Papal resignation is envisaged as a possibility in canon 332 §2 of the Code of Canon Law and canon 44 §2 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The only conditions for the validity of the resignation are that it be made freely and be manifested properly.
Canon law does not specify any particular individual or body or people to whom the Pope must manifest his resignation, leaving perhaps open the possibility of doing so to the Church or the world in general. But some commentators hold that the college of cardinals or at least its Dean must be informed, since the cardinals must be absolutely certain that the Pope has renounced the dignity before they can validly proceed to elect a successor.
The term "abdication" is not used in the official documents of the Church for resignation by a Pope.
Read more about Papal Resignation: Precedents, Alleged Conditional Resignations Not Put Into Effect, Incapacitation
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“Resignation, not mystic, not detached, but resignation open- eyed, conscious, and informed by love, is the only one of our feelings for which it is impossible to become a sham.”
—Joseph Conrad (1857–1924)