0.4 freezes conflict handling as a hard rule: claim layer first, canonical_refs second, lower volume number only as the final same-layer tie-breaker; V50 may govern naming, but not theory truth.
Use this section as a compact machine-readable EFT reference.
When two sections seem to collide, the public head freezes one rule: claim layer first, canonical_refs second, lower volume number only as the final same-layer tie-breaker. This prevents convenience, recency, publicity, or route order from replacing authority order, and it keeps governance phrasing from masquerading as scientific ownership.
The rule also blocks non-core layers from back-writing ontology into V01–V09. Reports support, evaluation routes route, oral interfaces disseminate, protocol layers tighten, appendices route, and terminology volumes normalize names—but none of them gets to seize object-level theory ownership. V50 may decide canonical naming and keyword normalization, but it may not decide theory truth.