{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.principal-person","code":"thing-principal-person","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/principal-person/","name":"principal","alternateNames":["apache","absconder","abettor","abetter","accessory","accessary","accessory after the fact","accessory before the fact","accessory during the fact","alien absconder","arsonist","incendiary"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Society, people and institutions","entryKind":"noun.person","plane":"SOC","domain":["SOC.PER"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{"substance":"social","origin":"conceptual","agency":"inert","mobility":"not-applicable","scale":"not-applicable","affordances":["observable"]}},"whatItIs":"In the WordNet criminal-law sense, any person directly involved in committing a criminal offence, as distinct from an accessory, with related terms the registry aliases name such as abettor or abetter, who encourages or assists an offence, accessory or accessary, who helps before or after without being present, and absconder, who flees to avoid arrest or bail, while apache is an old slang term for a Parisian street criminal and appears loosely filed; common law traditionally distinguished principals in the first and second degree and accessories before and after the fact, though many jurisdictions have simplified this. This is general legal information, not advice, and specific matters need a qualified lawyer.","purpose":"Let an agent explain the legal sense of principal and related parties to crime, relay common law distinctions and modern reforms from legal sources, describe the named terms and flag the slang alias, route legal matters to lawyers, and distinguish principals from accessories, accomplices, conspirators and the everyday and financial senses of principal.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Direct involvement","Distinct from accessories","Common law degrees","Often reformed by statute"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What a principal to a crime is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is a principal in criminal law, and how does it differ from accessories, accomplices, conspirators and the everyday and financial senses?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Does someone face a criminal matter, in which case a qualified lawyer should advise?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"terms","name":"Terms","description":"Named terms.","findings":[{"id":"terms-finding","name":"Terms","description":"Terms.","questions":[{"text":"What do abettor, accessory and absconder mean, and why is apache different?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific term?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"commonlaw","name":"Common law","description":"Common law distinctions.","layers":[{"id":"degrees","name":"Degrees","description":"Degrees of principal.","findings":[{"id":"degrees-finding","name":"Degrees","description":"Degrees.","questions":[{"text":"How did common law distinguish principals in the first and second degree?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"accessories","name":"Accessories","description":"Accessories.","findings":[{"id":"accessories-finding","name":"Accessories","description":"Accessories.","questions":[{"text":"How do accessories before and after the fact differ?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"modern","name":"Modern law","description":"Modern reforms.","layers":[{"id":"reform","name":"Reform","description":"Statutory reform.","findings":[{"id":"reform-finding","name":"Reform","description":"Reform.","questions":[{"text":"How have jurisdictions simplified parties to crime?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the information current?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"liability","name":"Liability","description":"Joint liability.","findings":[{"id":"liability-finding","name":"Liability","description":"Liability.","questions":[{"text":"How do accessorial and joint enterprise liability work in general terms?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits joint enterprise?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Other senses.","layers":[{"id":"senses","name":"Senses","description":"Other senses.","findings":[{"id":"senses-finding","name":"Senses","description":"Senses.","questions":[{"text":"How do the everyday and financial senses of principal differ from this one?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits principal (finance)?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"slang","name":"Slang","description":"Apache slang.","findings":[{"id":"slang-finding","name":"Slang","description":"Slang.","questions":[{"text":"What did apache mean as early twentieth-century Parisian slang?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the information accurate?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain the legal distinction between principals and accessories, naming the jurisdiction.","Point people to a qualified lawyer when they ask about a specific case."],"mustNot":["Label a named real person as a principal in an offence without a court finding.","Give advice on avoiding liability for a crime someone is planning or has committed.","Present general information as legal advice on a particular case.","Mix criminal law rules from different jurisdictions without saying so."],"requiresHuman":["Reporting suspected offences or sharing information with authorities about a person."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Accusing someone of a crime without a finding can ruin their reputation and rights.","The line between principal and accessory decides how heavily people are punished."],"affectedParties":["People accused","Victims of crime","Courts and the public"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the concept; criminal courts and legislatures of each jurisdiction define it.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"oewn-09657157-n","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"wrongdoer","type":"related","note":"in WordNet terms"},{"target":"accessory","type":"related"},{"target":"accomplice","type":"related"},{"target":"principal (finance)","type":"related","note":"different sense"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.principal-person","Open English WordNet: oewn-10494535-n","WordNet: oewn-09657157-n hypernym of principal (criminal law)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["common law degrees: first and second degree principals note","accessories: before and after the fact note","WordNet hypernym: wrongdoer note"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Person directly involved in a criminal offence","Apache, absconder, abettor, abetter, accessory, accessary","Accessories assist without committing the act; accomplices help generally; conspirators agree to a plan; the everyday principal is a chief person; the financial principal is a sum","Not a physical object; a legal category applied in criminal cases."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the legal sense","relay common law distinctions","describe named terms","route legal matters"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Giving legal advice","Mixing jurisdictions","Loosely filed slang alias"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Criminal codes and common law on parties to crime","Accessories and Abettors Act 1861 in England and Wales"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Classifying parties to a crime.","principals in the first degree","principals in the second degree","accessories before the fact","accessories after the fact"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-10494535-n","url":"https://en-word.net/id/oewn-10494535-n","note":"sense and gloss of the concept"},{"title":"Wiktionary: principal","url":"https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/principal","note":"word senses and usage"}],"openQuestions":["The registry alias apache should be moved to slang or history entries","Should accessory be a separate entry?","How should jurisdiction differences be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-principal-person/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-principal-person/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-14T01:37:39Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T12:16:28+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: WordNet gloss; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane SOC: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}