# Decisions

## Scope Decision

Stage three is limited to Verifier V2 claim checks. Composer is explicitly deferred to stage four.

Reason: Composer requires stable verifier output and allowed-material filtering; mixing it into this stage would make rollback and acceptance unclear.

## Contract Decision

`claim_checks` is the authoritative V2 verifier output.

`facts_checked` remains as a compatibility projection generated from `claim_checks` when present.

Reason: existing low-confidence rendering, retry context, trace output, and evaluation code still depend on `facts_checked`.

## Mapping Decision

Claim verification maps to legacy facts as follows:

| claim verification | legacy facts_checked verification |
|---|---|
| `direct_observation` | `direct_evidence` |
| `reasonable_inference` | `indirect_support` |
| `overstated` | `indirect_support` |
| `unsupported` | `no_evidence` |
| `external_unknown` | `no_evidence` |
| `contradicted` | `contradicted` |

## Guardrail Decision

Effective verdict is enforced in code:

- `gatekeeper_result.status=fail` cannot remain `PASS`.
- `evidence.invocation_ref` failure downgrades to `REJECT`.
- Other Gatekeeper failures downgrade at least to `LOW_CONFID`.
- missing/malformed Executor structured output cannot remain `PASS`.

Reason: prompt compliance is not deterministic enough for safety-critical evidence attribution.

## Apply Fix Record

Initial targeted Maven verification failed because older tests expected PASS to return Executor natural-language output or V1 `user_facing_answer`.

Classification: test drift from the committed OpenSpec, not a design blocker.

Resolution: update tests to use valid Executor V2 output for PASS paths and assert downgrade behavior for malformed or Gatekeeper-failed outputs.

## Interface Impact

L2 internal contract extension:

- Verifier output gains `claim_checks`.
- Existing `facts_checked` remains available.
- Persistence JSON gains `claim_checks` under existing `self_evaluation`.

No external API or database schema changes.