diff --git a/src/agents/athena/agent.ts b/src/agents/athena/agent.ts
index 59f97f6d..c81c667c 100644
--- a/src/agents/athena/agent.ts
+++ b/src/agents/athena/agent.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { AgentConfig } from "@opencode-ai/sdk"
 import type { AgentMode, AgentPromptMetadata } from "../types"
-import { createAgentToolRestrictions, type PermissionValue } from "../../shared/permission-compat"
+import { createAgentToolRestrictions } from "../../shared/permission-compat"
 import { applyModelThinkingConfig } from "./model-thinking-config"
 
 const MODE: AgentMode = "primary"
@@ -211,10 +211,10 @@ The switch_agent tool switches the active agent. After you call it, end your res
 export function createAthenaAgent(model: string): AgentConfig {
   const restrictions = createAgentToolRestrictions(["write", "edit", "call_omo_agent"])
 
-  const permission: Record<string, PermissionValue> = {
+  const permission = {
     ...restrictions.permission,
     question: "allow",
-  }
+  } as AgentConfig["permission"]
 
   const base = {
     description:
diff --git a/src/agents/builtin-agents/athena-council-guard.ts b/src/agents/builtin-agents/athena-council-guard.ts
index 9272c07d..149ebf3b 100644
--- a/src/agents/builtin-agents/athena-council-guard.ts
+++ b/src/agents/builtin-agents/athena-council-guard.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import type { AgentConfig } from "@opencode-ai/sdk"
 
-const MISSING_COUNCIL_PROMPT = `
+const MISSING_COUNCIL_PROMPT_HEADER = `
 
 ## CRITICAL: No Council Members Configured
 
@@ -32,7 +32,9 @@ You have no council members registered. This means the Athena council config is
 }
 \`\`\`
 
-Each member requires \`model\` (\`"provider/model-id"\` format) and \`name\` (display name). Minimum 2 members required. Optional fields: \`variant\`, \`temperature\`.
+Each member requires \`model\` (\`"provider/model-id"\` format) and \`name\` (display name). Minimum 2 members required. Optional fields: \`variant\`, \`temperature\`.`
+
+const MISSING_COUNCIL_PROMPT_FOOTER = `
 
 ---
 
@@ -47,12 +49,14 @@ export function appendMissingCouncilPrompt(
   athenaConfig: AgentConfig,
   skippedMembers?: Array<{ name: string; reason: string }>,
 ): AgentConfig {
-  let prompt = MISSING_COUNCIL_PROMPT
+  let prompt = MISSING_COUNCIL_PROMPT_HEADER
 
   if (skippedMembers && skippedMembers.length > 0) {
     const skipDetails = skippedMembers.map((m) => `- **${m.name}**: ${m.reason}`).join("\n")
     prompt += `\n\n### Why Council Failed\n\nThe following members were skipped:\n${skipDetails}`
   }
 
+  prompt += MISSING_COUNCIL_PROMPT_FOOTER
+
   return { ...athenaConfig, prompt }
 }
diff --git a/src/agents/builtin-agents/council-member-agents.test.ts b/src/agents/builtin-agents/council-member-agents.test.ts
index eead3048..5d49f618 100644
--- a/src/agents/builtin-agents/council-member-agents.test.ts
+++ b/src/agents/builtin-agents/council-member-agents.test.ts
@@ -2,12 +2,12 @@ import { describe, expect, test } from "bun:test"
 import { registerCouncilMemberAgents } from "./council-member-agents"
 
 describe("council-member-agents", () => {
-  test("skips duplicate names and disables council when below minimum", () => {
+  test("skips case-insensitive duplicate names and disables council when below minimum", () => {
     //#given
     const config = {
       members: [
         { model: "openai/gpt-5.3-codex", name: "GPT" },
-        { model: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6", name: "GPT" },
+        { model: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6", name: "gpt" },
       ],
     }
     //#when
diff --git a/src/config/schema/athena.test.ts b/src/config/schema/athena.test.ts
index e116acb6..ed0edac0 100644
--- a/src/config/schema/athena.test.ts
+++ b/src/config/schema/athena.test.ts
@@ -330,8 +330,9 @@ describe("CouncilConfigSchema", () => {
     expect(result.success).toBe(false)
   })
 
-  test("rejects council with duplicate member names", () => {
-    //#given
+  test("accepts council with duplicate member names for graceful runtime handling", () => {
+    //#given - duplicate detection is handled at runtime by registerCouncilMemberAgents,
+    // not at schema level, to allow graceful fallback instead of hard parse failure
     const config = {
       members: [
         { model: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6", name: "analyst" },
@@ -343,11 +344,11 @@ describe("CouncilConfigSchema", () => {
     const result = CouncilConfigSchema.safeParse(config)
 
     //#then
-    expect(result.success).toBe(false)
+    expect(result.success).toBe(true)
   })
 
-  test("rejects council with case-insensitive duplicate names", () => {
-    //#given
+  test("accepts council with case-insensitive duplicate names for graceful runtime handling", () => {
+    //#given - case-insensitive dedup is handled at runtime by registerCouncilMemberAgents
     const config = {
       members: [
         { model: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6", name: "Claude" },
@@ -359,7 +360,7 @@ describe("CouncilConfigSchema", () => {
     const result = CouncilConfigSchema.safeParse(config)
 
     //#then
-    expect(result.success).toBe(false)
+    expect(result.success).toBe(true)
   })
 
   test("accepts council with unique member names", () => {
diff --git a/src/config/schema/athena.ts b/src/config/schema/athena.ts
index ebc7e022..32e778a9 100644
--- a/src/config/schema/athena.ts
+++ b/src/config/schema/athena.ts
@@ -20,13 +20,7 @@ export const CouncilMemberSchema = z.object({
 }).strict()
 
 export const CouncilConfigSchema = z.object({
-  members: z.array(CouncilMemberSchema).min(2).refine(
-    (members) => {
-      const names = members.map(m => m.name.toLowerCase())
-      return new Set(names).size === names.length
-    },
-    { message: "Council member names must be unique (case-insensitive)" },
-  ),
+  members: z.array(CouncilMemberSchema).min(2),
 }).strict()
 
 export type CouncilMemberConfig = z.infer<typeof CouncilMemberSchema>