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rules/README.md

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+# Rules
+
+The ABC Pattern is defined and enforced through two complementary rule families:
+
+* [Normative Rules](normative.md)
+* [Validation Rules](validation.md)
+
+Together, these rule sets establish the semantic, structural, and mechanical
+guarantees that make ABC architectures predictable, verifiable, and safe for
+automated reasoning and transformation.
+
+Although closely related, the two rule families serve distinct purposes:
+
+**Normative Rules** define the semantic contract of the ABC Pattern. They
+specify what MUST, SHOULD, or MAY be true in any ABC‑compliant architecture,
+independent of implementation language, cloud provider, or IaC tool.
+
+**Validation Rules** define the mechanical checks required to verify that an ABC
+architecture conforms to the Normative Rules and the ABC Schema. Where Normative
+Rules describe what must be true, Validation Rules describe how to detect
+violations.