Constitutional Computing Architecture

Modern computing systems execute vast numbers of state transitions under implicit, fragmented, and often untraceable governance structures. Policies exist, permissions are configured, and logs are recorded, yet the system's actual behavior emerges from code paths and runtime interactions that are neither constitutionally unified nor epistemically inspectable. This paper introduces a Constitutional Computing Architecture (CCA): a model in which execution is governed by a minimal set of structural invariants that bind authority, admissibility, scope, and receipt directly into the execution substrate. In this architecture, every state transition is mediated by explicit admissibility gates, authorized through traceable authority chains, constrained by declared scope, and recorded as a receipted, replayable artifact. We define a seven-invariant governance kernel, demonstrate its realization across multiple operating system substrates, and show how constitutional execution can be enforced using existing primitives without requiring new hardware or privileged runtime assumptions. The paper provides a reference-implementation sketch and corresponding test obligations. No independently verified implementation package or comprehensive test record is carried in this paper; realizability and portability therefore remain bounded engineering claims to be established by an exact implementation artifact. The core claim is simple and strong: A system is constitutionally governed if it cannot act outside the structures that justify its actions.