Glossary

This glossary defines the canonical vocabulary used throughout this book.

Terms are intentionally stable.
Once a term appears in a chapter, its meaning must not drift.

Where terms are related, links are provided.

Institutional Foundations

System

A bounded arrangement of people, processes, and records that produces outcomes.

Why this matters: Institutions fail when their systems produce outcomes no one can justify.
Related: institution, process

Institution

A system that is socially recognised as producing authoritative outcomes over time.

Why this matters: Only institutions can create facts others are expected to respect.
Related: authority, institutional trust

Authority

The recognised power to decide, determine, or constrain outcomes.

Why this matters: Without authority, records are opinions, not commitments.
Related: institutional authority, legitimacy

Institutional Authority

Authority exercised on behalf of an institution, not a person.

Why this matters: Institutions endure only if authority survives personnel changes.
Related: authority, actor with decision-making power

Legitimacy

The accepted right of an institution to exercise authority.

Why this matters: A system can function while legitimacy quietly collapses.
Related: public trust, credibility

Institutional Trust

Trust placed in an institution’s outcomes, processes, and history.

Why this matters: Trust is the real product of institutional systems.
Related: public trust, auditability

Public Trust

Trust held by those subject to an institution’s outcomes.

Why this matters: Public trust, once lost, cannot be patched with software.
Related: institutional trust, public confidence

Public Confidence

The visible expression of public trust at a point in time.

Why this matters: Confidence drops before trust collapses.
Related: public trust, credibility

Credibility

The perceived reliability of an institution’s claims and decisions.

Why this matters: Credibility erodes when decisions cannot be explained.
Related: legitimacy, history

Truth, Records, and Time

Claim

An assertion submitted for institutional consideration.

Why this matters: Everything begins as a claim, not a fact.
Related: evidence, determination

Determination

An authoritative decision that converts a claim into an institutional outcome.

Why this matters: Truth begins at the moment of determination.
Related: fact, registry outcome

Fact

A determination the institution has committed to and will defend.

Why this matters: Facts create obligations, consequences, and reliance.
Related: immutable, history

Registry Outcome

The durable expression of a fact within a registry.

Why this matters: Outcomes are what the world actually interacts with.
Related: fact, institutional memory

Immutable

Not alterable once committed; only superseded by later facts.

Why this matters: Editing history destroys institutional credibility.
Related: history, temporality

History

The complete sequence of determinations over time.

Why this matters: Institutions explain themselves through history.
Related: institutional memory, origin

Institutional Memory

The preserved record of what the institution has decided.

Why this matters: Institutions fail when they forget what they did and why.
Related: history, auditability

Temporality

The ordering of facts in time.

Why this matters: Priority and precedence depend on time.
Related: origin, validity

Origin

The point at which a claim or fact entered the institution.

Why this matters: Origin anchors responsibility and authority.
Related: attribution, temporality

Validity

Whether a fact is currently in force.

Why this matters: Old facts may remain true but no longer apply.
Related: temporality, designation

Subjects and Relationships

Subject of Registration

The thing about which the institution makes determinations.

Why this matters: Institutions cannot act without a clear subject.
Related: participation

Participation

Involvement of a subject or actor in a registry context.

Why this matters: Participation defines who is affected by outcomes.
Related: subject of registration, beneficial ownership

Beneficial Ownership (contextual)

The ultimate natural persons who control or benefit from a subject.

Why this matters: AML regimes depend on piercing formal structures.
Related: participation, scrutiny

Actors and Power

Identity

A recognised representation of an actor.

Why this matters: Institutions act on identities, not people.
Related: actor, personal identity

Personal Identity

An identity tied to a natural person.

Why this matters: Legal responsibility ultimately rests with people.
Related: identity, responsibility

Actor

An entity capable of performing actions within the system.

Why this matters: Every action must have an actor.
Related: role, attribution

Actor with Decision-Making Power

An actor authorised to determine outcomes.

Why this matters: Decision power must be rare and explicit.
Related: institutional authority, role

Role

A bounded set of permissions attached to an actor.

Why this matters: Roles constrain power without personalising authority.
Related: entitled to act

Entitled to Act

Formally permitted to perform a specific action.

Why this matters: Entitlement prevents accidental overreach.
Related: access, assign responsibility

Responsibility and Control

Responsibility

The obligation to answer for an action or outcome.

