In the past two decades Brazil has experienced a surge in right to health litigation, with thousands of claims reaching the courts every year demanding the enforcement of the right to health against the state. At first sight, this might be interpreted as a positive development, a kind of "rights revolution" in which the legal world, i.e. lawyers and the judiciary, help individuals and groups to make their rights real against an inefficient and corrupt state that repeatedly violates the constitution. But is this borne by the facts? In this presentation professor Ferraz will challenge this view based on several years of empirical research which show, he will argue, that we should be at least much more cautious before celebrating litigation as an effective tool of social change.