diff --git a/.github/CODEOWNERS b/.github/CODEOWNERS
index 4e74217..9a29f82 100644
--- a/.github/CODEOWNERS
+++ b/.github/CODEOWNERS
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 # Ownership of the verification surface (principle 09). These paths decide what
 # the repository checks and how, so changing one is authorizing a change to the
-# rules themselves. Pairing this with a branch ruleset that requires Code Owner
-# review makes the authorization real: an agent can rewrite the code freely, but
-# not weaken or delete a check to get a change through.
+# rules themselves. With one maintainer, no review is required (GitHub does not
+# count an author's own approval): this file declares the surface, the branch
+# ruleset requires a pull request and the CI check, and the maintainer's merge is
+# the authorization.
 /tests/            @sergioazoc
 /.oxlintrc.json    @sergioazoc
 /.oxfmtrc.json     @sergioazoc
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 08b2a33..2453b35 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -133,10 +133,12 @@ the verification surface (`tests/`, the lint and format config, `vitest.config.t
 `.claude/`, `.claude-plugin/`) as owned; `REVIEW.md` states the review rules an agent or a person
 applies on every change; and `.claude/settings.json` denies the agent editing that surface (leaving
 `tests/` writable so tests can be added, with deletion caught by the test above), so a person edits
-the rest by hand. The external half is a branch ruleset on `main` that requires a pull request,
-the `ci` check, and Code Owner review, and blocks force pushes and deletions. Create or verify it with
-`gh api repos/sergioazoc/context-architecture/rulesets`; it is the one part of this that lives in the
-GitHub settings, not the tree.
+the rest by hand. The external half is a branch ruleset on `main` that requires a pull request and
+the `ci` check, and blocks force pushes and deletions. It requires no approval: the agent opens pull
+requests with the one maintainer's account, and GitHub never counts an author's own approval. The
+maintainer's merge is the authorization; against the agent, the edit-time deny rules are what act.
+Create or verify it with `gh api repos/sergioazoc/context-architecture/rulesets`; it is the one part
+that lives in GitHub settings, not the tree.
 
 Principle 04 (legibility at every zoom level) is bound by the `complexity`, `max-depth`, `max-params`,
 and `max-lines-per-function` rules in `.oxlintrc.json`, kept at `error` and pinned by
diff --git a/REVIEW.md b/REVIEW.md
index 81afc1a..1add080 100644
--- a/REVIEW.md
+++ b/REVIEW.md
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ important any of the following, and require the fix in the same change.
 - A new claim left loose: a source of truth, an invariant, a convention, or a boundary added without
   the mechanism that fails when it stops being true.
 - The verification surface weakened: a lint rule dropped below `error`, a CI step removed, a test
-  deleted, or a deny rule loosened, without the Code Owner's approval (principle 09).
+  deleted, or a deny rule loosened, unless the pull request states it is intended (principle 09).
+  The maintainer's merge is the only authorization, so the intent must be on the record.
 - EN and ES out of parity, or an em dash, an emoji, or marketing copy, against the house rules in the
   root `AGENTS.md`.
diff --git a/tests/verification-surface.test.ts b/tests/verification-surface.test.ts
index b32ff88..ce78b40 100644
--- a/tests/verification-surface.test.ts
+++ b/tests/verification-surface.test.ts
@@ -56,8 +56,8 @@ describe('the verification surface is itself bound (principle 09)', () => {
 
 // The authorization principle 09 names is declared in the repo: CODEOWNERS marks
 // the verification surface, and the vitest config keeps collecting every test so a
-// deleted test file is not silently uncovered. A branch ruleset that requires Code
-// Owner review and the CI check is the external half (see the root AGENTS.md).
+// deleted test file is not silently uncovered. A branch ruleset that requires a
+// pull request and the CI check is the external half (see the root AGENTS.md).
 describe('the authorization is declared (principle 09)', () => {
   it('CODEOWNERS covers the verification surface', () => {
     const owners = read('.github/CODEOWNERS')