Why this matters: Institutions collapse when responsibility diffuses.
Related: accountability, anchor responsibility

Assign Responsibility

The act of explicitly attaching responsibility to an actor.

Why this matters: Responsibility must be assigned, not assumed.
Related: chain of responsibility

Anchor Responsibility

Fixing responsibility at a durable point in time.

Why this matters: Anchors prevent retroactive blame shifting.
Related: origin, accountability

Accountability

The ability to demonstrate who was responsible and why.

Why this matters: Accountability sustains legitimacy under scrutiny.
Related: auditability

Chain of Responsibility

The traceable sequence of responsibility across actors.

Why this matters: Chains prevent responsibility gaps.
Related: delegated, attribution

Attribution

The act of linking an action to an actor.

Why this matters: Unattributed actions destroy trust.
Related: auditability, origin

Auditability

The ability to reconstruct actions, decisions, and responsibility.

Why this matters: Auditability is institutional self-defense.
Related: institutional memory, scrutiny

Delegation and Representation

Delegated

Authority exercised on behalf of another.

Why this matters: Delegation enables scale without losing accountability.
Related: anchor authority, chain of responsibility

Anchor Authority

Fixing authority to a recognisable grant.

Why this matters: Anchored authority prevents invisible power.
Related: operating license

Operating License

Formal permission for an institution or actor to operate.

Why this matters: Licenses express legitimacy in enforceable form.
Related: institutional authority

Process and Scrutiny

Process

A defined sequence of actions leading to an outcome.

Why this matters: Process is how institutions avoid arbitrariness.
Related: determination

Evidence

Information supporting a claim, independent of the claimant.

Why this matters: Evidence separates belief from fact.
Related: verification

Verification

Checking evidence against institutional rules.

Why this matters: Verification protects the institution from error.
Related: scrutiny

Scrutiny

External or internal examination of decisions.

Why this matters: Scrutiny preserves legitimacy over time.
Related: auditability

Safeguards

Constraints designed to prevent misuse of authority.

Why this matters: Safeguards limit damage before trust is lost.
Related: restriction

Risk and Intervention

Designation

Marking a subject as requiring special handling.

Why this matters: Risk is managed by designation, not deletion.
Related: restriction

Restriction

Limiting permitted actions.

Why this matters: Restrictions reduce harm without erasing truth.
Related: high-impact action

High-Impact Action

An action with irreversible or severe consequences.

Why this matters: These actions require heightened scrutiny.
Related: consequence

Consequence

The effect of an institutional action.

Why this matters: Institutions exist to produce consequences.
Related: compensate

Dispute

A challenge to a determination.

Why this matters: Dispute is how legitimacy is tested.
Related: arbiter

Arbiter

An authority empowered to resolve disputes.

Why this matters: Arbitration prevents power from becoming absolute.
Related: superseding authority

Compensate

To remedy harm caused by institutional action.

Why this matters: Compensation preserves trust after error.
Related: consequence

Privacy and Boundaries

Data Privacy

Protection of personal information from misuse.

Why this matters: Privacy failures destroy institutional trust.
Related: data classification

Data Classification

Categorising data by sensitivity.

Why this matters: Classification enables proportional access.
Related: access

Data Redaction

Removing sensitive information from view.

Why this matters: Redaction enables transparency without exposure.
Related: data privacy

Trust Boundaries

The limits of institutional responsibility and control.

Why this matters: Boundaries define where authority ends.
Related: access

Access

Permission to view or act.

Why this matters: Access control prevents overreach.
Related: entitled to act

Anonymous

Acting without a persistent identity.

Why this matters: Anonymity must be bounded to preserve accountability.
Related: attribution

Failure Modes

Accidental Overreach

Unintended misuse of authority.

Why this matters: Most institutional harm is accidental.
Related: safeguards

Deliberate Abuse

Intentional misuse of authority.

Why this matters: Institutions must assume bad actors exist.
Related: scrutiny

Informal Influence

Power exercised outside formal structures.

Why this matters: Informal power undermines legitimacy.
Related: shadow decision-making

Shadow Decision-Making

Decisions made without formal record.

Why this matters: Unrecorded decisions destroy institutional memory.
Related: auditability

Treat Systems and Humans Consistently

Applying the same standards of responsibility to both.

Why this matters: Inconsistency erodes trust and accountability.
Related: responsibility, accountability