Policy Gate Protocol

Summary

A "Policy Gate" is a formally verified enforcement layer that sits between an AI or automated system's proposed decision and any downstream action. It extends the same quorum-confirmation logic underlying the Standing Order Protocol: an action proceeds only once every reachable verification node confirms it complies with defined policy, and the system defers — it does not proceed — when any node cannot be reached to confirm. Confirmation, not convenience, gates execution.

Protocol Architecture

• Independent Policy Nodes — each node checks one property (data-scope, access-control, decision-threshold, or an agency-defined rule) rather than one monolithic filter
• Quorum Confirmation — an action is approved only when all reachable nodes concur; this mirrors the peer-snapshot quorum check in habi_core's verified Conversion Day logic
• Defer-on-Unreachable — if any node cannot be reached, the system defers rather than approving on incomplete information
• Immutable Auditing — every evaluation (approved, blocked, or deferred) is logged with the reasoning from each node, for after-the-fact review

Formal Methods Status

Core quorum-confirmation and defer-on-unreachable properties are modeled in TLA+ and proved in Coq as part of habi_core's verified bearer-ledger work (see the Standing Order Protocol). This page and its live demo apply that same proved mechanism to a policy-enforcement framing rather than a settlement framing; the runtime demo illustrates the pattern, and the underlying safety proofs are the basis for the claim of correctness — not a re-derivation of them.

Live Demonstration

A running instance is available to interact with directly — run compliant and violating scenarios, and simulate a node going unreachable to observe the defer behavior in real time.