View source for Wikipedia:Sham consensus

=== Policies and guidelines ===
In general, a consensus at a higher level of Wikipedia is not a sham if the only violations, if any, are against lower levels.
* An ArbCom decision cannot violate a policy consensus, a guideline consensus, or an article consensus, but an article consensus, guideline consensus, or policy consensus might violate an ArbCom decision, and thus the lower-level consensus might be a sham consensus.
* A policy consensus cannot violate a guideline consensus or an article consensus, but an article consensus or guideline consensus might violate a policy consensus, and thus the lower-level consensus might be a sham consensus.
* A guideline consensus cannot violate an article consensus, but an article consensus might violate a guideline consensus, and thus the article consensus might be a sham consensus.