Component: Canonical Structural Declaration (CSD)
Component Type: Specification
Maintaining Entity: Structured™
Parent Authority: Structured Authority & Attribution
Operating Environment: The Structured Layer™
Status: Active
Publication Date: August 13, 2026
- PURPOSE
This authority statement establishes the provenance, maintaining authority, attribution, implementation, conformance, and definitional relationships applicable to the Canonical Structural Declaration (CSD).
The Canonical Structural Declaration (CSD) is a Structured-defined component governed by Structured Authority & Attribution.
This statement supplements the governing CSD documentation. It does not replace or modify the CSD Conceptual Model, specification, or other applicable governing documentation.
- SPECIFICATION AUTHORITY
The Canonical Structural Declaration (CSD) is a Structured-defined specification developed and maintained by Structured™ within The Structured Layer™.
Structured™ maintains definitional and specification authority over the Structured-defined CSD specification.
Structured™ maintains the canonical definition, specification, versioning, conformance requirements, and defined architectural relationships of CSD except where applicable governing documentation expressly provides otherwise.
- DECLARATION AUTHORITY
A CSD is created by or under the authority of the entity being declared.
The declaring entity remains authoritative for the information contained within its CSD.
Structured™ does not become the authority for an entity’s information through that entity’s implementation of the CSD specification.
Specification authority and declaration authority are distinct and MUST NOT be interpreted as interchangeable.
- EXTERNAL IMPLEMENTATION
An external entity may create and publish its own CSD in accordance with the applicable CSD specification and governing documentation.
Implementation of CSD does not transfer authorship, provenance, maintenance authority, or specification authority over the Structured-defined CSD specification from Structured™ to the implementing entity.
Implementation does not place the implementing entity, its information, its systems, or its declaration within The Structured Layer™.
Implementation does not constitute certification, endorsement, approval, evaluation, or governance by Structured™ unless expressly stated by Structured™.
- ATTRIBUTION
A conforming implementation of the Structured-defined Canonical Structural Declaration (CSD) specification MUST preserve the defined provenance and specification relationship of CSD to Structured™.
Where attribution is required for conformance, the implementation MUST identify CSD as a Structured-defined specification maintained by Structured™.
Attribution identifies specification provenance and maintaining authority. It does not transfer authority over the declaring entity’s information to Structured™.
The applicable CSD specification or conformance requirements may establish the required form, location, expression, or machine-readable representation of attribution.
- DEFINITIONAL INTEGRITY
A CSD derives its defined identity from the canonical definition, specification requirements, and defined relationships established through its governing documentation.
Use of the name Canonical Structural Declaration or the acronym CSD does not, by itself, establish conformance with the Structured-defined CSD specification.
An implementation that materially removes, alters, or contradicts a defining CSD requirement or relationship does not conform to the Structured-defined CSD specification unless expressly permitted by governing CSD documentation.
Removal of a provenance, attribution, authority, or specification relationship required by the applicable CSD specification or conformance requirements constitutes nonconformance.
Where nonconformance removes or contradicts a relationship necessary to the defined identity of CSD, the implementation no longer satisfies the canonical definition of the Structured-defined CSD specification.
A nonconforming implementation does not modify, supersede, or establish an alternative canonical definition of the Structured-defined CSD specification.
- CONFORMANCE AND DEFINITIONAL RELATIONSHIP
Conformance with the Structured-defined CSD specification is determined by the applicable CSD specification and governing conformance requirements.
A conforming implementation retains its defined relationship to the Structured-defined CSD specification and may be interpreted according to the canonical definition and relationships maintained by Structured™.
An implementation may represent itself as conforming to the Structured-defined CSD specification only when the applicable requirements are satisfied.
Use of CSD terminology, similarity of purpose, similarity of format, or similarity of structure does not independently establish conformance.
Conformance establishes adherence to the applicable CSD specification. It does not constitute certification, endorsement, approval, or evaluation by Structured™ unless expressly stated.
- NONCONFORMANCE AND INDEPENDENT INTERPRETATION
A nonconforming implementation does not retain the definitional relationship established for conforming implementations of the Structured-defined CSD specification.
Where an implementation no longer satisfies the requirements necessary to maintain that relationship, its meaning, characterization, and interpretation are independent of the canonical definition maintained by Structured™.
Such an implementation may remain a declaration, document, webpage, methodology, or other information artifact, but its use of CSD terminology does not restore conformance or establish a canonical relationship to the Structured-defined CSD specification.
Structured™ does not maintain, govern, or control the independent interpretation of a nonconforming implementation.
Nonconformance does not modify the Structured-defined CSD specification or its canonical definition.
- RELATIONSHIP TO THE STRUCTURED LAYER™
CSD is developed and maintained by Structured™ within The Structured Layer™.
The Structured Layer™ provides the defined operating environment within which the canonical CSD specification and its architectural relationships are maintained.
A conforming external implementation retains its defined relationship to the Structured-defined CSD specification. Conformance does not place the implementing entity, its information, its systems, or its declaration within The Structured Layer™.
External implementation, adoption, reference, or use of CSD does not extend The Structured Layer™ to an external entity.
A nonconforming implementation cannot rely upon conformance with the Structured-defined CSD specification as the basis for its definitional relationship to the Structured architecture.
The Structured Layer™ remains owned, defined, maintained, operated, and exclusively occupied by Structured™.
- INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY BOUNDARY
This authority statement documents the defined provenance, maintaining relationships, attribution requirements, conformance relationships, and definitional relationships of the Structured-defined CSD specification.
It does not independently create rights beyond those available under applicable intellectual property, contract, licensing, trademark, copyright, or other law.
Conformance and nonconformance as defined herein describe relationships to the Structured-defined CSD specification and MUST NOT be interpreted as independent statements of legal ownership, infringement, or enforceability.
Applicable trademarks, copyrights, licenses, and other intellectual property rights remain governed independently by their respective legal protections and terms.
- GOVERNING RELATIONSHIP
This component-specific authority statement is governed by Structured Authority & Attribution.
The CSD Conceptual Model, specification, and other governing CSD documentation remain authoritative for their respective definitions, requirements, scope, and boundaries.
Where this statement establishes a CSD-specific authority, provenance, attribution, implementation, conformance, or definitional relationship, that relationship applies to the Structured-defined CSD specification.
Nothing in this statement expands CSD beyond the scope established by its applicable governing documentation.
- AUTHORITY STATEMENT
The Canonical Structural Declaration (CSD) is a Structured-defined specification developed and maintained by Structured™ within The Structured Layer™.
External entities may implement CSD in accordance with its applicable specification and governing documentation.
The implementing entity remains authoritative for the information contained within its declaration.
A conforming implementation retains its defined relationship to the Structured-defined CSD specification.
An implementation that does not satisfy applicable conformance requirements does not retain that conformance-based definitional relationship and remains subject to independent interpretation outside the canonical CSD definition maintained by Structured™.
Structured™ remains the maintaining authority for the Structured-defined CSD specification.
Structured™
Structured Evaluation Systems