The circumstances in which a legal person takes exception to law it through civil
disobedience (John Rawls theory)
Civil disobedience is a nearly just society: politically motivated, public, non-violent,
conscientious breach of the law, to bring about change in the law
All other ordinary avenues towards changing the law have been closed of:
1. Acts of disobedience should usually target only sustainable and clear violation of justice-
particularly violations of equal liberty and equality of opportunity and not just any bad law
2. Acts of civil disobedience should be restricted to those cases where the dissenter allows that
anyone else subjected to similar injustices would have a right to disobey in a similar way
(and only when such a general disobedience would have acceptable consequences)
3. Any act of civil disobedience meting the first three conditions is one a dissenter has a right to
engage in, but a dissenter should excise the right only when dissent is likely to be an
effective means of achieving his ends
4. Direct Civil disobedience: Disobeys the very law it is protesting
5. Indirect Civil disobedience: Violates a different law, in order to change the law, it is
protesting
Examples
Hong Kong demonstrating against in the government-indirect
Rosa Parks refused to sit at the back of the bus-Direct
School strikes by climate activists -indirect
Operation rescue protestor trespassing to block access to abortion clinic- Direct
Supporters of ACT UP blocking traffic to protest lack of government action on AIDS-indirect
Occupy wall street protestors taking over public land to protest economic inequality-direct
Veil of Ignorance- one must strip themselves of labels in order to make laws that are not
institutionally biased
A state of exception
When a state government sovereign claims exceptional circumstances justify suspending
normal legal procedure
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