In law, a declaration is an authoritative establishment of fact. Declarations take various forms in different legal systems.

Canon law

In the canon law of the Catholic Church, a declaration of nullity, (commonly called an annulment and less commonly a decree of nullity) is authoritative judgment on the part of an

ecclesiastical tribunal An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages, these courts had much wider powers in many areas of Europe than be ...

juridically establishing the fact that a marriage was invalidly contracted or, less frequently, a judgment juridically establishing the fact that an ordination was invalidly conferred. It does not dissolve a valid bond of marriage, but it is merely a factual declaration of the nullity of the bond.

Common law

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...

, a declaration ordinarily refers to a

judgment Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle s ...

of the court or an

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

of an arbitration tribunal that is a binding adjudication of the rights or other legal relations of the parties which does not provide for or order enforcement. Where the declaration is made by a court, it is usually referred to as a ''declaratory judgment''. Less commonly, where declaratory relief is awarded by an arbitrator, it is normally called a ''declaratory award''. Declaratory relief is most commonly seen in two particular circumstances: # applications for declarations of legitimacy, in family and probate legal proceedings; and # under

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

policies, for a determination of whether a peril is covered by a particular policy.

European Union law

Applications for declaratory relief in other areas have become more widespread, particularly in Europe. A key feature in relation to this development has been the Brussels and Lugano Conventions on civil jurisdiction and judgments relating to members of the

European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade As ...

(EEA). In certain circumstances, jurisdiction is awarded under the conventions to the courts first seised of the matter. This has led to a rise in defendants taking pre-emptive action by seeking "declarations of non-liability" in a race to the courthouse to ensure that they choose the court first seized rather than waiting for the claimant to do so.

Declaratory legislation

act of parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

or other statute is ''declaratory'' if it purports to state authoritatively what is the current state of affairs. By contrast, most statutes are positive law, purporting to order a future state of affairs. In linguistic terms, declaratory legislation is

indicative A realis mood ( abbreviated ) is a grammatical mood which is used principally to indicate that something is a statement of fact; in other words, to express what the speaker considers to be a known state of affairs, as in declarative sentences. Mos ...

whereas positive law is performative. Two acts of the Parliament of Great Britain asserting its right to legislate for other jurisdictions are commonly called "the Declaratory Act": one in 1719 relating to the Kingdom of Ireland, and another in 1766 relating to the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th cent ...

. The " Declaratory Articles" of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

likewise mean to define a status that already existed.

Other legal uses

Declaration is used (sometimes rendered as a verb) in other ways in certain legal systems. *In some legal systems, a declaration is similar to an affidavit. *In relation to

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

, declaration is the first step in relation to distribution and payment of dividends. *In

trust law A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the " sett ...

, a

settlor In law a settlor is a person who settles property on trust law for the benefit of beneficiaries. In some legal systems, a settlor is also referred to as a trustor, or occasionally, a grantor or donor. Where the trust is a testamentary trust, the se ...

who declares that he holds certain property on trust is said to make a ''declaration of trust''. *''

Dying declaration In the law of evidence, a dying declaration is testimony that would normally be barred as hearsay but may in common law nonetheless be admitted as evidence in criminal law trials because it constituted the last words of a dying person. The ratio ...

s'' are an exception to the rule against

hearsay Hearsay evidence, in a legal forum, is testimony from an under-oath witness who is reciting an out-of-court statement, the content of which is being offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. In most courts, hearsay evidence is inadmiss ...

in many legal systems. *''Declarations against interest'' are also an exception to the rule against hearsay in many legal systems. *A formal ''declaration of default'' is required to enforce creditors' security rights in some legal systems. *An interpretative declaration is a formal note made by a state upon ratifying a treaty clarifying the state's interpretation of the treaty.

Canon law

Common law

European Union law

Declaratory legislation

Other legal uses

References

Further reading