Legal Compliance and the Open Texture of Law

Card Grid View — Paper by Lanamäki, Viljanen et al. (2025)

1. Open Texture of Law

What is Open Texture of Law?
Legal language has inherent vagueness and ambiguity
Introduced by legal philosopher H.L.A. Hart
Not a flaw — it is intrinsic and valuable
Allows law to adapt to new situations
Why it matters for AI
EU AI Act definitions (e.g., "AI system") are open-textured
Compliance cannot be a simple binary check
Requires ongoing interpretation

2. Three Main Features

1. Core-Penumbra Continuum
Clear cases (core) vs borderline cases (penumbra)
Boundary between certain and uncertain interpretation
2. Multi-Interpretability
Same legal text can be read differently by different actors
No single "correct" interpretation
3. Temporal Instability
Law changes over time as society and tech evolve
Driven by: legal institutions, tech change, societal norms

3. Closure-Seeking

What is Closure-Seeking?
Organizations try to get clear answers about legal rules
Attempt to resolve ambiguity and uncertainty
Three elements
Need for certainty about what law requires
Efforts to obtain authoritative interpretation
Establishing stable compliance practices
Challenges
EU AI Act: hard to get fast, clear answers
Ultimate arbiter is the Court of Justice of the EU

4. Compliance Strategies

5 Strategies for Legal Uncertainty
Cautious: assume strictest interpretation
Business-as-usual: proceed with current practices
Wait-and-see: delay action until clarity emerges
Proactive: engage regulators, seek early guidance
Strategic: use uncertainty to test boundaries
Why compliance is not one-time
Open texture means rules evolve
Organizations must treat compliance as continuous

5. Legal Compliance Challenges

Why is compliance difficult?
Open texture means law is never fully settled
AI Act definitions are vague by design
Different national authorities may interpret differently
Technology changes faster than law
Consequences
Companies cannot get definitive answers quickly
Risk of non-compliance despite good-faith efforts
Need for continuous monitoring and adaptation

6. AI Act & Open Texture in Practice

Article 3(1) example
Definition of "AI system" is open-textured
Illustrates core-penumbra continuum
Why Article 3(1) matters
Simple calculator is NOT an AI system (core clear case)
Advanced ML systems clearly ARE (core clear case)
Many systems fall in the penumbra (unclear)
Risk-based approach
EU AI Act uses risk categories (unacceptable, high, limited, minimal)
Open texture affects classification

7. Organizational Responses

How organizations handle open texture
Engage external legal experts
Follow industry standards and best practices
Participate in regulatory sandboxes
Document reasoning for compliance decisions
Key message
Legal compliance is a continuous process, not a checkbox
Open texture has value: it allows flexibility and evolution
Organizations must build capability for ongoing interpretation