declaration

In law, a declaration is an authoritative establishment of fact. Declarations take various forms in different legal systems. Canon law In the canon law of the Catholic Church, a declaration of nullity, (commonly called an annulment and less commonly a decree of nullity) is authoritative judgment on the part of an ecclesiastical tribunal juridically establishing the fact that a marriage was invalidly contracted or, less frequently, a judgment juridically establishing the fact that an ordination was invalidly conferred. It does not dissolve a valid bond of marriage, but it is merely a factual declaration of the nullity of the bond. Common law