Authority Pattern Library · Architecture
AA-13 · Authority Failure Mode
Preserve how authority was established
An operation may have had a legitimate authority basis while the surviving record is insufficient to demonstrate it. This pattern distinguishes the existence of authority from the evidence available to establish its applicability.
Missing evidence does not prove that authority was absent. Equally, a plausible account does not prove that permission existed.
Connect the evidence
Identify the exact proposal, actor or effective participant, delegation or authority source, applicable versions, relevant conditions and operation performed. Preserve meaningful human participation where required.
The necessary record depends on the purpose, obligations and consequence. A single log format or mandatory central repository is not implied.
Preserve time and provenance
Distinguish contemporaneous evidence from later recollection, interpretation or reconstruction. Record changes and later judgements without overwriting what was known and accepted originally.
A technical success record may establish execution while leaving the authority relationship unresolved. Outcome evidence answers a further question about what actually resulted.
Support appropriate review
Existing records, workflow evidence, application controls and human procedures may provide adequate traceability. Establish their coverage and limitations in the selected setting.
Where the surviving evidence is insufficient, retain that uncertainty and use the applicable review process. Later correction or acceptance should remain distinguishable from proof about the historical operation.
Related patterns and contexts
- Audit and Review as Post-Hoc Authority Reconstruction
- Large Insurance-Led Financial Group — Operating Context
Architecture and scope
Architecture of Record (AoR) records accepted standing, applicability and obligations. Execution Admissibility Architecture explains execution admissibility. Their publication is not evidence of deployed controls or a requirement for one runtime.
This is an explanatory pattern, not an organisational assessment, issued Profile, legal opinion, compliance determination or implementation assurance.
© Arqua Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.