die Unterlagen zur Kenntnis nehmen

21:13 Jun 13, 2009 

'to take cognizance of' is not reserved for legal usage. On the contrary, it is commonly used in the Minutes of various Commissions. Here are two examples: 1) '…the Commission's Chairman is empowered to call the Commission to meet as an Enlarged Commission… and TAKE COGNIZANCE OF and settle all other matters of common interest.'
2) An excerpt from the New York State Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion No. 95-27 : 'The Commissioner shall, among his or her general powers and duties, take cognizance of the interests of health and life of the people of the state, and of all matters pertaining thereto...'

15:52 Jun 13, 2009 

to express their opinion on the two options I am considering, i.e. wfarkas' answer and Elke's answer. In particular, I am wondering whether "take congnizance of" is reserved for judicial proceedings... Lawyers, help! The context here is namely not legal--it concerns a clinical trial and the ethics committee's opinion

15:49 Jun 13, 2009 

I am in the process of deciding between "take cognizance of" and "to acknowledge" and would like to know if there is perhaps a subtle difference in the German meaning of " Kenntnis nehmen von" and "zur Kenntnis nehmen". Take cognizance of is namely often translated as "Kenntnis nehmen von.

16:06 Jun 12, 2009 

A Commission being a formal authoritative body to do something, there is a nuance here in the meanings of :
1) To acknowledge = 'confirm receipt of' or 'admit/accept', WITHOUT FURTHER ACTION
2) To take cognizance of = formally accept, review AND CONSIDER FOR ACTION

In my opinion 'take cognizance of' reflects more closely the meaning of 'zur Kenntnis nehmen'. Also, 'Unterlagen' submitted to a Commission usually represent more than just 'documents'.

10:22 Jun 12, 2009 

it's "regarding" Ms. XXXX