{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "how-must-an-instance-verify-a-peers-authority-to-bind-its-principal",
  "title": "How must an instance verify a peer's authority to bind its principal?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** The peer claims to act on behalf of a principal, the session's reliance depends on that claim, and the principal's authority can be verified. * **Does not apply when:** The peer is the principal, the principal's authorit",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-verify-a-peers-authority-to-bind-its-principal.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-verify-a-peers-authority-to-bind-its-principal.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/how-must-an-instance-verify-a-peers-authority-to-bind-its-principal.warrant.json"
  },
  "token_profile": {
    "full_markdown_tokens": 940,
    "python_slice_tokens": 279,
    "warrant_slice_tokens": 220
  },
  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **peer assertion** (the peer claims authority) and **peer authority verification** (the principal has actually delegated binding authority to the peer). Relying on assertion creates the **Unauthorized Binding**: the peer makes commitments in the principal's name, the principal later disavows the peer's authority, and the session's reli...",
    "what_was_observed": "In delegated-contract agent architectures, failing to verify peer authority produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Rogue Subagent:** The peer was a subagent acting outside its authority (it was authorized for operation but not for binding contracts), and the principal disavows the contract. 2. **Expired Delegation:** The peer's binding authority was valid at contract negotiation but expired before fulfillment, an...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** The peer claims to act on behalf of a principal, the session's reliance depends on that claim, and the principal's authority can be verified. * **Does not apply when:** The peer is the principal, the principal's authority is unverifiable, or the contract's value is below the verification threshold.",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Does the peer claim delegated authority?** If no, standard contracting applies. If yes, proceed. 2. **Is `peer-binding-authority-attestation-receipt` verifiable against the principal?** If yes, authority is attested. If no, authority is unverified. 3. **Does `authority-scope-verification-signature` cover the contract's scope?** If yes, scope matches. If...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Rogue Subagent Prevention:** Authority is verified against principal's delegation. 2. **Expired Delegation Detection:** Revocation status is checked. 3. **Forgery Prevention:** Attestations are verified, not accepted."
  },
  "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": "d33e72c4c711aa2bd26986020437b88a35a34794dfb0171c4ab95bec4da89bf0",
    "verified_classes": [
      "AuthorityVerdict",
      "PeerAuthority",
      "AuthorityPolicy",
      "AuthorityManifest",
      "PeerAuthorityGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_authority"
    ],
    "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
  }
}