Constraint-Preserving Translation: A Formal Principle for Public-Safe System Specification

This note introduces Constraint-Preserving Translation (CPT), a formal principle describing how complex or proprietary systems may be translated into public-facing or reviewable specifications without loss of safety, stability, or identity guarantees. CPT characterises when a translation preserves governing constraints while allowing internal mechanisms to be abstracted, omitted, or withheld. The principle explains how law-level guarantees may survive simplification and disclosure, and why mature governed systems can be made legible without becoming unsafe. CPT is applicable to governed adaptive systems, safety-critical architectures, and long-horizon system design.