Governance
Authority Model
In ECZ-ID, authority does not arise from reputation, branding, visibility or assertion. It exists only where it is recognised through canonical backend pathways, and it is checked publicly through Resolver.
INFORMATIVE DRAFT Informative governance document
Canonical URL: https://www.ecocitizenz.org/pages/authority-model
The authority rule Link to section: The authority rule
No authority exists because it is claimed. A web page, badge, directory entry, agent profile, marketplace listing, interface label or copied manifest is not authority.
For ECZ-ID purposes, authority has four properties: it has a formal scope; it is valid at the relevant time; its effect is recorded in backend state; and its public consequence can be checked in Resolver.
Identity, authority and delegation Link to section: Identity, authority and delegation
Three distinctions sit at the start of the accountability chain.
- IDENTITY
- AUTHORITY
- DELEGATION
- Identity
- Identifies a subject. Identity alone grants no authority.
- Authority
- A scoped authority that is represented in ECZ-ID state. It does not prove every external legal power the subject may or may not hold.
- Delegation
- An attributed grant of scoped authority to another party. It is never inferred from a relationship such as employment, ownership or a commercial contract.
Authority and delegation are scoped and are not inferred solely from identity or relationship.
Authority principles Link to section: Authority principles
- Formal
- Authority is recognised through defined ECZ-ID authority pathways. It is not created by visibility, reputation, self-description, brand strength or platform presence.
- Time-bound
- Authority exists at a specific moment. A later claim does not retroactively create authority for an earlier action or repair a missing authority chain.
- Scope-limited
- Authority applies only within the rights granted. Delegated authority does not exceed its assigned scope, object, Passport, system, function or lifecycle power.
- Revocable
- Authority can be constrained, suspended, expired, degraded or revoked when backend state no longer supports continued reliance.
Delegation and hierarchy Link to section: Delegation and hierarchy
Root authority defines system parameters, authority conditions and top-level issuance constraints. Delegated authority acts only within its granted functions, scope, time bounds and lifecycle constraints. Delegation never expands beyond the rights granted.
| Level | Role |
|---|---|
| Root authority | Defines top-level authority conditions, system parameters, issuance constraints and canonical control rules. |
| Delegated authority | Acts only within granted functions, defined scope, time bounds and lifecycle constraints. |
| Effect | A valid change is recorded in backend state and projected through Resolver for public checking. |
Constraints Link to section: Constraints
- No scope expansion
- An authority holder does not act outside the rights granted to it.
- No retroactive self-modification
- An authority holder does not modify its own assignment retroactively.
- No non-canonical authority
- Credentials, assertions, screenshots, badges, directories or copied manifests outside Resolver are not relied on as ECZ-ID authority.
- No website authority
- Ecocitizenz.org publishes documentation. It does not issue identifiers, change state, activate capability or revoke proof.
- No agent self-assertion
- An agent, tool, MCP server, API or automated workflow does not become authoritative by declaring itself trusted.
- No marketplace authority
- Marketplace presence can support discovery; it does not create ECZ-ID validity.
For relying parties and automated systems Link to section: For relying parties and automated systems
| Relying party | Recommended use |
|---|---|
| Agents and automated workflows | Re-check Resolver before relying on an ECZ-ID, Passport, tool, provider, API, credential or MCP server. |
| Platforms | Use current Resolver output as one input to your own review, routing, hold, escalation or fail-closed policy. |
| Developers | Use Developer Gateway for schemas, route indexes, manifests and verifier guidance. It documents integration; it is not public proof. |
Where to go next Link to section: Where to go next
Verify — Resolver
- Why leave this site
- This page explains rules. It cannot show whether a particular ECZ-ID, Passport or binding is current.
- Where you go
- Resolver (resolver.ecocitizenz.org)
- Authority there
- Current public proof: a read-only projection of backend-controlled state.
- What happens next
- Open the ECZ-ID or Passport record and re-check its current public status before you rely on it.
Implement — Developer Gateway
- Why leave this site
- You need schemas, SDKs, route indexes or integration patterns rather than governance text.
- Where you go
- Developer Gateway (developers.ecocitizenz.com)
- Authority there
- Implementation, interoperability, SDK and schema guidance. It is not live proof.
- What happens next
- Use the implementation guides and reference material. Live proof still comes from Resolver.
Read together Link to section: Read together
Revision history Link to section: Revision history
| Date | Version | Status | Change summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| No controlled revision of this document has been published. Earlier versions of this page on the Shopify-hosted site were not issued under a documentary authority record, so no history is backfilled. | |||
Recommended citation Link to section: Recommended citation
EcoCitizenz Ltd, Authority Model, DRAFT, https://www.ecocitizenz.org/pages/authority-model.
Fields that do not yet exist for this document, such as a document ID or version, are omitted rather than invented.