# SHANT

Creates a prohibition preventing a party from performing an action. The party is forbidden from acting.

## Syntax

```l4
PARTY partyName SHANT action
PARTY partyName SHANT action WITHIN deadline
```

## Purpose

SHANT expresses a legal prohibition - something a party must NOT do. If the party performs the forbidden action, breach occurs.

## Examples

**Example file:** 

```l4-file
-- SHANT Keyword Examples - Legal Prohibitions
--
-- The SHANT keyword (and its alternative MUST NOT) expresses legal prohibitions
-- - actions that a party is forbidden from performing.
--
-- Key Concepts:
--   • SHANT means "shall not" - a party must refrain from an action
--   • If the prohibited action occurs, it results in BREACH
--   • SHANT and MUST NOT are equivalent - use whichever reads more naturally
--   • Prohibitions are maintained by NOT performing the forbidden action
--
-- Common Legal Uses:
--   • Non-disclosure agreements (protecting confidential information)
--   • Non-compete clauses (restricting competitive activities)
--   • Lease restrictions (limiting tenant actions)
--   • Loan covenants (preventing risky borrower behavior)
--
-- This file demonstrates typical prohibition patterns found in:
--   • Employment contracts
--   • Lease agreements  
--   • Loan agreements
--   • Commercial contracts
--

-- Type Declarations

DECLARE `Legal Party` IS ONE OF
  `The Employee`
  `The Employer`
  `The Tenant`
  `The Landlord`
  `The Borrower`
  `The Lender`

DECLARE `Prohibited Action` IS ONE OF
  `disclose confidential information`
  `compete with employer` HAS `competing business` IS A STRING
  `sublease the premises`
  `make alterations` HAS `alteration type` IS A STRING
  `incur additional debt` HAS `debt amount` IS A NUMBER
  `dispose of collateral`
  `pay penalty` HAS `penalty amount` IS A NUMBER

-- Basic Prohibition - Non-Disclosure Agreement

-- A simple prohibition with a time period
`confidentiality obligation` MEANS
  PARTY `The Employee`
  SHANT `disclose confidential information`
  WITHIN 1825  -- 5 years in days

-- Prohibition with MUST NOT (Alternative Syntax)

-- MUST NOT and SHANT are equivalent ways to express prohibition
`non-compete clause` MEANS
  PARTY `The Employee`
  MUST NOT `compete with employer` "software development"
  WITHIN 730  -- 2 years in days

-- Prohibition with Breach Consequence

-- If the prohibition is violated, an explicit breach is declared
`no subleasing` MEANS
  PARTY `The Tenant`
  SHANT `sublease the premises`
  WITHIN 365
  LEST BREACH BY `The Tenant` BECAUSE "violated lease agreement section 8"

-- Conditional Prohibition

-- Prohibition applies only when a condition is met
`structural alteration prohibition` MEANS
  PARTY `The Tenant`
  SHANT `make alterations` `alt type` PROVIDED
    `alt type` EQUALS "structural" OR `alt type` EQUALS "load-bearing"
  WITHIN 365
  LEST BREACH BY `The Tenant` BECAUSE "made unauthorized structural changes"

-- Prohibition with Financial Threshold

-- Common in loan agreements - borrower cannot take on significant new debt
`debt restriction` MEANS
  PARTY `The Borrower`
  SHANT `incur additional debt` `new debt` PROVIDED `new debt` GREATER THAN 50000
  WITHIN 1095  -- 3 years
  LEST BREACH BY `The Borrower` BECAUSE "exceeded debt covenant limit"

-- Prohibition with Financial Penalty

-- If prohibition is violated, a financial penalty must be paid
`collateral protection` MEANS
  PARTY `The Borrower`
  SHANT `dispose of collateral`
  WITHIN 1095
  LEST
    PARTY `The Borrower`
    MUST `pay penalty` 10000
    WITHIN 30
    LEST BREACH BY `The Borrower` BECAUSE "failed to pay penalty for collateral disposal"

-- Testing Prohibitions

-- Test 1: Prohibition complied with (no action taken - this is success)
#TRACE `confidentiality obligation` AT 0 WITH

-- Test 2: Prohibition violated (action taken - this should result in breach)
#TRACE `confidentiality obligation` AT 0 WITH
  PARTY `The Employee` DOES `disclose confidential information` AT 100

-- Test 3: Conditional prohibition not violated (condition not met)
#TRACE `structural alteration prohibition` AT 0 WITH
  PARTY `The Tenant` DOES `make alterations` "cosmetic" AT 50

-- Test 4: Conditional prohibition violated (condition met)
#TRACE `structural alteration prohibition` AT 0 WITH
  PARTY `The Tenant` DOES `make alterations` "structural" AT 50

-- Test 5: Financial prohibition within threshold (allowed)
#TRACE `debt restriction` AT 0 WITH
  PARTY `The Borrower` DOES `incur additional debt` 40000 AT 100

-- Test 6: Financial prohibition exceeded (breach)
#TRACE `debt restriction` AT 0 WITH
  PARTY `The Borrower` DOES `incur additional debt` 75000 AT 100
```



### Basic Prohibition

```l4
DECLARE Person IS ONE OF Alice, Bob
DECLARE Action IS ONE OF smoke, drink, gamble

noSmoking MEANS
  PARTY Alice
  SHANT smoke
  WITHIN 30
```

### Prohibition with Consequence

```l4
noDrinkingRule MEANS
  PARTY Bob
  SHANT drink
  WITHIN 30
  LEST BREACH BY Bob BECAUSE "violated policy"
```

### Conditional Prohibition

```l4
limitedGambling MEANS
  PARTY Alice
  SHANT gamble amt PROVIDED amt > 100
  WITHIN 30
```

## Prohibition Semantics

- Prohibition is **maintained** when the party does NOT perform the action
- Prohibition is **breached** when the party performs the forbidden action
- LEST consequences trigger on breach

## Related Keywords

- **[PARTY](/l4/reference/regulative/PARTY.md)** - Identifies who has the prohibition
- **[MUST](/l4/reference/regulative/MUST.md)** - Obligation (required action)
- **[MAY](/l4/reference/regulative/MAY.md)** - Permission (optional action)
- **[REGULATIVE](/l4/reference/regulative.md)** - Full regulative rule reference