Normative System

• CURIE: gmeow:NormativeSystem
• IRI: https://blackcatinformatics.ca/gmeow/NormativeSystem
• Category: class
• Defined by: gmeow:slices/norms
• Box roles: TBox role (What is this?)

A body of norms with a shared identity — a constitution, a legal code, a code of conduct, a principia document, a rubric set. Member norms attach via gmeow:partOf. A normative system is itself issued (gmeow:systemIssuer), and competing systems coexist without inconsistency: GMEOW records what each prescribes and never adjudicates between them (Principles 1, 9).

Structure

Subclass of: gmeow:SocialObject

Practical Pattern

Use gmeow:NormativeSystem as a specialized kind of gmeow:SocialObject. Add statement metadata or a standpoint when the assertion needs provenance, confidence, or vantage.

Example Snippets

These snippets are generated from canonical slice examples and trimmed to the Turtle blocks where this term appears.

Food Safety Compliance

• Source: slices/extensions/norms/examples/food-safety-compliance.ttl
• Examples catalog: open in catalog#example-slices-extensions-norms-examples-food-safety-compliance

# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026 Blackcat Informatics® Inc. <paudley@blackcatinformatics.ca>
# SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-4.0
#
# Worked example: norms, deontic modality, and compliance . A gmeow:Norm in
# a gmeow:NormativeSystem carries a gmeow:deonticModality — obligation /
# prohibition / permission / recommendation — the deontic stance the rights slice
# applies to assets, here applied to CONDUCT. Whether an event lives up to a norm
# is not a bare boolean: it is a reified gmeow:ComplianceAssessment binding the
# assessed event, the assessed norm, and a gmeow:complianceVerdict (held /
# not-held / undetermined), AS OBSERVED by an assessor with a method — so a
# contested compliance ruling can coexist with another (P9).
@prefix gmeow: <https://blackcatinformatics.ca/gmeow/> .
@prefix ex:    <https://blackcatinformatics.ca/gmeow/examples/norms/> .
@prefix rdfs:  <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
@prefix xsd:   <http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#> .

ex:foodCode a gmeow:NormativeSystem ; rdfs:label "Municipal Food Safety Code"@en .

Common Companion Terms

gmeow:SocialObject

Usage Advice

Use when

• Use for a body of norms with a shared identity — a constitution, legal code, code of conduct, principia document, or rubric set — that is itself issued and orders its own members.

Avoid when

• Avoid using it to adjudicate between competing systems (GMEOW records what each prescribes, never which wins) and avoid using it for a single norm (that is gmeow:Norm).

How to use

• Mint the system, name its issuer with gmeow:systemIssuer, attach member norms with gmeow:partOf, and scope precedence claims within it via gmeow:precedenceScope; competing systems coexist.

Examples

• ex:gdpr a gmeow:NormativeSystem; gmeow:systemIssuer ex:euParliament. ex:n1 gmeow:partOf ex:gdpr.