🤷 No clear choice ⚖️ No legal ruling 🥊 No winner

nondecision

8.9

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

noun
/ˌnɒn.dɪˈsɪʒ.ən/

Formal

: no decisión

A nondecision can occur when procedural errors prevent a case from being fully considered.

Examples

The court issued a nondecision because it lacked jurisdiction over the matter.
After months of hearings, the regulatory agency's nondecision left both parties frustrated.
The court issued a nondecision on the case.
The judge's nondecision left many confused.
The court issued a nondecision because it lacked jurisdiction over the matter.
After months of hearings, the regulatory agency's nondecision left both parties frustrated.
A nondecision can occur when procedural errors prevent a case from being fully considered.

Synonyms

noncognizance

vsnondecision

Formal

9.9

A court's refusal to consider a case

is a formal ruling that declines to decide the merits of a case

Surface Forms

nondecision singular

nondecisions plural

Morphology

nondecision = decision (semi-transparent) = non + decision

While etymologically 'non-' + 'decision', the sense is a specialized legal/procedural term (declining to adjudicate) that is not fully predictable for general learners.

Etymology

Nondecision comes from the prefix non- ('not') and decision from decide ('to choose'), so it literally means 'not choosing'. In law, a nondecision is when a court or agency chooses not to decide the main question, often because of rules or because it cannot hear the case.