04 · CORE

Obligation Objects

STATUS

FINAL

SPEC

NIL-002

VERSION

1.2.0

UPDATED

2026-04-11

Definition

An Obligation Object (Ω) is a protocol representation of an unresolved economic commitment. It is the unit the network routes, holds state on, and ultimately nets.

Ω {
  id: ObligationID
  originDomain: DomainID
  settlementDomain: DomainID
  notional: Decimal
  unit: CurrencyCode
  expiry: Timestamp
  executionClass: P2H | H2H | H2P
  disclosurePolicy: MINIMAL | STANDARD | DISCLOSED
  finalityCondition: WitnessQuorum
  state: ObligationState
}

Immutability

Once compiled, an Obligation Object's economic fields — notional, unit, originDomain, settlementDomain — are immutable. Only state transitions, along the paths defined in 21 · State Transitions. This matters because graph compression (10–12) analyzes obligations at a point in time; a mutable notional would invalidate prior compression results.

Execution Class

P2H (participant to HSC), H2H (HSC to HSC), and H2P (HSC to participant) describe which side of the obligation touches a Human Settlement Cell directly. Most consumer-facing obligations begin as P2H and are satisfied H2P at the destination, with H2H legs forming the interior of the obligation graph.

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Settlement Intents

Settlement Domains