Standing Ruling
STANDING RULING NO. 1 — On Pre-Authorisation and Guarantee
Adopted by the Council. Binding on all subsequent assessments.
A certificate issued by the International Council of Drinkware is not a record of a past moment. It is a pre-authorisation of a future one.
When a manufacturer submits a vessel for certification they are making a claim — that the composite string they have described is reproducible. That any person using this vessel in this configuration can expect to achieve the stated State 2 moment reliably, repeatedly, and without surprise.
The Council's assessment is an evaluation of that claim. The certificate is the Council's formal endorsement of it.
On the Guarantee A certified vessel carries the Council's guarantee that its composite string represents a valid, reproducible State 2 moment. The certificate is the Council's word. The Council does not give its word lightly.
On Reproducibility The Council does not certify accidents. It does not certify moments that require exceptional skill, unusual physical conditions, or specific atmospheric circumstances to achieve. If the State 2 moment cannot be reasonably reproduced by an ordinary person using the vessel as submitted, the vessel does not pass assessment.
On Material Events A certificate applies to the vessel as submitted and assessed. Physical damage, breakage, degradation through use, or any material event that alters the vessel's structure after certification does not constitute grounds for revocation.
The certificate is not revoked when a vessel breaks. The vessel has simply ceased to be the vessel the certificate describes. The certificate survives the vessel. The vessel did not survive itself.
The Council does not revoke certificates for mortality. Only for dishonesty.
On Revocation Should a certified vessel be found incapable of reliably delivering its stated State 2 moment through design failure, material degradation present at the time of submission, or misrepresentation during assessment — the Council reserves the right to revoke the certificate.
Revocation is public. It is permanent. The vessel may be resubmitted only after the deficiency has been remedied and only at the Council's discretion.
The Council issues no fines. It commands no enforcement body. It has no power to compel.
It has something more durable: a revoked certificate is not a fine. It is a finding. And findings do not expire.
The Council's word, once given, is either kept or corrected. There is no third option.
STANDING RULING NO. 2 — On the Grace Period of the Pour
Adopted by the Council. Binding on all subsequent assessments.
A vessel may transition from outside jurisdiction to full drinkware classification mid-consumption.
A vessel that begins by pouring liquid through air into an open mouth has not achieved lip contact. It is outside ICD jurisdiction. The Council is not watching. The Council is waiting.
The moment the drinker's lips make contact with any integral part of the vessel — the rim, a channel, an orifice — or with the liquid at the point of its exit from the vessel, the vessel enters ICD jurisdiction immediately and completely. Classification is assessed from that moment.
The Council does not judge the circumstances that led to the final contact. It does not ask why the vessel was tipped so far. It does not inquire about the desperation of the last drop. It records only the contact and classifies accordingly.
Illustrative case — The Porrón: A Spanish porrón held at distance, stream of liquid arcing through air into an open mouth, is outside ICD jurisdiction. Should the drinker lower the vessel until the glass tip meets the lip, the porrón enters State 2 immediately. The Council has been waiting. The Council is ready.
The Council does not judge the pour. It only records the moment the vessel decided to commit.