EX-ST-01-STRUCTURAL-SKELETON.md

Document Metadata

• Name: EX-ST-01-STRUCTURAL-SKELETON
• Version: 1.0
• Status: DRAFT
• Date: 2026-02-09

1. Governance Positioning

Settlement is a distinct governance procedure that provides financial finality and auditability. Settlement MUST be separated from Contract/Award to ensure independence and prevent conflicts of interest. Settlement records financial completion without influencing procurement, tendering, or award decisions. Settlement is dependent on a finalized Contract/Award (EX-CT-01) and MUST NOT affect prior decisions.

2. Purpose & Scope

Settlement governs the recording and confirmation of financial payments related to finalized contracts. It explicitly does NOT govern procurement, tendering, contract approval, performance, or delivery.

<!-- Settlement layer does not perform or approve contracts. -->

3. Scope Inclusions & Exclusions

Inclusions:

• Financial settlement recording
• Payment confirmation governance

Exclusions:

• Procurement
• Tendering
• Contract approval
• Performance or delivery

4. Relationship to Other Procedures

• Settlement is dependent on EX-CT-01 (Contract/Award)
• Settlement is separated from accounting systems and operational activity

5. Governance Roles Involved

• Payer Authority
• Payee
• Financial Verifier
• Oversight / Audit Role

6. Independence & Control Constraints

• Approver MUST NOT be payer or verifier
• Payer MUST NOT be verifier
• No self-settlement
• No unilateral confirmation

7. High-Level Procedure Sections

• Settlement Initiation
• Verification of Settlement Conditions
• Settlement Confirmation
• Closure

8. Evidence & Records Categories (Conceptual)

• Settlement Request
• Proof of Payment
• Verification Record
• Settlement Confirmation Record

9. Audit & Traceability Requirements

• Full traceability from Contract to Settlement
• Reproducible verification trail

10. Anchoring Positioning

• Hashes of settlement records MAY be anchored
• Anchoring is proof ONLY
• Anchoring MUST NOT imply approval or correctness

11. Explicitly Prohibited Actions

• Settlement before contract finalization
• Automatic settlement approval
• Single-person settlement confirmation

12. UNDEFINED Items

• Items requiring regulatory or organizational decision: UNDEFINED

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Status: DRAFT — CANONICAL GOVERNANCE STRUCTURAL SKELETON Location: docs/governance/EX-ST-01-STRUCTURAL-SKELETON.md