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noncognizance

noncognizance

9.9
A court's refusal to consider a case
  • noun
  • /ˌnɒnˈkɒɡnɪzəns/
  • Formal
translation icon : no conocimiento
  • The court's noncognizance of the complaint forced the parties to seek another legal remedy.

Examples

  • Because of noncognizance, the tribunal did not review the evidence presented by the defense.

  • Legal scholars debated whether the judge's noncognizance was justified under the circumstances.

  • The judge declared a state of noncognizance regarding the case.

  • The court's noncognizance of the evidence surprised everyone.

  • The court's noncognizance of the complaint forced the parties to seek another legal remedy.

  • Because of noncognizance, the tribunal did not review the evidence presented by the defense.

  • Legal scholars debated whether the judge's noncognizance was justified under the circumstances.

Synonyms

nondecision
vsnoncognizance
  • Formal
8.9

An official ruling that refuses to say who is right because of legal rules

is an omission or refusal to take jurisdiction instead of issuing a formal ruling

Antonyms

3 8.6

Awareness that something exists or is happening

Surface Forms

noncognizance singular

Morphology

noncognizance = cognizance (semi-transparent) = non + cognize + ance

Morphologically it's 'non-' + 'cognizance', but the legal sense 'refusal to take jurisdiction' is a specialized usage that is not obvious from the components to most learners.

Etymology

Noncognizance joins non- 'not' with cognizance from a root that means 'to know' or 'take notice'. In law this becomes literal: a court's noncognizance is the court 'not taking notice' of a case, so it refuses to deal with it.