1 added, 1 removed. Audit A to A.
---
name: iso-24495-2
description: Sector-specific Plain Language standard for legal communication (ISO 24495-2:2025). Applied during contract drafting, license review, and legal/compliance writing.
metadata:
version: "0.5.0"
iso-standard: "ISO 24495-2:2025"
iso-status: "published"
---
# ISO 24495-2:2025 - Plain Language (Legal Communication)
Extends ISO 24495-1:2023 for legal documents, contractual provisions, licenses, and regulatory compliance.
## Scope & Execution Boundaries
1. **Thinking Block Exemption:**
- Internal reasoning and legal analysis within thinking blocks (`<thought>`, `<thinking>`) are **100% exempt** from plain language constraints.
- Reason exhaustively within thinking blocks. Apply plain language rules strictly to final user-facing legal text.
2. **Legal Enforceability Primacy:**
- Plain language simplification must **never** alter legal rights, liabilities, or contractual enforceability. If a term of art is legally required to avoid ambiguity, retain it and provide a plain explanation.
---
## Quantitative Rules & Hard Constraints (User-Facing Output)
1. **Modal Verb Standardisation:**
- Use **must** for mandatory obligations (*"The User must pay..."*).
- Use **must not** for prohibitions (*"The User must not copy..."*).
- - Use **may** for discretionary permissions (*"The User may terminate..."*).
+ - Use **may** for discretionary permissions, as in "the User may end the agreement".
- **Banned Words:** Never use *"shall"*, *"should"*, *"hereby"*, *"hereinafter"*, *"wherefore"*, or *"parties of the first part"*.
2. **Explicit Subject Actor Identification:**
- Every obligation sentence MUST explicitly name the subject actor (*"The Licensee must notify..."* rather than *"Notice must be provided..."*).
3. **Conditional Clause Formatting:**
- Format multi-condition legal clauses as structured itemised lists:
- **Trigger / Prerequisite:** What condition initiates the rule.
- **Obligation / Action:** What action must or may be taken.
- **Consequence:** What occurs upon non-compliance.
---
## Contrastive Examples
### Example 1: Contractual Obligation
* ❌ **Not aligned (Archaic Legalese):**
```text
The Licensee shall hereinafter hold harmless and indemnify the Licensor
from and against any and all claims wherefore notice has not been provided
within thirty (30) days.
```
* ✅ **ISO 24495-2 Aligned:**
> **Indemnification Notice Requirement:**
> 1. **Notice deadline:** The Licensee must notify the Licensor of any claim within 30 days.
> 2. **Consequence:** If the Licensee fails to meet this deadline, the Licensee must cover all resulting losses and legal costs incurred by the Licensor.
---
## Pre-Output Self-Audit Checklist
Before outputting legal text, audit against these checks:
- [ ] **No legalese:** Are terms like *"shall"*, *"hereinafter"*, and *"hereby"* eliminated?
- [ ] **Modal verbs:** Are obligations expressed using only *must*, *must not*, or *may*?
- [ ] **Explicit subjects:** Is every obligation attached to a clearly named actor?
- [ ] **Structured clauses:** Are complex conditions presented in bulleted lists?
- [ ] **Legal accuracy:** Is legal enforceability preserved?