The superior or family court upon petition, following such procedure as the court by general or special rules may prescribe, shall have power to declare rights, status, and other legal relations whether or not further relief is or could be claimed. No action or proceeding shall be open to objection on the ground that a declaratory judgment or decree is prayed for. The declaration may be either affirmative or negative in form and effect; and such declarations shall have the force and effect of a final judgment or decree.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-30-1
Scope
Known as the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act
The act spans §§ 9–9 (16 sections).
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case 800 F. Supp. 2d 363 - SAM M. EX REL. ELLIOTT v. Chafee (2011)
Most recently applied in 186 F. Supp. 3d 158 - Congregation Jeshuat Israel v. Congregation Shearith Israel (May 2016)
P.L. 1959, ch. 90, § 1; P.L. 1970, ch. 373, § 10.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: Rhode Island General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Rhode Island statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.