diff --git a/core/kernel/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/SessionOrchestrator.kt b/core/kernel/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/SessionOrchestrator.kt
index 7515962f..af7a37fe 100644
--- a/core/kernel/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/SessionOrchestrator.kt
+++ b/core/kernel/src/main/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/SessionOrchestrator.kt
@@ -136,7 +136,9 @@ import kotlinx.coroutines.withTimeout
 import kotlinx.datetime.Clock
 import kotlinx.serialization.encodeToString
 import kotlinx.serialization.json.Json
+import kotlinx.serialization.json.JsonArray
 import kotlinx.serialization.json.JsonObject
+import kotlinx.serialization.json.JsonPrimitive
 import com.correx.core.journal.DecisionJournalRenderer
 import com.correx.core.journal.DefaultDecisionJournalRepository
 import com.correx.core.kernel.orchestration.subagent.SubagentRunner
@@ -623,13 +625,7 @@ abstract class SessionOrchestrator(
         val fileWrittenSlots = stageConfig.produces.filter { it.kind.id == "file_written" }
         return toolCalls.flatMap { toolCall ->
             val invocationId = ToolInvocationId(UUID.randomUUID().toString())
-            val parameters = runCatching {
-                val element = Json.parseToJsonElement(toolCall.function.arguments)
-                val jsonObject = element as? kotlinx.serialization.json.JsonObject ?: return@runCatching emptyMap()
-                jsonObject.entries.associate { (k, v) ->
-                    k to ((v as? kotlinx.serialization.json.JsonPrimitive)?.content ?: v.toString()) as Any
-                }
-            }.getOrElse { emptyMap() }
+            val parameters = parseToolArguments(toolCall.function.arguments)
             val request = ToolRequest(
                 invocationId = invocationId,
                 sessionId = sessionId,
@@ -2111,3 +2107,22 @@ internal sealed interface InferenceResult {
     data class Failed(val reason: String) : InferenceResult
     data object Cancelled : InferenceResult
 }
+
+/**
+ * Flattens an LLM tool call's JSON arguments into a [ToolRequest.parameters] map. A JSON array of
+ * primitives becomes a `List<String>` so list-param accessors read it — otherwise it arrived as a
+ * `.toString()` string and silently read empty, dropping e.g. a task's `affected_paths` (which in
+ * turn left the write-scope and cite-before-claim gates with nothing to enforce). A primitive
+ * becomes its content string; objects and arrays-of-objects keep their JSON text for tools that
+ * re-parse them (e.g. task_decompose). Malformed JSON yields an empty map.
+ */
+internal fun parseToolArguments(arguments: String): Map<String, Any> = runCatching {
+    val obj = Json.parseToJsonElement(arguments) as? JsonObject ?: return@runCatching emptyMap()
+    obj.entries.associate { (k, v) ->
+        k to when {
+            v is JsonPrimitive -> v.content
+            v is JsonArray && v.all { it is JsonPrimitive } -> v.map { (it as JsonPrimitive).content }
+            else -> v.toString()
+        } as Any
+    }
+}.getOrElse { emptyMap() }
diff --git a/core/kernel/src/test/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/ParseToolArgumentsTest.kt b/core/kernel/src/test/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/ParseToolArgumentsTest.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d855eb5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/kernel/src/test/kotlin/com/correx/core/kernel/orchestration/ParseToolArgumentsTest.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+package com.correx.core.kernel.orchestration
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test
+
+class ParseToolArgumentsTest {
+
+    @Test
+    fun `a string array becomes a List so list-param accessors read it`() {
+        // Regression: arrays were stringified and read back empty, dropping a task's affected_paths.
+        val params = parseToolArguments("""{"affected_paths":["apps/web/**","build.gradle"]}""")
+        assertEquals(listOf("apps/web/**", "build.gradle"), params["affected_paths"])
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `primitives become their content strings`() {
+        val params = parseToolArguments("""{"project":"webui","force":true,"limit":5}""")
+        assertEquals("webui", params["project"])
+        assertEquals("true", params["force"])
+        assertEquals("5", params["limit"])
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `objects and arrays-of-objects are kept as JSON text for tools that re-parse them`() {
+        val params = parseToolArguments(
+            """{"parent":{"title":"Epic"},"tasks":[{"title":"A"},{"title":"B"}]}""",
+        )
+        assertTrue((params["parent"] as String).contains("\"title\""))
+        // re-parseable JSON, not a Kotlin List#toString
+        assertTrue((params["tasks"] as String).trim().startsWith("["))
+        assertTrue((params["tasks"] as String).contains("\"title\":\"A\""))
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    fun `malformed json yields an empty map`() {
+        assertTrue(parseToolArguments("not json").isEmpty())
+        assertTrue(parseToolArguments("[]").isEmpty()) // top-level non-object
+    }
+}