This paper operationalizes the "Evaluator Discipline" required for high-fidelity automated reasoning by formalizing the Operator Proposal Layer. In complex search and transport systems, proposal mechanisms often inadvertently contaminate the evaluation process by importing implicit heuristics or "structure-as-truth. " We resolve this by establishing the Axiom of Operator Non-Authority, which strictly decouples candidate proposal generation (search) from authority evaluation (certification). The paper specifies the Guarded Descent Law, a lexicographic acceptance protocol ordered by primary Phi₁, secondary Gamma₂, and tertiary Xi obstruction metrics, gated by a hard closure-ratio guard Rcl. By enforcing operator passivity, we ensure that search systems can explore candidate field evolutions while remaining structurally incapable of short-circuiting the independent evaluator's certification criteria. This framework provides a rigorous foundation for building audit-compliant reasoning engines that are robust against "shortcut" certification and search-layer contamination. Key Contributions: Formalization of the Axiom of Operator Non-Authority and the Evaluator Supremacy Theorem. Definition of the Guarded Descent Law for multi-channel L1 obstruction systems. Operational separation of Proposal Generation (Transport) from Authority Evaluation (Certification). Specification of non-commutative operator interactions and their observable residuals in the diagnostic space.
JEREMY H. CARROLL (Fri,) studied this question.