Opinion ID: 450762
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Clarification of legal relations and relief from uncertainty

Text: 64 A declaratory judgment resolving the environmental issue would also accomplish the goals of clarifying and settling the legal relations in issue and of affording relief from the uncertainty giving rise to the proceeding. Declaratory relief on the environmental issue would resolve a complex and long-lasting dispute over critical aspects of the parties' rights and responsibilities under the treaty. It would enable the parties to know whether, and the extent to which, the fishery must be protected from environmental degradation. The State needs to know whether this right exists in order to make intelligent decisions about future development in the treaty area. The same is true with respect to the United States, which because of its role as plaintiff trustee in this case, has not been able to represent that interest. If the right does exist to some extent, the State and the United States must take it into account in their development decisions. Likewise, the treaty fishermen need to know where they stand after the Supreme Court's decision in Washington v. Washington State Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel Ass'n, 443 U.S. 658, 99 S.Ct. 3055, 61 L.Ed.2d 823 (1979) (Fishing Vessel ). They are entitled to an answer concerning the treaty their forebears accepted. 65