Suite · Methodology

Certification Logic

Certification Logic defines the governed decision rules used to transform Certifier / certification-domain evidence, certification evaluation results, and scoring where explicitly adopted into certification outcomes.

Certification determinations follow documented logical conditions that can be reviewed, reproduced, and implemented consistently by people or software without creating governance authority or Attestor evaluation authority.

Scope Boundary

This is a certification-specific methodology surface. It governs Certifier decision logic, not universal Suite decision-making.

CERTIFICATION LOGIC ≠ SUITE GOVERNANCE DECISION LOGIC.
CERTIFICATION LOGIC ≠ ATTESTOR RULE-CONSTRAINED EVALUATION.
CERTIFICATION OUTCOME ≠ TRUST STATEMENT.
CERTIFICATION DECISION ≠ GOVERNANCE DECISION.

Eligibility Rules

Determine whether a certification target satisfies the minimum conditions required to begin formal evaluation.

Evidence Rules

Verify that required evidence exists, meets integrity requirements, and satisfies the applicable evidence methodology.

Evaluation Rules

Apply Certification Evaluation Criteria consistently to governed evidence, producing repeatable certification-domain assessment results.

Decision Rules

Translate certification evaluation results into governed certification determinations under the applicable Certifier standards and methodology.

Consistency Rules

Support reproducible certification outcomes where materially equivalent governed inputs, standards, methodology, criteria, and decision rules apply.

Exception Handling

Document how incomplete evidence, conflicting information, appeals, corrections, and exceptional circumstances are handled without compromising methodological integrity.

Machine Execution

Certification Logic should be expressed in a structured form that can eventually be executed by software while remaining understandable to human reviewers.

Future Automation

Provides the foundation for deterministic certification logic, software execution, and AI-assisted review where governed. Automation does not create certification, governance, or Attestor authority.

Suite Governance Boundary

Suite Governance uses a separate governance lifecycle and Governance Decision Record model. Certification Logic does not replace constitutional or governance decision-making.

Certification Determination ≠ Governance Determination.
Certification Record ≠ Governance Decision Record (GDR).

If certification logic would change institutional role, canonical ownership, Suite membership, authority allocation, or another constitutional boundary, the issue must move to Suite Governance / Architecture Reconciliation.

Attestor Boundary

Attestor independently governs Eligible Governed Inputs, Attestations, Rule-Constrained Evaluation, and Trust Statements. Certification Logic does not become Attestor evaluation logic when certification records are later referenced.

Certification Logic ≠ Attestor Rule-Constrained Evaluation.
Certification Outcome ≠ Trust Statement.

Methodology Role

Certification Logic serves as the decision-reasoning layer of the Satoshium certification methodology. It transforms applicable certification standards, governed evidence, Certification Evaluation Criteria, and explicitly adopted scoring into transparent and reviewable Certifier determinations.

Certification logic should explain every certification determination well enough that an independent reviewer—or a conforming software implementation—can inspect the same governed inputs and understand how the outcome was reached.

Logic transforms methodology into repeatable decisions.