2L 2NDLAW epistemic governance for LLMs

Runtime

The 2ndlaw Runtime

The 2ndlaw runtime is a governed inference engine. Every call to 2ndlaw executes a single-pass, non-agentic inference step under a proprietary runtime contract that enforces admissibility, sufficiency states, and evidence-bound behavior. This contract is never distributed, embedded, or exposed. All governance logic runs exclusively inside 2ndlaw infrastructure.

What you interact with is the surface: the request payload you send and the governed outputs you receive. The runtime contract itself remains a server-side execution layer — a compiled governance core, not a prompt, library, or specification shipped to customers.

What the runtime is

The runtime is a versioned governed inference core. It wraps existing foundation models with:

  • strict evidence classes and admissibility rules,
  • single-pass, non-agentic inference,
  • exclusive sufficiency states,
  • structured outputs (answer, data-request, or void).

It governs inference. It does not orchestrate workflows, call tools, or maintain state between calls.

What the runtime is not

  • It is not a prompt pack.
  • It is not a library you embed.
  • It is not shipped as code or a specification.
  • It is not a model, agent, or planner.

The runtime contract does not leave the boundary of 2ndlaw infrastructure. Only the governed I/O surface is exposed.

How a governed call works

  1. You send a task payload (raw text plus optional evidence).
  2. The 2ndlaw runtime ingests the payload and attaches internal provenance and structure needed for governance.
  3. 2ndlaw injects the runtime contract (server-side only).
  4. The governed inference is executed in a single pass.
  5. You receive one of three outputs:
    • a governed answer,
    • a structured data-request, or
    • a structural void explanation.

The runtime contract governs each call independently. It does not persist between calls, and it is never part of your conversation history or prompt text.

Versioning & visibility

Each governed call declares the runtime version used (for example, 2NDLAW_v1.4) so results can be compared across baselines or across future versions.

The contract’s behavior is versioned and visible through its outputs. The contract’s text and logic remain internal to 2ndlaw.