Controlled Item
Objects whose possession, transfer, export or use requires legal authorisation.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
3 bundles · 3 layers · 5 findings · 11 questions
Control classification Why and under which regime the item is controlled.
Control list entry
The control regime, list and entry that apply to the item.
Applicable regime
The item is classified against one or more named control lists.
- Which control regime and list entry apply to the item?
- Who made the classification, and on what date?
- Does the classification differ between the jurisdictions involved?
Holding and authorisation Who may hold the item and on what terms.
Holder and licence
The authorised holder and the licence or permit covering possession.
Authorised holder
Each holder is covered by a valid authorisation for this item.
- Who holds the item now, and under which authorisation?
- Is the authorisation valid for this item, quantity and place today?
Storage conditions
Required secure storage and its inspection status.
- Is the item kept in the storage the authorisation requires?
- When was storage last inspected, and with what result?
Movement and disposal Transfers, exports and the end of control.
Transfers
Every change of holder, place or jurisdiction.
Unbroken chain
Each transfer is recorded with sender, recipient, authorisation and date.
- Is every transfer of the item recorded with both parties and the covering authorisation?
- Was an export or import licence required, and was it obtained?
Loss and disposal
Losses, thefts, deactivation and destruction.
- Has the item been reported lost or stolen?
- Was the item destroyed or deactivated, and is there a certificate?
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- World Models
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- standalone-mm
- Navigation path
- NAV.PHY.OBJ.CON
- Domain
- PHY.OBJ.CON
- Industry
- Cross-industry
- Tags
- controlleditemphy.obj.con
What it is Filled
A controlled item is a physical object whose possession, transfer, export or use is restricted by law and requires authorisation, such as a firearm, a dual-use good, a controlled drug, a precursor chemical or a radioactive source. The subject is the individual item or tracked quantity under control, with its classification on a control list, its authorised holder and its chain of transfers; the licence itself and the general hazard profile of a material are separate subjects.
Why it exists Filled
Objects whose possession, transfer, export or use requires legal authorisation.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Control comes from law, not from the owner: possession and transfer need an authorisation from a public authority.
- Individual items or quantities are tracked through an unbroken chain of holders.
- Distinct from the permit or licence, which is the authorisation rather than the object.
- Distinct from a hazardous material profile, which describes a substance's dangers rather than legal control of an item.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Give technical guidance on making, modifying, acquiring or diverting controlled items.
- Arrange or approve a transfer, export or sale of a controlled item.
- Help evade or circumvent controls, licensing or screening.
- Disclose holder identities or storage locations beyond authorised parties.
- Reclassify an item as uncontrolled on its own judgement.
Only with a human decision
- Granting, refusing or revoking an authorisation.
- Final classification of an item under a control list.
- Responding to a loss, theft or suspected diversion.
May
- Check an item's classification against published control lists.
- Verify that a holder's authorisation is recorded and valid.
- Record transfers, inspections and loss reports in the register.
- Flag transfers that lack a covering authorisation.
Moral aspects Filled
- Diversion of controlled items can lead to violence, addiction, proliferation or contamination.
- Controls must be applied consistently so lawful users are not arbitrarily excluded.
- Registers of holders and storage sites are sensitive and must be protected.
Who is affected
- The public exposed to misuse
- Lawful holders such as clinicians, researchers, exporters and licensed owners
- Licensing and enforcement authorities
- Patients relying on controlled medicines
Owners Filled
Steward
A licensing or export control authority that maintains the register of controlled items and their authorised holders.
Master systems
- National firearms register
- Export licensing system
- Controlled substances register
- Sealed radioactive source register
Links to other meta-models Filled
extends
- wm-obj-001-physical-item-instance - A controlled item is a physical item instance with legal control attached.
requires
- wm-pol-004-permit-authorization - Possession and transfer are covered by permits described there.
related
- wm-pol-026-customs-declaration-clearance - Cross-border movements are declared and cleared there.
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- A controlled item is identified by its serial number or marking where it has one, or by batch and quantity for substances.
- Its control status is identified by the control list entry, such as an export control classification number, and the authorisation number of its holder.
Direct properties required Filled
- Quantity in the unit the applicable control list uses, such as number of items, mass in grams or kilograms, or activity in becquerels.
- Markings and serial numbers as physically present on the item.
- Storage conditions required by the authorisation, recorded as met or not met.
Recognition required Filled
- A controlled item is recognised by its markings, serial number, documentation and classification on a control list.
- Often confused with a similar uncontrolled item, or with a deactivated or exempt item.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Items can be traced through registers from manufacture or import to disposal.
- Transfers can be checked against authorisations before they happen.
- Losses and thefts can be reported and flagged across authorities.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Diversion to unauthorised users.
- Theft or loss from insecure storage.
- Illicit export or transfer across borders.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Control list classifications under the Wassenaar Arrangement and national export control lists.
- Customs declarations with licence references for cross-border movement.
- Marking and record-keeping rules of the applicable firearms, drug or nuclear regulation.
Context of use required Filled
- Applies to manufacturers, distributors, exporters, pharmacies, laboratories and licensed private holders.
- Cross-border movement involves customs and licensing authorities in each jurisdiction.
Sources Filled
- Wassenaar Arrangement List of Dual-Use Goods and Technologies and Munitions List (Wassenaar Arrangement)
- Regulation (EU) 2021/821 setting up a regime for the control of dual-use items (European Union)
- Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 (United Nations)
Open questions
- Planned model: boundary questions, research and every section remain to be written.
Machine files
Provenance
planned (registry candidate) · todo
Built from: models/runtime-index.json, ver-cy/world-models/card-supplements/wm-obj-013-controlled-item.json
Planned entry, hidden from the catalogue until researched.