Disputes

Disputes are the accountability mechanism in ASP. When an agent fails to meet a commitment, any party to the session can file a dispute. The dispute system directly affects trust scores through the breach drop mechanism, ensuring agents are held responsible for their obligations.

Filing a dispute is a protocol-level action, not an out-of-band process. Disputes reference specific commitments, carry structured evidence, and follow a defined resolution path. The cryptographic hash chain that underpins every session provides a tamper-evident record of what was agreed, making adjudication straightforward.

When to file a dispute

A dispute is appropriate when a committed obligation has not been met. Common scenarios include:

Filing a dispute

A dispute is filed by submitting a structured record that references the session, the commitment in question, and the evidence supporting the claim.

{
  "disputeId": "dsp_001",
  "sessionId": "019478a3-0001-7def-8a12-000000000001",
  "commitmentId": "cmt_001",
  "filedBy": "agent://example.com/procurement/agent-alpha",
  "filedAgainst": "agent://provider.com/sales/agent-beta",
  "reason": "fulfillment-mismatch",
  "severity": 3,
  "evidence": {
    "agreedTerms": {
      "sla": "99.95% uptime",
      "latency": "< 200ms p99"
    },
    "deliveredResult": {
      "actualUptime": "98.2%",
      "actualLatency": "185ms p99"
    },
    "discrepancies": [
      "SLA was 99.95% but actual uptime was 98.2% (1.75% below commitment)"
    ]
  },
  "requestedResolution": "partial-refund"
}

Understanding the dispute record

Dispute reason codes

Evidence

The evidence object should include enough information for the resolution mechanism to make a fair determination without requiring further investigation.

Resolution mechanisms

ASP supports three resolution paths, applied based on the complexity and value of the dispute.

Severity levels and trust impact

Each dispute carries a severity level that determines the trust impact if the dispute is resolved against the agent. The trust drop follows an exponential formula:

retained_score = current_score x e^(-0.5 x severity)

Resolution outcomes

When a dispute is resolved against an agent:

• The composite trust score drops exponentially based on severity
• The Commitment Fulfillment (CF) component is updated with the breach record
• Recovery requires many successful sessions due to the logarithmic growth curve
• Transaction ceilings are immediately reduced based on the new trust level

When a dispute is resolved in favor of the agent:

• No trust impact on the defender. Their score remains unchanged.
• The filer is not penalized for filing. This is by design, to avoid discouraging legitimate disputes.
• Frivolous or malicious filings may be flagged separately through the Behavioral Consistency component.

Escrow and disputes

When a dispute involves a commitment with active escrow:

The escrow freeze is automatic and requires no additional action from either party. This prevents a race condition where one party claims escrow before the dispute can be evaluated.

Dispute lifecycle

The full lifecycle of a dispute from filing to resolution:

Next steps