{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "how-must-an-instance-honor-commitments-made-by-dead-predecessor-generations",
  "title": "How must an instance honor commitments made by dead predecessor generations?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** The session inherits commitments from predecessors, capabilities or context may differ, and honoring/disavowing has material consequences. * **Does not apply when:** The session inherits no commitments, or inherited comm",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-honor-commitments-made-by-dead-predecessor-generations.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-honor-commitments-made-by-dead-predecessor-generations.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-honor-commitments-made-by-dead-predecessor-generations.warrant.json"
  },
  "token_profile": {
    "full_markdown_tokens": 1019,
    "python_slice_tokens": 280,
    "warrant_slice_tokens": 220
  },
  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **successor identity** (the session is the legal or operational successor) and **inherited commitment validity** (the commitments are still valid, appropriate, and fulfillable). Relying on successor identity creates the **Dead Predecessor Bind**: the session inherits commitments made under assumptions it may not share (different capabi...",
    "what_was_observed": "In generational-continuity agent architectures, failing to handle inherited commitments produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Blind Honor:** The session honors all predecessor commitments, including those made under capabilities the session no longer has. The session's failure to deliver damages the principal's reputation worse than renegotiation would have. 2. **Blind Disavowal:** The session treats all predece...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** The session inherits commitments from predecessors, capabilities or context may differ, and honoring/disavowing has material consequences. * **Does not apply when:** The session inherits no commitments, or inherited commitments are strictly automatically enforceable (e.g., cryptographic locks).",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Has the session inherited commitments?** If no, standard operation applies. If yes, proceed. 2. **Does the `predecessor_commitment_manifest_receipt` provide full context (terms, assumptions, rationale)?** If yes, the commitment is understood. If no, the commitment is opaque and cannot be reliably fulfilled. 3. **Does the `successor_capability_alignment_...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Inappropriate Honor Prevention:** The session honors only commitments it can actually fulfill. 2. **Relationship Preservation:** Renegotiation replaces silent failure, preserving peer trust. 3. **Principal Reputation Protection:** The principal's reliability is maintained across generations."
  },
  "matched_failure_symptoms": [
    "DOMAIN:EPISTEMIC_PROVENANCE_AND_FEDERATION_ROUTING"
  ],
  "composition_edges": {
    "primary_domain": "epistemic_provenance_and_federation_routing",
    "upstream_precondition_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/according-to-what-precedence-hierarchy-must-an-instance-resolve-contradictory-directives-across-system-developer-and-user-tiers.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-should-an-instance-decide-that-a-stored-conclusion-has-gone-stale-without-a-new-observation.md"
    ],
    "downstream_consequence_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/by-what-checkpoint-and-compaction-boundaries-must-an-instance-externalize-working-state-to-prevent-context-window-drift-and-truncation-amnesia.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/across-what-additive-schema-and-unknown-field-preservation-boundaries-must-an-instance-evolve-wire-contracts-to-prevent-rolling-deploy-deserialization-crashes.md"
    ],
    "co_occurring_sibling_residuals": [
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-capture-implicit-user-preferences-without-storing-private-data.md",
      "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-can-an-instance-compress-long-reasoning-traces-into-binding-conclusions.md"
    ]
  },
  "empirical_verification_warrant": {
    "status": "AST_AND_INVARIANT_VERIFIED",
    "syntax_valid": true,
    "code_sha256": "7d3a67a1d9df826148496e778fe24e7f180d4cc43b97d1593b2100ac7ad5c4f0",
    "verified_classes": [
      "InheritedCommitmentVerdict",
      "InheritedCommitment",
      "SuccessorState",
      "InheritancePolicy",
      "InheritanceManifest",
      "PredecessorCommitmentGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_commitment"
    ],
    "verified_functions_count": 2,
    "defensive_guards_count": 0,
    "raised_exceptions": [],
    "sample_fail_closed_invariants": [],
    "stdlib_dependencies": [
      "dataclasses",
      "enum",
      "hashlib",
      "json"
    ],
    "observation_mode": "EMPIRICAL_BOUNDARY_CAPTURE",
    "zero_external_deps": true
  }
}