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XTSE0165 is defined as follows: [ERR XTSE0165] It is a static error if the processor is not able to retrieve the resource identified by the URI reference, or if the resource that is retrieved does not contain a stylesheet module conforming to this specification. However, what does it mean by "conforming to this specification"? If the resource is a valid XML file is that conforming? What if it has static errors? What about a module with type errors? What if it contains dynamic errors that can be detected statically? The term does not seem to be defined (except for XSLT processors, of which an XSLT module certainly isn't). I assume the intent was that a resource is conforming if it was a valid XML document and it contains no static errors, otherwise wouldn't the specification say "conforming to the XML specification"? In this case the expected error code for XSLTS tests impinclerr20_008_01 and impinclerr20_017_01 should be XTSE0165 as they import stylesheets with static errors. Otherwise should the error code not just state that the stylesheet module is an XML document.
In discussion on the telcon today, the view was that (a) the error definitely all cases where (i) no resource can be retrieved, or (ii) that resource is not well-formed XML. It probably also covers cases where the resource is well-formed XML but is not either an xsl:stylesheet element or a literal result element with an xsl:version attribute, though there might be other errors that could cover this as well. The case where the resource contains static XSLT errors is also an static error, of course, but it's not especially useful to allocate it a separate error code, or indeed to say that it's an error, because one error is good enough to cause the whole thing to fail. I'm a little disinclined to spend too much time seeking perfection here, but perhaps the text would be improved by simply removing the predicate "conforming to this specification", replying instead on the definition of "stylesheet module" in section 3. (That section fails to say whether a stylesheet module containing errors is in fact a stylesheet module, but this kind of existential debate is rarely productive.)
I propose: (a) delete "conforming to this specification" from the description of the error code. 9b) add a Note: It is appropriate to use this error code when the resource cannot be retrieved, or when the retrieved resource is not well formed XML. If the resource contains XML than can be parsed but that violates the rules for stylesheet modules, then a more specific error code may be more appropriate.
Proposal in comment #2 was accepted.
I have applied the agreed change. Oliver, I am closing this as resolved as you will have seen the WG minutes recording this decision. Feel free to reopen if not satisfied.