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

1. 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.

2. 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.

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Quantitative Rules & Hard Constraints (User-Facing Output)

1. 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".

2. Explicit Subject Actor Identification:

   • Every obligation sentence MUST explicitly name the subject actor ("The Licensee must notify..." rather than "Notice must be provided...").

3. 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.

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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.

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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?