Definitions of Civil disobedience on the Web:

Deliberate, open, and peaceful violation of particular laws, decrees, regulations, military or police orders, or other governmental directives. The command may be disobeyed because it is seen as itself illegitimate or immoral, or because it is a symbol of other policies which are opposed. Civil disobedience may be practiced by individuals, groups, or masses of people.
www.fiu.edu/~fcf/glossary.html

Refusal to obey civil laws or decrees. This refusal usually takes the form of passive resistance. People practicing civil disobedience break a law because they consider it unjust, want to call attention to its injustice, and hope to bring about its repeal or amendment. They are also willing to accept any penalty, such as imprisonment.


the deliberate breaking of a law in order to draw public attention and debate to a cause or issue. Civil rights activists working with Rev. Martin Luther King often used this approach to challenge segregation. King defended such actions as justified, provided that those challenging the law do so “lovingly” and with a willingness to accept the penalty. Critics, however, said that using the tactic tended to weaken the basic principle that citizens have a duty to obey laws until they can be changed through legal processes