によらず

1. 1Regardless of or irrespective of differences in the stated category.Ex. 1
2. 2Applying equally across all members of a category, without exception.Ex. 2

Used mainly in writing and formal speech, such as laws, policies, rules and official statements, to say that a criterion like gender, age or nationality is not taken into account. It is close in meaning to にかかわらず and を問わず but attaches almost only to nouns and sounds more formal.

• 1.
  にかかわらずN2「にかかわらず」matches only the 'regardless of' meaning of 「によらず」, and when they follow nouns such as gender or age, the two are often interchangeable. It can also follow positive/negative parallel forms like 「行く行かない」, but it has no sense of 'without relying on a means'.
• 2.
  を問わずN2「を問わず」corresponds only to the 'regardless of' meaning, and is largely interchangeable with 「によらず」when following nouns like gender or age. However, it lacks the 'without relying on a means' sense—so 「武力によらず」cannot be rewritten with it—and it appears frequently in job ads and notices, often following 「男女」or 「〜の有無」.
• 3.
  いかんによらずN1「いかんによらず」typically attaches via 「名詞の」, coming after nouns that contain multiple possible outcomes, such as weather or results, and stresses that whatever the outcome, it does not affect the following statement. It sounds stiffer than 「によらず」and has no usage meaning 'without resorting to some means'.
• 4.
  いかんでは / いかんによってはN1「いかんでは」indicates that, depending on how that factor turns out, a certain specific (usually unfavorable) result may arise—the exact opposite of 「によらず」's 'unaffected by' nuance, so the two cannot replace each other. Both take nouns, 「いかんでは」can also appear as 「名詞＋のいかんでは」, and both are written-style expressions.

にかかわらず / に関わらず share the meaning but also attach to verbs, adjectives and opposing pairs, whereas によらず is mainly for nouns; を問わず is similar but common in set pairs like 男女を問わず. いかんによらず (Nのいかんによらず) stresses 'whatever the content or outcome of N', while いかんでは / いかんによっては mean the opposite: 'depending on N'.