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"A Calculus for Access Control in Distributed Systems"
M. Abadi, M. Burrows, B. Lampson, G. Plotkin
March 4, 1991.  52 pages

Authors' abstract

  We study some of the concepts, protocols, and algorithms for access
 control in distributed systems, from a logical perspective.  We account
 for how a principal may come to believe that another principal is
 making a request, either on his own or on someone else's behalf.  We
 also provide a logical language for access control lists, and theories
 for deciding whether requests should be granted.