<< Topic: What does "Known all men present" mean? >> I am trying to translate a power of attorney, but cannot figure out the meaning.
Welcome Brita. We really need you to give as much context as possible in order to get a correct answer. Can you please cite the passage in which you find this phrase?
Power of attorney is a legal instrument authorizing one to act as the attorney or agent of the grantor. What do you mean by the title of the thread?
Well in the general power of attorney a passage starts with: "KNOWN ALL MEN PRESENT" And the passage itself is: KNOWN ALL MEN PRESENT that we, "The company", a company created in Some country under registration number 123456789, having its Registered Office Unit Somewhere in the World, henceforth called “the Company”, acting in accordance with the Constitution of the Company hereby appoint; I would gladly appreciate the explanation for the phrase in capital letters.
The phrase is probably "Know(,) all men present(,)" = everyone here, take note of the following facts.
For what it's worth, this is a VERY rarely used phrase. The correct phrase for a power of attorney is "Know all men by these presents". The term "presents" in this context means "this document." It's an archaic usage but ithas persisted.
So how would you say this phrase exactly in different words? Like .. all the people connected with this document? Could you put it more simple for me? Thanks beforehand, Brita.
You don't say it differently. That's the point about a standardised legal phrase. It has precise meaning within its context, and is generally meaningless outside that context. What the phrase means is "let everybody understand from this document....."
