Audit Through vs Trust Certifier

Certified derived facts introduce a choice for downstream users.

Trust Certifier

The verifier checks:

• the certification fact
• the certifier's root

This is cheaper and simpler, but it increases trust in the certifier.

Audit Through

The verifier checks:

• the certification fact
• the certifier's root
• the referenced input bundle
• the underlying proofs

This is heavier, but it preserves more independent assurance.

Mixed

Some protocols can support both:

• fast-path trust in the certifier
• slow-path audit through to base proofs

If both are supported, the documentation should say clearly which assurance level each path gives.