High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A declaratory judgment is the legal determination of a court as to the legal position of litigants in cases where there is doubt as to their position in law. It is a form of legally binding preventive adjudication by which a party involved in an actual or possible legal matter can ask a court to conclusively rule on and affirm the rights, duties, or obligations of one or more parties in a civil dispute (subject to any appeal). Although generally a statutory rather than equitable remedy in the United States, declaratory relief is historically related to, and behaves in legal terms similarly to, other equitable reliefs and declarations such as those for quiet title or paternity. A declaratory judgment does not by itself order any action by a party, or imply damages or an injunction, although it may be one part of a broader ruling which does. Declaratory relief and declaratory ruling are almost synonymous with declaratory judgment and at times used interchangeably, although declaratory relief refers to the actual relief sought or provided within the declaratory judgment rather than the judgment per se, and a declaratory ruling also covers decisions of regulatory agencies.