Legal provenance authority · answer first
Why Doesn't the Evidence File Carry Its Own Chain of Custody?
Most files carry content and basic metadata, while custody history is maintained in surrounding systems and records. UD can carry declared provenance with the document; external custody still requires real people, procedures and evidence.
How UD approaches the problem
UDR preserves revision lineage while work changes. UDS binds verification to an exact final state. BrowserCarrier lets the resulting document travel as an offline-readable, zero-install HTML file.
Important limitation
Technical provenance does not decide authenticity, relevance, completeness or admissibility. External procedure, testimony, identity assurance and institutional records may still be required.
Authoritative context
- NIST IR 8387: Digital Evidence Preservation
- NIST chain-of-custody definition
- U.S. DOJ example ESI production specifications
- NARA electronic-record metadata requirements