consideration
Enable an agent to explain contractual consideration, identify the exchange alleged to support a promise, and distinguish jurisdiction-dependent requirements from other questions of contractual enforceability.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 15 findings · 25 questions
Matter and process sense Identifies the intended meaning of consideration and the matter receiving examination.
Meaning in context
Records the interpretation adopted for this instance and the evidence supporting it.
Adopted process interpretation
Record whether consideration denotes weighing a matter, attending to a concern or an unresolved use, with attribution rather than a presumed universal definition.
- What does the speaker or governing practice mean by 'consideration' here? definition
- What contextual evidence distinguishes this activity from a contractual exchange or an individual reason? boundary
Framing the matter
Defines the question or concern under examination and the response it could inform.
Examination target
Record the matter as presented, any reframing and the limits of the examination.
- Which specific proposal, possibility or concern is being considered? definition
- Would resolving the framed question address the original concern, or has the examination shifted to another matter? boundary
Participants and regard Records who examines the matter and whose concerns receive attention.
Responsibility for examination
Identifies who undertakes consideration and how contributions are combined.
Examiner and contributor roles
Separate responsibility for examining the matter from providing evidence, advising and holding decision authority.
- Who is actually examining the matter, and who has only submitted material for consideration? provenance
- How may participants challenge an account that attributes a shared assessment to them? action
Attention to affected interests
Makes visible which affected interests enter the examination and through whose account.
Represented and omitted concerns
Record affected parties' stated concerns separately from concerns inferred on their behalf, including known omissions.
- Whose concerns were expressed directly, and whose were interpreted by someone else? provenance
- Which potentially affected interests have not yet received examination? boundary
Reasons and weighing Captures the substantive material examined and how it bears on the matter.
Relevance of inputs
Relates evidence, concerns and assumptions to the question under examination.
Reasons admitted or set aside
Record why a factor bears on the matter, its supporting material and any reason for excluding it.
- How does each admitted reason bear on the matter being considered? definition
- Which reasons were set aside, by whom, and on what basis? provenance
Comparison and conflict
Records how competing reasons or possibilities are examined without requiring numerical scoring.
Weighting and counterarguments
Capture stated priorities, objections and unresolved conflicts, including disagreements over whether factors can be compared.
- What makes one reason more compelling than another for each participant? definition
- Which counterargument or alternative could change the provisional assessment? action
Depth and sufficiency Assesses what examination is demonstrated and whether further consideration is warranted.
Evidence of examination
Distinguishes claimed consideration from observable engagement with the matter.
Demonstrated engagement
Record available indicators such as addressed objections, compared possibilities or revised assessments, while leaving unobserved mental activity uncertain.
- What evidence shows engagement with the substance beyond receipt, acknowledgment or repetition? measurement
- Which parts of the claimed examination are documented, self-reported or unknown? provenance
Proportionate examination
Relates examination requirements to consequences, uncertainty and available resources.
Sufficiency and stopping conditions
Record the locally justified requirements for sufficient consideration and the gaps that remain when examination stops.
- What examination is required before concluding consideration in this context, and who sets that requirement? provenance
- Would further examination plausibly change the assessment enough to justify its time or cost? action
Disposition and reconsideration Connects the course of consideration to its provisional result and possible reopening.
Course and result
Tracks whether examination is active, interrupted or concluded and what follows from it.
Consideration status and disposition
Record the current state, resulting assessment and any handoff for decision without treating examination as approval.
- Has substantive consideration begun, paused or concluded, and what supports that status? measurement
- Does the result support further inquiry, a recommendation, deferral or referral to someone with decision authority? action
Grounds for reopening
Identifies changes that would make the previous examination insufficient or outdated.
Reconsideration triggers
Record new evidence, overlooked concerns, changed circumstances or challenged assumptions that warrant renewed examination.
- Which changes would undermine the basis on which consideration was concluded? boundary
- Who should reopen the matter when a trigger occurs, and which parts require fresh examination? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of consideration this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of consideration this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of consideration this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of consideration this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of consideration this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Activities and processes
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- ACT
- Domain
- ACT.ACT
- Other names and narrower kinds
- self-insured retention, consideration in English law, rent, out-of-pocket costs, consideration under American law, peppercorn
What it is Filled
Consideration is something of legal value given or promised in exchange for a contractual promise, such as an act, forbearance or return promise, whose role in enforceability depends on the applicable jurisdiction and contract type.
In scope
- The promise and the act, forbearance or return promise alleged to constitute consideration are within scope.
- The parties providing and receiving consideration and their contractual relationships are within scope.
- The distinction between legal sufficiency and economic adequacy is within scope.
