The three states
- Permit: every required condition is satisfied. The candidate may commit and the decision is recorded.
- Observe: a required condition is unresolved. The candidate does not commit; missing evidence or authority is named and routed.
- Abstain: a required condition failed. The candidate is withheld and the refusal is recorded.
Observe is active governance
Observe is not a timer or a softer approval. It is a complete state that identifies what is missing, acquires evidence, clarifies authority, escalates when required, and determines the next action. The original candidate remains uncommitted throughout that resolution path.
Why the strictest finding survives
Independent modules can inspect identity, scope, behavior, authority and reversibility. Their verdicts compose by taking the strictest state. A hundred permissive findings cannot outvote one unresolved or failed required condition, and adding a module can never loosen the outcome.
What changes operationally
- Teams code against three explicit dispositions instead of interpreting confidence scores.
- Existing checks become governed inputs rather than separate policy islands.
- Every approval, unresolved disposition and refusal leaves the same decision record.
- Missing or malformed required verdicts fail closed because absence is not consent.