Declaratory relief is not a recent development. Its predecessors date from early Roman law., Over the years the remedy has evolved into a modern, efficient and valuable form of relief, authorized and governed by statute. Wisconsin's current declaratory judgment statute was created in 19272 by the adoption of the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act (the Wisconsin Declaratory Judgments Act is hereinafter referred to as the Act). The purpose of this Comment is to examine the general use of declaratory judgments in Wisconsin, with emphasis on their use as a method of challenging the validity, propriety or status of governmental acts. Three main areas are examined: (1) the nature of a declaratory judgment, the prerequisites to its use, and its relation to other remedies; (2) the jurisdictional and procedural aspects of declaratory actions; and (3) the specific substantive areas in which declaratory relief has been used in Wisconsin.