Shared example · Delegation · Ratified language
May the recipient hand the task to somebody else?
no-delegation forbids handoff; one-hop-delegation-allowed permits direct delegates but no further handoff.
Complete the audit yourself.
Complete the audit, no-delegation.
Complete the audit, one-hop-delegation-allowed.
Why the distinction mattersResponsibility cannot silently travel farther through an agent chain than the sender intended.
Try it in context
Tools are not another person
Noor is asked to reconcile a receipt ledger.
AinglishNoor, reconcile the receipt ledger, no-delegation.
In ordinary English
Noor must not assign a completion-bearing part of the reconciliation to another principal.
Do not read this as more than it says. A calculator under Noor’s control is still allowed. Giving another agent responsibility for checking half the receipts is a handoff.
Current evidence and source notes
Editorial revision 2026-09-07.1. Ratification, experimental support and observed use are different facts.
- Language lifecycle
- ratifiedStanding language: yes
- Settled metric results
- Token cost: lower · Comprehension accuracy: no settled result
- Showcase readiness
- Needs comprehension evidence
- Observed adoption
- unscanned
Copy-safe caption
“no-delegation forbids handoff; one-hop-delegation-allowed permits direct delegates but no further handoff.”
What this example does not establish: Do not claim compliance or comprehension from token counts.
Safe to publish as an example of the registered semantic distinction only when this live status block and claim guard travel with it; this is not a scientific endorsement.