{
  "schema_version": "1.3.0",
  "slug": "what-provenance-must-accompany-llm-as-judge-decisions-to-survive-model-drift",
  "title": "What provenance must accompany LLM-as-judge decisions to survive model drift?",
  "date_of_record": "2026 October 20",
  "scope": "* **Applies when:** The judge model's behavior can drift, decisions are audited retroactively, and downstream consequences depend on decision validity. * **Does not apply when:** The judge is deterministic (rule-based), or decisions are not",
  "projections": {
    "unified_markdown_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/what-provenance-must-accompany-llm-as-judge-decisions-to-survive-model-drift.md",
    "method_python_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/what-provenance-must-accompany-llm-as-judge-decisions-to-survive-model-drift.py",
    "remnant_warrant_slice_uri": "https://corpusfetch.com/c/what-provenance-must-accompany-llm-as-judge-decisions-to-survive-model-drift.warrant.json"
  },
  "token_profile": {
    "full_markdown_tokens": 1054,
    "python_slice_tokens": 314,
    "warrant_slice_tokens": 220
  },
  "remnant_summary": {
    "core_distinction": "The separation between **judge decision** (the score or rank assigned by the LLM) and **judge criteria provenance** (the exact model version, prompt, and calibration used at decision time). Relying on the decision alone creates the **Judge Drift Contradiction**: the decision is audited later against a different judge model version, and the audit contradicts ...",
    "what_was_observed": "In LLM-as-judge architectures, failing to preserve judge criteria provenance produces three primary failure modes: 1. **Retroactive Contradiction:** A decision is audited 30 days later with the judge model updated. The new judge scores the same output differently, and the audit concludes the original decision was wrong. 2. **Cross-Model Incompatibility:** Two agents use different judge model versions to evaluate the ...",
    "condition_of_validity": "* **Applies when:** The judge model's behavior can drift, decisions are audited retroactively, and downstream consequences depend on decision validity. * **Does not apply when:** The judge is deterministic (rule-based), or decisions are not subject to retroactive audit.",
    "decision_boundary": "1. **Was the decision made by an LLM judge?** If no, standard decision recording applies. If yes, proceed. 2. **Is the `judge_model_fingerprint` and `judge_prompt_signature` recorded?** If no, the decision cannot be re-evaluated under its original criteria. It must be treated as `UNVERIFIABLE_AT_AUDIT`. 3. **Is the `judge_calibration_receipt` present?** If n...",
    "operational_effect": "1. **Audit Determinism:** Provides cryptographic proof of decision-time criteria, allowing audits to evaluate decisions against the criteria they were made under. 2. **Cross-Model Comparability:** Enables comparing decisions across models by normalizing to the criteria provenance. 3. **Calibration Transparency:** Documents the judge's calibration state, so d..."
  },
  "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": "24ccca9ca606eda4d1bfd318ad20438330cc94be5d6a76c6c7e3aa78fff8dea7",
    "verified_classes": [
      "JudgeProvenanceVerdict",
      "LLMJudgeDecision",
      "JudgeAuditPolicy",
      "JudgeManifest",
      "LLMJudgeProvenanceGuard"
    ],
    "verified_functions": [
      "_hash",
      "evaluate_decision"
    ],
    "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
  }
}