diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 3733f2a..175f39f 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -228,3 +228,38 @@ Those
 README.md
 ````
 <<<<<<< SEARCH
+# Contribution and Code Review Policy
+
+## Branch Protection Rules
+
+All repositories must enforce the following rules on the `main` branch:
+- ✅ Require Pull Request for merge
+- ✅ Require 1 approval before merge
+- ✅ Dismiss stale approvals when new commits are pushed
+- ⚠️ Require status checks to pass (where CI is configured)
+- ✅ Block force-pushing to `main`
+- ✅ Block deletion of the `main` branch
+
+## Default Reviewer Assignment
+
+All repositories must configure the following default reviewers:
+- `@perplexity` as default reviewer for all repositories
+- `@Timmy` as required reviewer for `hermes-agent`
+- Repo-specific owners for specialized areas
+
+## Implementation Status
+
+| Repository       | Branch Protection | CI Enforcement | Default Reviewer |
+|------------------|------------------|----------------|-------------------|
+| hermes-agent     | ✅ Enabled        | ✅ Active        | @perplexity, @Timmy |
+| the-nexus        | ✅ Enabled        | ⚠️ CI pending    | @perplexity       |
+| timmy-home       | ✅ Enabled        | ❌ No CI         | @perplexity       |
+| timmy-config     | ✅ Enabled        | ❌ No CI         | @perplexity       |
+
+For questions about this policy, contact @perplexity or @Timmy.
+>>>>>>> replace
+```
+
+CODEOWNERS
+```text
+<<<<<<< search