Definition : Declaratory law

A special class of retroactive legislation that is enacted for the purpose of correcting the interpretation of a statute by a court of law that Parliament considers to be erroneous. Articles 1060 and 1096 of the Civil Code of Quebec are declaratory, that is, they not only apply for the future, but correspond to the scope that the legislator has always intended to give to these articles. This does not nullify the judicial decisions rendered in the various cases that applied the concept of implied amendment, but they cannot now serve as a reference on this issue (Sections 31, 52 and 157 of Bill 16.).