Statute Analysis

⚠️ EXPERIMENTAL — This skill is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It does NOT constitute legal advice. All responsibility for usage rests with the user. Consult qualified legal professionals before acting on any output.

Statute Analysis

Production-ready framework for reading, interpreting, and applying statutes, regulations, and rules. Covers the full lifecycle from identifying the legal hierarchy through extracting actionable requirements and mapping implementation obligations.

Table of Contents

• Legal Hierarchy
• Preliminary Steps
• Tools
• Core Interpretation Techniques
• Canons of Construction
• Interpretation Sources
• Requirement Classification
• Cross-Jurisdictional Analysis
• Reference Guides
• Workflows
• Troubleshooting
• Success Criteria
• Scope and Limitations
• Anti-Patterns
• Tool Reference

Legal Hierarchy

Understanding the source hierarchy is the foundation of statutory analysis.

Key principle: Higher sources override lower sources. Regulations cannot exceed statutory authority. Guidance cannot create new obligations not grounded in statute.

Clarify First

Before the analysis, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:

• The exact statute/regulation and its in-force version — analyzing a superseded or repealed version yields wrong obligations; verify currency before extracting anything
• Your role under it — provider vs deployer, controller vs processor — determines which obligations actually bind you and which to extract
• Jurisdiction(s) in scope — needed to flag cross-jurisdictional conflicts and preemption; definitions differ across regimes and must not be cross-pollinated

Stop rule: ask only the 2-3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the analysis.

Preliminary Steps

Before interpreting any statutory provision, complete these checks:

1. Verify currency and status -- Is this the current, in-force version? Check for amendments, repeals, or sunset clauses. Use official sources (government gazettes, EUR-Lex, congress.gov).
2. Understand the regulatory ecosystem -- What regulations, rules, and guidance implement this statute? Map the full hierarchy.
3. Browse the full structure -- Read the table of contents, definitions section, scope provisions, and transitional articles before diving into specific sections.
4. Identify the definitions section -- Almost all statutes define key terms. These definitions override ordinary meaning.
5. Check effective dates -- Different provisions may have different effective dates. Map the compliance timeline.
6. Identify your role -- Statutes impose different obligations depending on the reader's role (e.g., "provider" vs "deployer" in the EU AI Act, "controller" vs "processor" in GDPR).

Tools

Statute Keyword Analyzer

Scans statute text for operative keywords and classifies obligations, permissions, conditions, and exemptions.

# Analyze a statute file
python scripts/statute_keyword_analyzer.py --input statute.txt

# Analyze with JSON output
python scripts/statute_keyword_analyzer.py --input regulation.txt --json

# Analyze inline text
python scripts/statute_keyword_analyzer.py --text "The controller shall implement appropriate technical measures..."

# Save analysis report
python scripts/statute_keyword_analyzer.py --input statute.txt --output analysis.json

Requirement Classifier

Classifies statutory requirements by type, implementation team, enforcement mechanism, and penalty.

# Classify requirements from a JSON list
python scripts/requirement_classifier.py --input requirements.json

# Classify with JSON output
python scripts/requirement_classifier.py --input requirements.json --json

# Classify inline requirement
python scripts/requirement_classifier.py --text "Controllers must provide data subjects with a privacy notice at the point of collection"

# Generate implementation matrix
python scripts/requirement_classifier.py --input requirements.json --output matrix.json

Core Interpretation Techniques

Definitions Analysis

Statutory definitions control meaning. Pay attention to the verb used:

Operative Keywords

Conjunctive vs Disjunctive Analysis

This distinction determines whether ALL conditions must be met or ANY single condition suffices.

Canons of Construction

See references/canons_of_construction.md for the complete 12-canon reference.

Quick Reference

Interpretation Sources

When statutory text is ambiguous, consult sources in this order:

Requirement Classification

Every statutory requirement maps to an implementation category:

Cross-Jurisdictional Analysis

When requirements from multiple jurisdictions apply:

1. Map applicable jurisdictions -- Where are your users, your entity, and your data?
2. Identify overlapping requirements -- Many frameworks share common obligations.
3. Find the highest common denominator -- Design for the strictest requirement that satisfies all jurisdictions.
4. Flag conflicts -- Where requirements genuinely conflict, document the conflict and seek legal advice.
5. Check preemption -- Federal law may preempt state law; EU regulations may preempt member state law.