph, where a precedent's σ-charge equals its authoritative weight. Upstream, σ originates in Decision.AbileneParadox.sigma as the gap between private and public report for an agent; here the same symbol is repurposed as a natural-number jurisdictional level. The local setting states that total σ of a legal corpus must remain conserved across overturning events, with constitutional amendment rates bounded by the gap-45 frustration period.
proof idea
The structure is introduced directly as a record type with three fields and deriving clauses for DecidableEq and Repr; no tactics or lemmas are applied.
why it matters in Recognition Science
Precedent supplies the atomic object for Corpus, totalSigma, overturn, and PrecedentStabilityCert in the same module. It realizes the module claim that stare decisis is the σ-conserving structure on the legal-decision graph and supplies the building block for the bound on amendment rate (≤ 1/45 yr). The construction sits inside Track I5 of Plan v5 and inherits the σ notion from decision theory while remaining independent of the phi-ladder and physical constants.
scope and limits
- Does not prove any conservation law.
- Does not assign concrete numerical values to σ beyond the inline comment.
- Does not model specific legal systems or amendment procedures.
- Does not connect to J-cost, phi-ladder, or physical constants.
formal statement (Lean)
45structure Precedent where
46 label : String
47 sigma : ℕ -- 1=trial, 2=appeal, 3=supreme
48 age : ℕ
49 deriving DecidableEq, Repr
50
51/-- The legal corpus = list of active precedents. -/