AuthorityFrom

AuthorityFrom is a term used in information governance and ontology design to denote the source of authority behind a claim, rule, or decision. It is typically modeled as a binary relation or property in a data schema, linking an assertion to its originating authoritative source.

In knowledge graphs and data models, authorityFrom captures provenance and legitimacy. It connects an item such as a policy statement, decision, or guideline to an authority node—such as a statute, regulatory body, standard, or official publication. AuthorityFrom is distinct from authorship or responsibility; it indicates where the authority for the assertion is derived, rather than who created it or who enforces it.

Applications include legal tech, standards management, data curation, and AI explainability. By exposing the source of authority, authorityFrom aids auditing, compliance checks, and trust assessment. Example: a data policy assertion might have authorityFrom pointing to GDPR as the governing regulation, or to a national privacy act.

Implementation considerations: use a controlled vocabulary for authorities, support temporal qualifiers (when the authority was valid), and enable authority resolution for disambiguation. Provide interoperability with provenance frameworks (for example, PROV) and with existing metadata schemas. It is important to handle disputed or superseded authorities and to version authorities as rules evolve.

Limitations: authorityFrom is a modeling convention rather than a universally standardized field; it requires careful governance to avoid ambiguity and to maintain consistency across systems. Related concepts include provenance, attribution, citation, and trust reporting.