Norm specification and verification in multi-agent systems

This article presents a high-level overview of the literature on norms and their uses in multi-agent systems. We distinguish the main types of norms used in multi-agent systems, and the ways in which the behaviour of a system can be modified through the enforcement of norms. We first review the formal approaches used to study norms and norm enforcement mechanisms. We then explain the syntax and semantics of the key specification languages used to represent norms, and briefly survey some programming frameworks that support the implementation of normative multi-agent systems. Finally, we briefly review the key research questions and techniques in the important area of norm verification.