the application of the trustee in bankruptcy, the court declared the life estate indefeasible." In another case a declaration was made as to the right of the applicant who had acquired land devised subject to certain annuities created by a will to sell it as life tenant free from those annuities under the terms of the same will." The declaratory judgment has been made use of in England to enable the plaintiff to avoid the risk of incurring penalties imposed by law, by declaring in advance his rights and obligations in a manner which might be most useful in this country. The commissioners of internal revenue demanded of a citizen certain information as to the rents paid or received in order to determine the tax on land. The citizen applied to the court for a declaration that he was not bound to give the information, the attorney-general being included in the summons. Of one objection made to the application Warrington, J. said: "It is contended that there is no cause of action against the Crown or its officers; that they have broken no contract and have done the plaintiff no legal wrong, nor do they threaten to do so. But Order 25 R. 5 is intended to deal with the very case—that is, one in which no relief can be claimed either by way of damages for the past or an injunction for the future, and, in fact, in several cases declarations have been made under this order where there was no cause of action in the proper sense." It was held that the mode adopted for obtaining a decision of the cause was a very convenient one, enabling the commissioners. to be informed how far they could go and relieving the plaintiff from doubt.13 In another case of the same kind it was said: "It would be a blot on our system of law and procedure if there is no way by which a decision on the true limit of the power of inquisition vested in the commissioners can be obtained by any member of the public aggrieved, without putting himself in the invidious position of being sued for a penalty. next argument on the attorney-general's behalf was 'ab inconvenienti'; it was said that if an action of this sort would lie there would be innumerable actions for declarations as to the meaning of acts, adding greatly to the labors of the law officers. But the court is not bound to make declaratory orders and would "In re Burroughs-Fowler, (1916) 2 Ch. 251. 12 In re Trafford's Settled Estates, (1915) 1 Ch. 9. 13 Burghes v. Attorney-General, (1911) 2 Ch, 139. refuse to do so unless in proper cases, and would punish with costs persons who might bring unnecessary actions: there is no substance in the apprehension, but if inconvenience is a legitimate consideration at all, the convenience in the public interest is all in favor of providing a speedy and easy access to the courts for His Majesty's subjects who have any real cause of complaint against the exercise of statutory powers by governmental departments and government officials, having regard to their growing tendency to claim the right to act without regard to legal principles and without appeal to any court. . . If ministerial responsibility were more than the mere shadow of a name, the matter would be less important, but as it is, the courts are the only defence of the liberty of the subjects against departmental aggression," 99 14 And, again, it was said that "an action thus framed is the most convenient method of enabling the subject to test the justifiability of proceedings on the part of permanent officials purporting to act under statutory authority." " 15 Professor Borchard, in the article to which I have already referred, calls attention to the delay in procuring a definite construction by the courts of the Sherman law and the resulting uncertainty and embarrassment of business concerns as to their rights and liabilities, and asks why it should not have been possible for two or more business concerns desiring to reorganize their business according to a certain plan to apply to the court, making the attorney-general a party, and obtain a declaration as to the legality of their proposed action. Whether or not the right to the declaratory judgment should extend so far as to permit the constitutionality of statutes to be questioned in this manner, the instance cited affords a good illustration of the embarrassment which attends the transaction of business where in matters of great responsibility no way exists for men to ascertain with certainty their legal rights. I have mentioned only a few of the many cases in which the declaratory judgment has proved a useful instrument of preventive justice and I have not attempted any formal classification of the kinds of cases in which it may be used. It is apparent that our present system of judicial functions, which limits the powers of the courts to the redress of wrongs already done or the "Dyson v. Attorney-General, (1911) 1 K. B. 410. 