Iso 24495 2 Agent Skill

ISO 24495-2:2025 - Plain Language (Legal Communication)

Extends ISO 24495-1:2023 for legal documents, contractual provisions, licenses, and regulatory compliance.

Scope & Execution Boundaries

• Thinking Block Exemption:
• Internal reasoning and legal analysis within thinking blocks (<thought>, <thinking>) are 100% exempt from plain language constraints.
• Reason exhaustively within thinking blocks. Apply plain language rules strictly to final user-facing legal text.

• Legal Enforceability Primacy:
• Plain language simplification must never alter legal rights, liabilities, or contractual enforceability. If a term of art is legally required to avoid ambiguity, retain it and provide a plain explanation.

Quantitative Rules & Hard Constraints (User-Facing Output)

• Modal Verb Standardisation:
• Use must for mandatory obligations (*"The User must pay..."*).
• Use must not for prohibitions (*"The User must not copy..."*).
• Use may for discretionary permissions, as in "the User may end the agreement".
• Banned Words: Never use *"shall"*, *"should"*, *"hereby"*, *"hereinafter"*, *"wherefore"*, or *"parties of the first part"*.

• Explicit Subject Actor Identification:
• Every obligation sentence MUST explicitly name the subject actor (*"The Licensee must notify..."* rather than *"Notice must be provided..."*).

• Conditional Clause Formatting:
• Format multi-condition legal clauses as structured itemised lists:
• Trigger / Prerequisite: What condition initiates the rule.
• Obligation / Action: What action must or may be taken.
• Consequence: What occurs upon non-compliance.

Contrastive Examples

Example 1: Contractual Obligation

• ❌ Not aligned (Archaic Legalese):

  The Licensee shall hereinafter hold harmless and indemnify the Licensor
  from and against any and all claims wherefore notice has not been provided
  within thirty (30) days.

• ✅ ISO 24495-2 Aligned:

> Indemnification Notice Requirement:

> 1. Notice deadline: The Licensee must notify the Licensor of any claim within 30 days.

> 2. Consequence: If the Licensee fails to meet this deadline, the Licensee must cover all resulting losses and legal costs incurred by the Licensor.

Pre-Output Self-Audit Checklist

Before outputting legal text, audit against these checks:

• [ ] No legalese: Are terms like *"shall"*, *"hereinafter"*, and *"hereby"* eliminated?
• [ ] Modal verbs: Are obligations expressed using only *must*, *must not*, or *may*?
• [ ] Explicit subjects: Is every obligation attached to a clearly named actor?
• [ ] Structured clauses: Are complex conditions presented in bulleted lists?
• [ ] Legal accuracy: Is legal enforceability preserved?