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ADR-0048: A ratified ADR is sufficient design authority for bounded implementation

← ADR-0047 · ADR-0049 →

The record

Status: Proposed (exercised once under the hook's own waiver clause; awaiting Mohamed's ratification as the general rule) · Date: 2026-08-29

Context

RUL-022 blocks implementation dispatch without a ratified design contract (plans/contracts/*.contract.json), with an explicit DESIGN_WAIVER escape for bounded mechanical work. Implementing ADR-0047 hit the gate: the design authority existed — a Mohamed-ratified ADR — but not in contract-file form; a contract would have restated the ADR verbatim.

Decision (proposed)

For implementation whose ENTIRE scope is executing a Mohamed-ratified (Accepted) ADR — bounded changes to named existing functions plus mechanical generation, no new architecture or component — the ADR itself is the design authority, and the dispatch brief carries DESIGN_WAIVER: <ADR id> citing it. Work exceeding the ADR's stated scope loses the waiver and must STOP for a contract or a ruling. First exercised instance: the ADR-0047 implementation dispatch (briefs commits b5b1b7f6/9c9bfc70).

Alternatives rejected

Always producing a contract file (verbatim restatement of the ADR — process noise); silently bypassing RUL-022 (forbidden).

Consequences

Decision→implementation latency drops for ADR-scoped work; RUL-022 keeps its full force for anything not covered by an Accepted ADR.

Provenance

Mohamed's instruction "that decision needs to go to the adr" (2026-08-29); the RUL-022 hook's own waiver clause.

Related ADRs

• Also mentioned: ADR-0047

Rulings cited

• RUL-022: RUL-022 — No implementation dispatch without a ratified design artifact

Specs cited

None (or no spec page exists for the ones named).