Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act

The act authorizes courts to issue judgments that declare the rights, status, and other legal relations of the parties before them, particularly questions about the construction or validity of written instruments, contracts, and statutes. Relief of this kind may be sought either before or after a breach occurs, the specific situations the act enumerates are illustrative rather than exhaustive, and the court retains discretion over whether to grant a declaration in a given case. It also supplies the procedural framework for such proceedings — who must be joined as parties, the availability of a jury trial, costs, appellate review, and further relief based on a declaratory judgment — and directs that it be construed uniformly with the versions enacted elsewhere.

Editorial summary generated from the text of this act. It is not part of the statute — read the sections below for the operative language.