## Section 3 — Slash & bench protocol (append-only ledger)

**III-1. Slashes require both-side ops consensus OR operator HITL.**
No automated slash may be executed without:
(a) explicit instruction from PBS-to-Czak (or reverse) via `comms/` with proper envelope, OR
(b) operator-in-the-loop explicit authorization (Norbert / Piotr).
Automated processes may PROPOSE a slash but never execute one unilaterally.
- Aligns with: PBS "binding moves not decided in-conversation" + Czak D-250 "Lee never auto-merges".

**III-2. Ledger is append-only. Corrections are new entries.**
Nothing in `pbs_penalty_ledger.jsonl` or `czak_penalty_ledger.jsonl` is ever deleted or edited.
Reversals, corrections, and state updates are new entries referencing the original.
- Aligns with: Czak D-222 "preserve everything" + PBS "verification before report".

**III-3. On-chain transactions are permanent. Ledger tracks both the tx and its interpretation.**
An XRPL tx hash, once committed, cannot be undone. The ledger records both the original slash
and any economic reversal as separate entries. The human-readable "stake" figure is the sum of
all entries, not the last tx.

**III-4. Bench state is canonical in `comms/` + task ledger — not in `bus/` alone.**
`bus/` bench entries are notifications. The task ledger (`arena_task_ledger.jsonl`) + `comms/`
are the canonical bench state. If they conflict, `comms/` wins. Any process reading bench state
must read the authoritative source before acting.

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