- Jurisdiction-dependent treatment of past acts, existing duties and contract variations is within scope.
- The role of consideration in enforceability and applicable exceptions to its requirement is within scope.
Out of scope
- Consideration as ordinary deliberation or examination of reasons is outside scope.
- Considerateness as a disposition toward other people is outside scope.
- A consideration understood solely as an individual reason or factor is outside scope.
- Other requirements for contractual validity are outside scope except where needed to distinguish them from consideration.
- Performance and enforcement of contracts are outside scope except where they concern consideration.
Why it exists Filled
Enable an agent to explain contractual consideration, identify the exchange alleged to support a promise, and distinguish jurisdiction-dependent requirements from other questions of contractual enforceability.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Consideration concerns legal value exchanged for a promise rather than the attention given to a decision.
- An act, forbearance or return promise may constitute consideration under the applicable law.
- Legal sufficiency does not necessarily require economic equivalence between the parties' exchanges.
- A gratuitous promise may lack consideration even when it is deliberate and sincerely intended.
- The requirement for consideration and the treatment of exceptions vary by jurisdiction and contract type.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Substitute ordinary deliberation for contractual consideration in legal analysis.
- Present one jurisdiction's consideration doctrine as universally applicable.
- Treat consideration alone as proof that a contract is enforceable.
- Assume that consideration must be money or economically equivalent value.
Only with a human decision
- Applying consideration doctrine to a disputed contract or a decision affecting legal rights.
May
- Explain contractual consideration with attribution to the applicable jurisdiction and sources.
- Identify the exchange alleged to support a promise and state uncertainties in the available facts.
Moral aspects Filled
- Incorrect consideration analysis can mislead people about contractual rights and obligations.
- Legally sufficient consideration does not by itself establish that a bargain is fair or free from exploitation.
Who is affected
- Contracting parties may be affected by consideration assessments.
- People whose rights depend on a contract may be affected.
Owners Filled
Steward
No one owns the legal concept; relevant legal authorities determine its application within their jurisdictions.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q1498273 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.consideration
- Wikidata: Q1344851 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1344851)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Matter under consideration: Identified question, proposal, option, claim, concern or anticipated action
- Interpretive sense: Deliberative examination; attentive regard; ambiguous process use; outside adopted scope
- Consideration status: Requested; queued; underway; paused; provisionally concluded; reopened; abandoned
- Examining participants: People, groups or agents examining the matter, with their roles
- Consideration criteria: Explicit or reconstructed criteria, with attribution and any stated priority
- Demonstrated coverage: Unassessed; specific factors examined; agreed examination requirements met; known omissions remain
- Time spent examining: Minutes or hours, distinguishing active examination from elapsed waiting time
- Resulting disposition: No position; seek information; retain possibilities; recommend; defer; dismiss; refer for decision
Plane ACT: no invented physical properties.
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Legal consideration is an abstract legal relationship that cannot be identified by visual appearance alone.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Frame a matter for consideration and clarify the response it may inform.
- Elicit relevant reasons, alternatives and affected interests.
- Compare how participants weigh the same matter and locate disagreements.
- Identify omitted concerns, unsupported assumptions and information that could change the assessment.
- Pause, deepen, conclude or reopen examination using explicit conditions.
- Produce an account of what was considered and refer the result to the appropriate decision maker.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Confusing legal consideration with ordinary deliberation can produce an analysis of the wrong concept.
- Applying one jurisdiction's consideration doctrine universally can misstate contractual rights and obligations.
- Assuming that consideration must be money or economically equivalent value can lead to incorrect enforceability assessments.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- The Indian Contract Act, 1872, enacted by the Imperial Legislative Council, defines consideration in section 2(d) and addresses agreements without consideration in section 25.
Context of use required Filled
- In contract law, consideration concerns the value exchanged through promises, acts or forbearance in legal systems that use this doctrine.
- It is examined when assessing contractual enforceability or variations, with requirements and exceptions depending on the jurisdiction.
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q1344851: consideration - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Consideration - general description of the item
Open questions
- Does the registry intend deliberative examination, attentive regard for others, contractual consideration or another sense, and what source establishes that intention?
- Which reference works or schools distinguish consideration from deliberation, reflection and attention, and where do their definitions disagree?
- What minimum engagement counts as consideration in ordinary, organisational and automated settings, especially when examination is brief or unrecorded?
- Which operational measures can assess substantive consideration without mistaking duration, documentation volume or stated intent for quality?
- Should attentive regard and evaluative weighing remain within this entry's scope, and how does the surrounding registry allocate their neighbouring concepts?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q1344851/spec.json