Governed Effect Path
A Governed Effect Path is the architecture in which every externally consequential causal path from an untrusted domain must pass through current authorization, enforcement and evidence capture before becoming real.
Intent is not authority.
A model, agent, person, workflow or device may propose an action. Proposal does not create authority. The effect path begins when information, state, capability, resource demand or another causal signal can change another trust domain.
The architectural invariant
NO_DIRECT_EFFECT_PATH / NO_UNGOVERNED_CAUSAL_EFFECT_PATH: no externally consequential state transition or causal influence may leave the untrusted domain except through a known governed effect boundary.
This includes indirect routes. A human, another agent, a file, a queue, a credential, resource consumption or a side channel can all become effectors if they carry causal influence to the world.
What must be mediated
APIs, tools, service accounts, credentials and actuators.
Recommendations or messages that cause a person to execute the effect.
Messages or artifacts consumed by another autonomous worker.
Files, queues, logs, cache and databases that influence later action.
Compute, storage or network demand that creates cost or denial.
Timing or other externally observable signals with causal effect.
Zero Trust generalized to consequence
Zero Trust removes implicit trust from access. Consequence Governance applies the same discipline to the transition from capability to consequence: access is evidence, not authorization; prior approval is not current authority; and every materially consequential crossing is re-evaluated under the state that exists now.
Related canonical terms
Consequence-time authorization · Execution Authorization Infrastructure · Governed Contract · Trusted Execution