Could the property be allowed to add defect to the role template? There may be cases where the person assigned as Author should not open the defect. As an example, the Author can only fix the defect ...
Author can write his / her own opinion in the comment field. Also, when the Reject Button is added next to Mark Fixed, the author will be able to reject the defect.
As different perspective, the author found the defect that reviewer did not see. In this case, there is a chat section where the author can communicate with the reviewer.
Author can send defect request. Not opening the defect. Maybe that's the solution.