Policy Pack Specification

This document defines the schema and evaluator contract for @dsar/policy-engine.

Policy pack schema

Policy packs are versioned, machine-readable contracts with deterministic sections:

• packId, version, jurisdiction, effectiveAt
• sections.clock
• sections.representation
• sections.verification
• sections.response
• sections.delivery
• sections.appeals
• sections.retention
• sections.audit

Clock section

Required fields:

• start: "receipt" | "verification_complete"
• verificationEffect: "stop_clock" | "no_stop_clock"
• clarificationEffect: "stop_clock" | "no_stop_clock"
• ackRequired: boolean
• ackDeadlineBusinessDays?: number
• responseDeadlineDays: number
• extension: { enabled, maxAdditionalDays, requiresJustification }
• rules: deterministic override rules with id, precedence, when, apply

Rule precedence is deterministic:

1. sort by precedence descending
2. tie-break by id ascending
3. apply merged rule overrides from lowest to highest precedence so highest precedence wins

Evaluator interface

evaluatePolicy(input) returns an Effect program with deterministic output.

Input envelope includes:

• policy pack payload
• jurisdiction + policy version
• request type and requestor type
• authority evidence signal
• timeline context (receivedAt, now, pauses, extensions)
• actor/context signals (isComplex, requiresVerification)

Output envelope includes:

• decision: actionable booleans (verification required, appeal eligibility, etc.)
• clock: base/final deadlines and applied pause/extension contributions
• requiredActions
• requiredNotices
• matchedRuleIds
• explainabilityTrace

Explainability trace contract

Every decision includes machine-readable trace entries with:

• code (clock.base, clock.rule.applied, clock.pause.applied, clock.extension.applied, clock.final)
• message
• optional details payload

This enables replay and clock explain APIs to show exactly how due dates were produced.

Fixture matrix

Current fixture coverage:

• uk-access
• eu-clarification-pause
• us-no-stop-verification
• edge-repeated-clarifications
• edge-extension-near-deadline
• edge-partial-refusal-precedence
• policy-packs/uk-deadline-baseline
• policy-packs/eu-clarification-vs-verification
• policy-packs/us-extension-cap
• policy-packs/us-co-high-risk-verification
• policy-packs/us-va-refusal-appeal

These vectors validate:

• deterministic outputs
• precedence behavior
• stop-clock / no-stop-clock behavior
• extension cap handling
• explainability trace shape and stable ordering

Launch catalog and known gaps

First-party launch coverage includes:

• UK baseline pack (uk)
• EU baseline pack (eu)
• Initial US set: baseline US (us), California (us-ca), Virginia (us-va), Colorado (us-co)

Known gaps:

• Additional US state packs are not yet implemented in the launch catalog.
• State-specific refusal categories and exemptions remain future additions.

Jurisdiction hard-gate contract

Request intake now requires a top-level jurisdiction and resolves an active policy via:

1. workspace/tenant scoped pin (if present)
2. latest available pack for the same jurisdiction
3. hard-fail with POLICY_JURISDICTION_UNMAPPED when no mapping exists

The hard-fail envelope includes structured guidance so clients can route users/admins:

• subject_contact_admin
• admin_register_policy_pack
• admin_activate_policy_pack

Custom policy lifecycle events

Custom policy authoring and activation emit dedicated policy audit events:

• custom_policy_registered
• custom_policy_activated
• custom_policy_deactivated

These events are emitted by @dsar/policy-packs services and consumed by backend policy routes.