SPECIAL NOTE:
The reader will only be able to understand the purpose and meaning of this annotation and its relationship to the Natural Social Contract (NSC), if s/he has first read the Introduction section of the NSC and its explanatory and elucidating annotation.
1) For the reasons described in detail in the Annotation on Restitution, it cannot be stressed enough that the manner most supportive of the Social Meta-Needs by which to settle a situation where one person accidentally (whether negligently or totally innocently) Harms another is for the Guilty Freeman to willingly and even unrequestedly admit such Guilt and to Complete Restitution as quickly as possible. However if this cannot be achieved, then a Freeman-A ceases any informal Process of InterAction with Freeman-B, and, by the formal Case Process of becoming a Plaintiff and Charging Freeman-B, Freeman-A Breaks hir Equity Relationship with Freeman-B, who Freeman-A thinks and now Alleges has committed a Violation against hir. The Case Process is begun for the same reason that Freeman-A was persuing the previously informal InterAction, namely, in order to restore hir original Value of Lifetime Happiness as simply and quickly as possible, to have hir thoughts about the Violation Event validated by other Freemen, to convince the Alleged Violator (Freeman-B) to agree that s/he Performed a Violation (in order to expedite Restitution), possibly to have the Freeman Status of the Violator Revoked and to have all details of the Case Published for the scrutiny and appropriate Social Preferencing of all Freemen (ie. to Settle the Dispute). This Publication of the Case Proceedings has been made a defined part of the Case Process itself because communication between the Disputants and other Freemen is necessary in order to Settle the Case according to the methods of the NSC. The Restitution Request of the Plaintiff must be kept updated from the start of the Case until the Trial Determination in order to keep the Defendant informed and to help the Mediation Process to reach Settlement prior to the Determination. While the status of the Plaintiff and Defendant appear quite symmetrical, there are major differences when it comes to the Processes which occur after this State of Connection Attributes is Initialized by the Plaintiff. For details see the definition of Case Process and the NSC section Stipulations Regarding Settlement of Disputes.
2) Charges must be made clear and Public so that any Freemen who have or may wish to have an InterAction with either Plaintiff or Defendant will know of the Dispute and can scrutinize as much of its details as is pertinent to hir purpose, just as s/he might examine any other Information about the Personal Social Characteristics of a Freeman with whom s/he InterActs or is contemplating doing so. The Publication of Charges informs other Freeman of the Alleged Violation and enables them to add their own Restitution Requests for any Harm they may have suffered from the Violation to that of the Plaintiff. Publication also informs witnesses of the Dispute and facilitates their appearance. The Requirement for Publication of Charges and their dispositions, including their increasing detail with respect to the different stages of the Case Process is also intended to provide appropriate incentives and disincentives to Disputants to Settle their Dispute earlier rather than later and with less acrimony rather than more. See the Annotation on Restitution for more about why early Settlement is Beneficial to all.
