ABSTRACT
The aim of the civil disobedience movement was to bring constitutional and political change to the governance system of Hong Kong. This chapter establish a thesis: civil disobedience is justified by the rule of law. It defines civil obedience by showing that its goal is to do justice. The chapter advances a level approach to the rule of law, which integrates different understandings of the concept and necessitates a more substantive goal for the rule of law, i.e. achieving justice. It argues that civil disobedience plays a pivotal role in the development of the rule of law in attaining its substantive goal of achieving justice. Finally, the chapter proposes a developmental model of the rule of law that provides justification for civil disobedience within the framework of the rule of law. In justifying civil disobedience by the rule of law, people may gain a deeper understanding of what the rule of law actually is and will become.
