Clause Syntax and DSL Architecture

Constructing Verifiable, Simulatable, and Jurisdiction-Aware Governance Logic

3.1 Clause Syntax and DSL Architecture

Designing a Domain-Specific Language for Executable, Composable, and Auditable Governance Rules

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3.1.1 Why a Dedicated Clause Language?

Generic smart contract languages (e.g., Solidity, Rust, Go) are:

• Too low-level for policy analysts and governance engineers

• Poorly suited to represent domain-specific governance semantics

• Opaque to simulation engines and jurisdictional overrides

• Lack structure to represent multi-domain, clause-referenced logic

• Hard to audit across simulations, credential graphs, and policy transitions

NSF introduces a custom, deterministic, simulation-aware DSL: Smart Clause Language (SCL) — designed specifically for governance encoding.

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3.1.2 Principles of SCL

SCL is:

• Deterministic: All executions yield consistent results on valid input

• Declarative: Focuses on what is valid/invalid, not how to compute

• Composable: Supports nested clauses, simulations, and credentials

• Typed and Schema-Bound: Input/output types defined in JSON-Schema or RDF vocabularies

• Governance-Aware: Includes metadata hooks for DAO rules, simulations, credential issuance

• Auditable: Every line of logic is linked to metadata, DAO version, and execution trace

• ZK-compatible: Can be transpiled into proof systems for verifiable execution

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3.1.3 Core SCL Syntax Concepts

Component	Description
clause	Defines a named clause unit, its input/output types, and jurisdiction
trigger	Sets the condition for clause invocation (time, event, DAO decision)
require	Asserts a policy condition (e.g., emissions < 50 ppm)
if/then/else	Deterministic branching
issue	Issues a verifiable credential
revoke	Triggers credential revocation logic
bind	Attaches external data input (sensor, simulation, DAO vote)
simulate	Declares a mandatory simulation step before activation
forkable	Enables governance-defined clause splitting

SCL code is human-readable, but version-controlled, audit-traceable, and signed.

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3.1.4 Example: Threshold Clause for Food Safety

sclCopyEditclause Codex::Food::[email protected] {
  jurisdiction: ["Codex", "EU", "UNFAO"]
  input: { contaminantLevel: float, batchId: string, countryOfOrigin: string }
  output: { status: "PASS" | "FAIL", reason: string }

  trigger: onInspection(batchId)

  require: contaminantLevel < 0.1

  if require {
    issue FoodSafetyVC(batchId, "CodexCompliant")
  } else {
    revoke ExistingVC(batchId)
    return { status: "FAIL", reason: "Exceeds Codex threshold" }
  }

  simulate: using CodexFoodSafetyModel v2.1
}

This clause is:

• Simulatable

• Jurisdiction-scoped

• Credential-linked

• Trigger-based

• Auditable and forkable

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3.1.5 Clause Structure and Metadata Requirements

Each clause includes structured metadata:

Field	Description
id	Clause name + version hash
created_by	DAO or credentialed author
governed_by	Governance clause or DAO
simulated_with	Simulation package(s)
executed_on	List of environments (TEE, ZK runner, etc.)
trigger_types	Time, event, signal, policy, manual
compatible_credentials	Credential schemas bound to this clause
version_lineage	Fork history
fork_policy	Whether forking is allowed and under what conditions

All metadata is signed, version-controlled, and auditable via the Registry Layer.

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3.1.6 Clause Modularization and Referencing

Clauses can reference other clauses using:

sclCopyEditinclude ICAO::Aviation::[email protected] as fatigue
require: fatigue.status == "PASS"

This enables:

• Clause inheritance

• Policy composition

• Reusable enforcement logic across domains (e.g., credential clauses reused in health, aviation, maritime)

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3.1.7 Clause Constraints vs Clause Computation

SCL is not a general-purpose compute language. It is:

• Constraint-oriented

• Evaluation-based

• Designed to be side-effect-minimal, except for credential actions

This allows formal verification, simulation tracing, and ZK transpilation.

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3.1.8 Clause Signing and Hashing

Each clause includes:

• Canonical text hash (SHA-256 or BLAKE3)

• Clause ID with namespace and version

• Digital signature from authorized issuer or DAO

• Audit trail hook to Registry and Compute Layers

• Optional: ZK-snark-compatible intermediate representation

This ensures identity, immutability, and cross-network discoverability.

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3.1.9 Clause-Compiler Architecture

SCL is:

• Parsed into ASTs (Abstract Syntax Trees) for clause inspection

• Compiled into IRs (Intermediate Representations) for:

  • TEE bytecode runners

  • ZK circuits (e.g., R1CS)

  • DAG-based dependency graphs for audit trails

• Stored in versioned clause registries

• Integrated into simulation runtimes and governance testbeds

All compiler steps are deterministic, testable, and reproducible.

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3.1.10 The Clause DSL as Language of Executable Governance

SCL is the core encoding language of governance in NSF.

It allows policies to become:

• Verifiable

• Composable

• Governed

• Simulatable

• Transparent

• Portable across jurisdictions

Just as Solidity powers Ethereum and Rust powers Polkadot, SCL powers verifiable global governance.

But unlike those languages, SCL encodes rights, policies, and human-mandated safeguards—not just token logic.