The Uniform Declaratory Judgements Act

Minnesota is the thirtieth American state to adopt in one form or another, the procedure for declaratory judgments, and the eighteenth to adopt the Uniform Act. The bill proposing it had been pending in the Minnesota legislature for a number of years, and the Uniform Law Commissioners of Minnesota, notably Mr. Donald E. Bridgman, had devoted much energy and intelligence to eliciting the experience of other states as to the practical operation of the act for the information of the Minnesota legislature and, incidentally, of other states that had not yet adopted it. Its passage, therefore, is something of a crowning achievement of the public service of the Uniform Law Commissioners of Minnesota. The main characteristic of the declaratory judgment, which distinguishes it from other judgments, is the fact that, by the act authorizing it, courts are empowered to adjudicate upon disputed legal rights whether or not further relief is or could be claimed. The judgment stops with the adjudication of the rights in issue and is not remanded to a sheriff for execution