# Policy Decision Depends on Itself

## Ontology Metadata

Code: ISS-0090
Version: ISS-0090@0.1.0
Ontology release: 0.1.0
Updated: 2026-05-10T00:00:00Z
Canonical URL: /workbench/issues/policy-decision-depends-on-itself/

## Summary

A policy decision requires the outcome of the same policy decision before it can be made.

## Category

- CAT-0130 — Loops & Resolution
  - URL: /workbench/categories/loops-and-resolution/
  - Summary: Problems where agents, workflows, reviews, approvals, policies, schemas, or routing paths loop, wait on themselves, fail to settle, or cannot identify a final state.

## Primary Pattern

- PAT-0250 — Circular Dependency
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/circular-dependency/
  - Summary: A structural condition where two or more elements depend on each other in a closed loop without an independent base condition or declared resolution mechanism.

## Declared Patterns

- PAT-0250 — Circular Dependency
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/circular-dependency/
  - Summary: A structural condition where two or more elements depend on each other in a closed loop without an independent base condition or declared resolution mechanism.
- PAT-0100 — Authority Collision
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/authority-collision/
  - Summary: A structural condition where multiple authorities claim governance over the same region without a declared precedence or resolution rule.
- PAT-0130 — Incomplete Declaration
  - URL: /workbench/patterns/incomplete-declaration/
  - Summary: A structural condition where an element is declared but required attributes, dependencies, or linked definitions are missing.

## Derived Primary Lenses

- LEN-0100 — Absence Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/absence-lens/
  - Summary: Detects structurally required elements that are missing from the observed structure.
- LEN-0110 — Authority Overlay Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/authority-overlay-lens/
  - Summary: Maps declared authority hierarchies onto observed structure to detect absence, override, or conflict.
- LEN-0150 — Conflict Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/conflict-lens/
  - Summary: Detects mutually incompatible constraints, claims, states, or declarations that cannot be simultaneously satisfied.
- LEN-0160 — Constraint Sufficiency Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/constraint-sufficiency-lens/
  - Summary: Evaluates whether declared constraints are sufficient to eliminate structural degrees of freedom.
- LEN-0250 — Propagation Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/propagation-lens/
  - Summary: Traces how structural declarations, effects, or state changes propagate across boundaries or stages.

## Derived Secondary Lenses

- LEN-0200 — Interface Contract Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/interface-contract-lens/
  - Summary: Compares declared interface structure to observed runtime structure to detect contract deviations.
- LEN-0210 — Invariant Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/invariant-lens/
  - Summary: Verifies that declared invariants are structurally enforceable and not contradicted by observed structure.
- LEN-0230 — Normalization Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/normalization-lens/
  - Summary: Transforms structurally equivalent variants into a canonical form to prevent false divergence.
- LEN-0270 — Reconciliation Lens
  - URL: /workbench/lenses/reconciliation-lens/
  - Summary: Evaluates whether structural changes align with declared authority updates, version changes, or reconciliation rules.

## Search Intents

- policy decision depends on itself
- AI policy circular dependency
- policy needs its own decision
- policy rule loops back on itself
- AI cannot decide policy because decision depends on decision
- circular policy decision