The article is about the relationship between emancipation and law. This relationship does not appear in the literature as uniform or peaceful. In contrast, an overview of literature yields a range of polymorphic positions: from the classical view of Roman law which is located in the etymological derivation of the same concept, i.e. the possibility of overcoming parental authority imposed by typical forms of social relations by authority to the possibility that subjects have – not just as individuals as considered in the Civil Code – but rather collectively, to find emancipatory mechanisms, which are possibly counter-hegemonic, in Law. The paper brings together the information that is considered relevant and presents a brief initial analysis as to the theoretical discussion of emancipation within the context of Law, without presenting final conclusions; it is, rather, an invitation to and a reflexive article for the academic community. The guiding question (or the compass, even) of the article is: Can the Law offer opportunities for social emancipation? If so, what conditions are needed for such a phenomenon to be possible?

Currently the acción de tutela is considered an appropriate mechanism for claiming rights of civil society against the Colombian state. This tool is not only the means by which people can defend themselves against the constant violations of human rights by public authorities or persons who hold positions of power, but also manifests itself as a tool for civil society to reclaim from the State the rights historically denied and / or violated, such as the fundamental social right to education, especially from afrocolombian communities without access to higher education.