noncognizance
- noun
- /ˌnɒnˈkɒɡnɪzəns/
- Formal
- The court's noncognizance of the complaint forced the parties to seek another legal remedy.
Examples
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Because of noncognizance, the tribunal did not review the evidence presented by the defense.
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Legal scholars debated whether the judge's noncognizance was justified under the circumstances.
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The judge declared a state of noncognizance regarding the case.
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The court's noncognizance of the evidence surprised everyone.
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The court's noncognizance of the complaint forced the parties to seek another legal remedy.
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Because of noncognizance, the tribunal did not review the evidence presented by the defense.
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Legal scholars debated whether the judge's noncognizance was justified under the circumstances.
Synonyms
An official ruling that refuses to say who is right because of legal rules
Antonyms
Surface Forms
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.