15 Dyson v. Attorney-General, (1912) Ch. 158. protection of rights actually threatened, leaves a great field of opportunity for service by the courts yet to be developed. The existence of this defect in our conception of the judicial function has been vaguely recognized in the statutes passed from time to time enlarging the power of the courts. The right of a trustee to apply for directions and to the beneficiaries of a trust to ask for a construction of the instrument creating the trust has always been an exception to the rule that the court will declare rights only as an incident to the granting of relief. Many of the states have now enlarged the powers of the court by authorizing courts of chancery to construe wills whether any trust is involved or not, and to quiet, establish and confirm titles to real estate or any incumbrance thereon. The Torrens system of registration of land titles by decree of the court, authorized in some states by statute, furnishes an illustration of the declaratory judgment. A recent statute of Connecticut extended the power for the determination of all adverse claims of title to cases of personal property as well as real estate. The benefits resulting from such legislation in regard to property rights will be even greater when applied to rights growing out of contracts. The cases, of which only a few have been mentioned, illustrate the great number and variety of circumstances in which persons engaged in commerce, manufacture, banking, business of every description may be involved in doubt and embarrassment and even subject to great losses, because of their inability to obtain assurance of their rights and obligations. Our courts are hopelessly inadequate to this situation. The declaratory judgment solves the difficulty by settling the legal rights of the parties before those rights have been violated and the case is res adjudicata before it has arisen. The procedure has had more than thirty-five years of practical demonstration in England, where it has been used to such an extent that a large proportion of the cases in the current reports of the Chancery Division seek no executory judgment or decree but only a declaration of legal rights. Not only ought the law to be certain but its application to the individual case ought to be certain. The states and the federal government through their courts can afford their citizens protection against uncertainty as to their legal relations and their contract and property rights. So will the courts serve the people more widely and to better purpose. PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF BAR A Section of the American Bar Association Consisting of The Fifth Annual Conference of Bar Association Delegates was held at St. Louis on August 24, 1920. Thirty-five states were represented in the Conference. Thirty-two state bar associations were represented, from the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. Thirty-two local bar associations were represented. Altogether there were 64 bar associations represented to which is to be added the American Bar Association. Ninety-seven delegates were in attendance. Moorfield Storey, of Boston, Mass., presided over the Conference. The following set of resolutions was adopted at the meeting: RESOLUTION RELATING TO ORGANIZATION OF THE BAR. "Resolved, That the report of Mr. Goodwin's committee on the organization of the bar be approved and that it be circulated by the Secretary among state and local bar associations, with the recommendation that such associations consider its conclusions." RESOLUTIONS RELATING TO UNLAWFUL PRACTICE OF THE LAW. "Resolved, That the report of Mr. Piatt's committee be accepted, and that, subject to approval by the officers of the conference when amended so as to include Mr. Boston's reference to the L. Tanenbaum, Strauss & Co. case, it be distributed among the various bar associations throughout the country." "Resolved, That the definition of the practice of the law contained in the report of the Special Committee (Mr. Piatt's committee) be recommended to the various state and local bar associations for adoption in their state laws by appropriate legislation." RESOLUTION RELATING TO AERONAUTICAL LAW. "Moved, That the report be received or referred to the Executive Committee for such action as may be appropriate in the premises." (Subsequently referred to American Bar Association.) RESOLUTION RELATING TO QUESTIONS DISCUSSED. "Resolved, That these three questions* be submitted to the various state and local bar associations, with a request that they consider them and report to the Secretary and that their reports be made a subject for consideration at the next annual meeting, in conformity with the by-laws." A draft of By-Laws was presented and after discussion adopted, whereby the Conference becomes a Section of the American Bar Association. Article I of the By-Laws states that the purpose of the Conference" is to create a better understanding between the members of the American Bar and to induce a better and more effective cooperation by the bar associations of the country in the maintenance, the extension and the observance of the standards set by the American Bar Association." The membership of the Conference (Article II) "shall consist of delegates from the various bar associations of the country to be selected as follows: Five delegates from the American Bar Association, three delegates from each state bar association and two delegates from each * 1. What are state and local bar associations doing to impress upon the people of their states and communities the vital importance of respect for the law? 2. How can the influence of such associations in that field be increased? 3. What are the state and local bar associations doing to promote knowledge and understanding on the part of the people of their states and communities of the fundamental principles of American institutions? |