Prefiguring feminist constitutions: an experimental legal writing method for Northern/Ireland?

This article makes a case for prefigurative feminist constitution-writing as a method to challenge the gendered constraints of constitutionalism. Prefigurative legality uses legal language and form to imagine law otherwise, moving beyond traditional appeals to courts or state actors. Prefigurative legality, as described by Cohen and Morgan, uses legal forms to imagine alternative futures through direct action rather than traditional state channels. Feminist judgment projects exemplify this by rewriting court decisions as if a feminist judge had ruled, demonstrating how law could plausibly evolve. Scholars are now beginning to apply similar methods to legislative drafting, though not yet to constitutional design. Extending this method to constitution-writing invites feminist scholars and activists to rethink constitutional structures and processes. Acting ‘as if’ feminist constitutional alternatives are both legitimate and possible opens space for imagination and experimentation. Prefigurative projects blend critique and creativity, offering real proposals for alternative futures even before formal adoption. Drawing on examples from Ireland and Northern Ireland, this article presents prefigurative feminist constitution-writing as both a critical tool and a practical method — one that values resilience and imagination equally, and that can inspire future constitutional change across diverse contexts.