declaration: court order

A declaration is a court order which is made after determining the rights and obligations of parties.  Declarations may be made at any time, however they are usually made at the conclusion of the trial in litigation.  It is at this time that the disputes between the parties have been decided by the Court.

Declarations must be applied for in the prayers set out in the Particulars of Claim, or if Particulars of Claim were not filed in the proceedings, the Claim Form which commenced the proceedings.  The question to be determined by the Court in order to obtain the declaration must a real and on the facts of the case, rather than a theoretical question.  Moreover the parties must have a genuine interest in having the question determined by the Court.

For instance, a litigant may have a legitimate interest for the Court to make a declaration that a contract was terminated (or repudiated) on a specific date, as damages may run from that date when the proceedings return to the court for the purposes of an inquiry as to damages.  Although English are not limited to the matters upon which it may make declarations, they are made in respect to findings of fact or law reflect findings of the Court after the determination of liability.

Usage: The claimant sought a declaration that the defendant had infringed its intellectual property rights from a specified date.

Related Words: litigation; interim injunction; interim relief; search order; norwich pharmacal order; freezing injunction; anti suit injunction; specific performance; mareva injunction; anton pillar order; damages; locus standi.