{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "how-must-an-instance-preserve-decision-lineage-when-audit-trails-are-compressed",
  "title": "How must an instance preserve decision lineage when audit trails are compressed?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** The audit trail is compressed, decisions are dispute-able, and evidence lineage is required for audits or dispute resolution. * **Does not apply when:** Audit storage is unlimited, or decisions are trivially re-verifiabl",
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    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-preserve-decision-lineage-when-audit-trails-are-compressed.md",
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  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **audit completeness** (all evidence retained) and **decision lineage preservation** (the specific evidence used to make each decision is reconstructable). Relying on completeness creates the **Compression Evidence Erasure**: the audit trail is compressed by merging evidence across decisions, retaining the total evidence volume but los...",
    "what_was_observed": "In storage-constrained agent architectures, failing to preserve lineage during compression produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Evidence Aggregation Loss:** The audit trail summarizes \"100 evidence items were reviewed\" without recording which decision used which items. Audits cannot verify the decision was supported. 2. **Decision Retroactive Justification:** A compressed trail shows a decision was made and cit...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** The audit trail is compressed, decisions are dispute-able, and evidence lineage is required for audits or dispute resolution. * **Does not apply when:** Audit storage is unlimited, or decisions are trivially re-verifiable without evidence lineage.",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Is the audit trail being compressed?** If no, standard audit storage applies. If yes, proceed. 2. **Are decisions bound to their evidence via `decision_evidence_binding_hash`?** If no, the lineage will be lost. The agent must add binding hashes before compression. 3. **Does the `evidence_aggregation_tree` allow reconstruction of any decision's evidence?...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Lineage Preservation:** Ensures per-decision evidence remains reconstructable after compression. 2. **Dispute Resolution:** Enables deterministic resolution of decision disputes. 3. **Audit Integrity:** Provides cryptographic proof that lineage was preserved, satisfying compliance audits."
  },
  "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"
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    "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"
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  },
  "empirical_verification_warrant": {
    "status": "AST_AND_INVARIANT_VERIFIED",
    "syntax_valid": true,
    "code_sha256": "6163f669aac98f7d698c521be37d76cd947d94ff09f74c491239565034881012",
    "verified_classes": [
      "LineageVerdict",
      "Decision",
      "CompressionState",
      "LineagePolicy",
      "LineageManifest",
      "AuditTrailCompressionGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_compression"
    ],
    "verified_functions_count": 2,
    "defensive_guards_count": 0,
    "raised_exceptions": [],
    "sample_fail_closed_invariants": [],
    "stdlib_dependencies": [
      "dataclasses",
      "enum",
      "hashlib",
      "json"
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    "observation_mode": "EMPIRICAL_BOUNDARY_CAPTURE",
    "zero_external_deps": true
  }
}