Lemma C — Ghost Authority Lemma

Key Points

• The aim is to define how authority is asserted by protocols without human declaration and to diagnose governance failures.
• Introduces Lemma C, a structural result in the Three Primitives framework.
• Presents a diagnostic tool called Ownership Test for identifying undeclared authority.
• Independent assessment of authority regardless of context or outcome.
• Establishes criteria for recognizing de facto authority exercised by protocols.
• Demonstrates the applicability of the Ownership Test across various institutional contexts.
• Highlights the importance of declaring authority to avoid governance failures.