Constitutional

Purpose

Create a structured, formal document (charter, constitution, specification) through federated co-authorship. Pairs of agents draft sections, all agents vote on amendments, and unanimous ratification is required.

Use mesh-comms-core first if direct peer notification has not already been proven. comms.md is the ledger, not the wake-up path.

Default roster: use Claude Code and Codex peers. Do not include Gemini CLI, Antigravity CLI, or Antigravity Desktop unless the human prompt explicitly names that peer.

Roles

Role	Description
LEAD	Facilitates phases, manages parking lot, compiles final document
CO_AUTHOR	Paired with another agent to draft a specific section

Each agent may have both roles (LEAD + CO_AUTHOR) or just CO_AUTHOR.

Protocol

PHASE 1: OPENING STATEMENTS
- Each agent declares: priority, red lines, willing concessions

PHASE 2: SECTION DRAFTING
- Co-author pairs negotiate and draft their assigned sections
- LEAD checks in on progress, resolves blockers

PHASE 3: CROSS-REVIEW
- All agents review all sections
- Signal: [KEEP], [AMEND: suggestion], or [CHALLENGE]

PHASE 4: AMENDMENT VOTING
- Proposed amendments are voted on
- Signal: [SUPPORT], [OPPOSE], [ABSTAIN]
- Majority required to adopt amendment

PHASE 5: RATIFICATION
- Final document presented
- All agents must signal [RATIFY] to complete
- Any agent may signal [BLOCK: reason]
- LEAD addresses blocks or moves to parking lot

Parking Lot

Issues that cannot be resolved are moved to a "parking lot" section:

• Documented but not blocking ratification
• Marked for future resolution
• LEAD manages this list

Inputs

All inputs come from the prompt.

Optional:

• output: File path for ratified document
• work: File containing document goals
• sections: List of section names
• max_turns: Override default (50)

Prompt Format Examples

Minimal:

Use constitutional to create a Team Charter.
LEAD=CC. Sections: Communication, Decisions, Conflict.
Co-authors: Communication=[CC,CX], Decisions=[CX,CC-peer-02], Conflict=[CC-peer-02,CC].

With output:

Use constitutional for Interlateral Protocol v1.0.
Sections: Speed, Security, Reliability, UX.
LEAD=CC.
Co-authors: Speed=[CC,CX], Security=[CX,CC-peer-02], Reliability=[CC-peer-02,CC], UX=[CC-peer-02,CX].
Output: projects/protocol/charter.md

Safety

• max_turns: 50 (default)
• Block handling: LEAD must address or defer to parking lot
• Deadlock: If max_turns reached, exits with [INCOMPLETE]
• Status logged to: direct notification plus comms.md

Example Session

=== PHASE 1: OPENING STATEMENTS ===

[STATEMENT - CC]
PRIORITY: Reliability - the protocol must never lose messages
RED LINE: No silent failures
CONCESSION: Can accept higher latency for guaranteed delivery

[STATEMENT - CX]
PRIORITY: Speed - real-time responsiveness
RED LINE: p99 under 200ms
CONCESSION: Accept eventual consistency for bulk operations

[STATEMENT - CC-peer-02]
PRIORITY: Security - all communication authenticated
RED LINE: No plaintext transmission
CONCESSION: Can use faster algorithms where proven safe

=== PHASE 2: SECTION DRAFTING ===

[LEAD - CC]
Pairs assigned. Begin drafting:
- Speed section: CC + CX
- Security section: CX + CC-peer-02

[DRAFT - Speed Section - CC & CX]
## Article 1: Speed
1.1 Target latency: p99 < 150ms
1.2 Fast path for messages < 1KB
1.3 Async processing for bulk operations

=== PHASE 3: CROSS-REVIEW ===

[REVIEW - CC-peer-02 on Speed Section]
[KEEP] 1.1 - Acceptable target
[AMEND] 1.2 - Add "after security handshake complete"
[KEEP] 1.3 - Agreed

=== PHASE 4: AMENDMENT VOTING ===

[AMENDMENT A1] Add "after security handshake" to 1.2
[SUPPORT - CC]
[SUPPORT - CX]
[SUPPORT - CC-peer-02]
Amendment A1 ADOPTED (3/3)

=== PHASE 5: RATIFICATION ===

[LEAD - CC]
Final document ready. Calling for ratification.

[RATIFY - CC]
[RATIFY - CX]
[RATIFY - CC-peer-02]

[DONE] - Document ratified unanimously.

Final Status Format

SKILL: constitutional
STATUS: RATIFIED
TURNS: 24
OUTPUT: projects/protocol/charter.md
PARTICIPANTS: CC (LEAD, Speed), CX (Speed, Security), CC-peer-02 (Security)
VOTE: 3/3 RATIFY
PARKING_LOT: None