Legal mobilisation

Legal mobilisation is the employment of legal processes and resources by activist groups or individuals in order to achieve specific social and political outcomes.^[1][2] It is a form of social mobilisation that focuses on successfully pleading strategic litigation cases before the courts.^[3][4]

The mobilisation of the law may involve multiple stakeholders, including advocacy groups, marginalised communities, non-governmental organisations, independent government agencies, and lawyers.^[5]

Definition

An early definition of legal mobilisation by Frances Kahen Zemans describes the law as being mobilised when "a desire or want is translated into a demand as an assertion of one's rights". ^[6]

Process

Legislative activity creates an opportunity for legal mobilization. The courts become particularly relevant when petitioners have grounds to file suit.^[3]

See also

• Legal awareness
• Legal empowerment
• Public interest law
• Advocacy
• Judicial restraint
• Judicial activism
• Social mobilisation