Civil Disobedience for Social Change: Constitutional Law as Facilitative or Distracting

Challenging the constitution, whether through civil disobedience or litigating a test case, provides ways of challenging the unjustness of law. This essay examines the role of constitutional law in progressive social change and critical pedagogy. It examines some of the advantages and disadvantages in bringing test cases and practising civil disobedience. It also considers what can be gained in legal education by teaching students to represent civilly disobedient clients.