AF-XRAY: Visual Explanation and Resolution of Ambiguity in Legal Argumentation Frameworks
- Yilin Xia,
- Heng Zheng,
- ,
- Bertram Ludäscher(corresponding author)
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign,
- University of Kentucky,
Open access
Abstract
Argumentation frameworks (AFs) provide formal approaches for legal reasoning, but identifying sources of ambiguity and explaining argument acceptance remains challenging for non-experts. We present AF-XRAY, an open-source toolkit for exploring, analyzing, and visualizing abstract AFs in legal reasoning. AF-XRAY introduces: (i) layered visualizations based on game-theoretic argument length revealing well-founded derivation structures; (ii) classification of attack edges by semantic roles (primary, secondary, blunders); (iii) overlay visualizations of alternative 2-valued solutions on ambiguous 3-valued grounded semantics; and (iv) identification of critical attack sets whose suspension resolves undecided arguments. Through systematic generation of critical attack sets, AF-XRAY transforms ambiguous scenarios into grounded solutions, enabling users to pinpoint specific causes of ambiguity and explore alternative resolutions. We use real-world legal cases (e.g., Wild Animals as modeled by Bench-Capon) to show that our tool supports teleological legal reasoning by revealing how different assumptions lead to different justified conclusions.
Bibliographic Information
Output type
Original language
EnglishPages from-to (Number of pages)
Pages 495-497 (3 pages)Publication milestones
- Published - 13/01/2026
Publication status
Publisher
Association for Computing Machinery, IncPublication series
- Publication series name: 20th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law, ICAIL 2025 - Proceedings of the Conference
ISBN (Electronic)
9798400719394Publication IDs
- Scopus: 105028625522
Host publication title
20th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Law, ICAIL 2025 - Proceedings of the ConferenceHost publication editors
- Juliano Maranhao
