Status: Normative
This document defines the normative requirements for conformance with Contextual Evidence & Explanations (CEE).
CEE is a downstream specification that operates over the Structural Explainability (SE) substrate, including Accountable Entities (AE) and Evolution Protocol (EP).
It introduces no new structural facts. It attaches interpretive content to references drawn from the substrate.
Keywords MUST, MUST NOT, SHOULD, and MAY are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.
Use of terms such as "canonical" denotes structural role only and does not imply epistemic, causal, or normative preference.
This specification does not prescribe editorial structure, terminology preference, or documentation layout beyond identifier semantics.
Some requirements describe what the substrate MAY represent, while others constrain how such representations MUST NOT be interpreted.
Overlap between these classes is intentional: representation permissions do not imply explanatory or normative commitment.
Each requirement in this document is identified by a stable identifier
of the form CEE.*.
Identifiers are the sole normative reference for conformance. Textual wording MAY be clarified over time without changing meaning; any change that alters the requirement MUST result in a new identifier.
Renaming, reordering, or relocating identifiers constitutes a semantic change and is therefore intentionally diff-visible.
Repository paths, filenames, and section ordering are non-normative and do not affect identifier meaning.
Any system claiming conformance with Contextual Evidence & Explanations MUST also conform to the Structural Explainability Specification.
CEE MUST NOT weaken or override SE neutrality constraints.
CEE MUST reference entities, events, and histories defined by AE and EP. CEE MUST NOT redefine identity, structure, or graph evolution.
CEE operates only over stable substrate identifiers.
Contextual Evidence & Explanations define a framework for attaching interpretive content to structural histories recorded on the Structural Explainability substrate.
CEE specifies:
- contextual scoping of interpretation
- evidentiary grouping and reference
- explanation records
- attestation of responsibility
- provenance of explanatory content
CEE does not specify truth, correctness, or enforcement.
A Context Tag identifies an interpretive context under which an explanation is offered.
Context Tags:
- scope explanatory content
- identify frameworks, assumptions, or viewpoints
- are external to the substrate
Context Tags MUST NOT modify or reinterpret substrate records. Context Tags MAY overlap, conflict, or evolve over time.
An Explanation Record associates interpretive content with references to substrate entities, events, or graph histories.
Explanation Records:
- reference substrate identifiers
- do not assert structural change
- do not modify substrate state
Multiple Explanation Records MAY refer to the same substrate history.
An Attestation records that an accountable actor asserts responsibility for an explanation under a specified context.
Attestations:
- reference Explanation Records and Context Tags
- identify the asserting actor and scope of claim
- do not certify correctness or authority
Attestations MUST NOT alter or validate substrate records.
Provenance records describe how an explanation, context assignment, or attestation was produced.
Provenance MAY include:
- source materials
- methods or processes used
- tools or models involved
- derivation history of explanatory content
Provenance applies to CEE-level artifacts only. Provenance MUST NOT be used to reinterpret or revise substrate history.
CEE MUST support multiple explanations, attestations, and provenance chains over the same substrate history.
CEE MUST NOT require reconciliation, prioritization, or resolution of conflicting interpretations.
Disagreement is representable, not eliminable.
This does not define:
- substrate identity rules
- graph validity or evolution rules
- causal or predictive models
- epistemic validation or truth criteria
- normative judgment or enforcement
These concerns are explicitly out of scope.