American Bar Association Resolution 604

How RBC operationalizes enforceable governance at action-time, where liability attaches to executed outcome, not intent.
The ABA highlights legal exposure from uncontrolled autonomy; institutions are forcing governance to act in real time.

Why this matters now (institutional forcing function)

Regulators, boards, and insurers are forcing governance to action-time; as AI systems transition from advisory to autonomous, liability shifts from decision support to executed outcome—governance must therefore operate at execution.

The five principles

RBC alignment to ABA’s principles:

  • Human oversight

  • Accountability

  • Transparency

  • Traceability

  • Risk Mitigation.

RBC is not principles-only guidance. It is execution-bound infrastructure: it intercepts actions before effects occur, requires single-use warrants to execute, fails closed when authority is invalid, and records authority events deterministically—giving institutions a concrete enforcement and evidence layer.

“Courtroom questions”

  • When an agent acted, can you prove its authority was bounded at that exact moment?

  • What prevented scope creep from becoming an executed outcome?

  • What evidence exists before the effect occurred (not after)?

Credibility

RBC is a recognized Working Group within the American Bar Association.