The Right to Peaceful Protest

The human rights afforded to those in the UK extend to the right to protest peacefully as set out in the Human Rights Act. There is a vast and fascinating history throughout the country of peaceful protests, which have been effective in the changing and setting up of rights and laws. More recently, the police have been granted additional powers to manage public protests, and it is important that protestors are aware of their rights and the potential implications of such activity.

The following article explains the rights of peaceful protestors throughout the UK including the restrictions that they must observe and potential implications for any breaches.

The Power of Peaceful Protests

Peaceful protests can be effective throughout the world in ensuring that governments and authorities hear the voice and opinions of others and to take a stand against previously made decisions or important issues. Peaceful protests can range from sit-ins to civil rights marches and are used to gather support or communicate opinions in a host of matters that are of public interest. Such protests can be effective in changing laws or setting new rights and are acknowledged as being valuable to making significant changes to policies.

The Human Rights Act recognises the importance of allowing peaceful protests as it is a reliable and nonviolent way of people standing up for their beliefs and not suffering from oppression from their governments.

The Convention on Human Rights

The Convention on Human Rights supports the Human rights Act in that it too recognises the importance and value of peaceful protests. It sets out the importance of giving society the opportunity to express themselves and utilise their freedom of thought. The Convention places restrictions on governments and authorities such as the police from interfering in peaceful demonstrations. If such a body does interfere with a protestor's right to freely express themselves in a peaceful manner, the public has a right to take legal action against them.

The Police and Peaceful Protests

Developments in the authority and powers that the police have to manage protests have been established to maintain national security without imposing unlawful restrictions on protestors. The police now have additional powers to control terrorist and anti-social behaviour, and this has meant that although peaceful protests can be carried out in public, more public spaces have additional restrictions on them.

Although a peaceful protestor's rights have not changed, the space in which they conduct their protest is likely to be more difficult to find, and as such, the police now have greater control over this type of activity.

Peaceful Protestors Rights and Restrictions

There are several rights and restrictions that are in place for those who wish to take part in a peaceful protest. Some of the most relevant include:

• The right to gather and peacefully protest in certain public areas without having gained the permission of the police or other local authorities
• Protestors will not be guilty of a criminal offence if they trespass on private land
• No unlawful activity will have been carried out if the protestors are peaceful, unthreatening and non-violent.
• Protests can be carried out on a public highway lawfully as long as the rights of way are not completely blocked
• Forcible removal from protestors on private land can be carried out, but they must not be arrested unless they have acted violently or they have intimidated a person
• If conduct is kept reasonable, the peaceful protest will be lawful

Protest and the Law

The law gives police the power to control the crowd during a protest, and this serves to protect the public as well as the protestors. The ways in which the police can lawfully carry out their role include ‘stop and search' and restrict certain areas of activity.

Breach of the Peace

The police are also entitled to arrest protestors if they believe that there is a breach of the peace in their conduct or if a breach of the peace is suspected. The police may also use the powers afforded to them in antisocial behaviour orders as well as dispersal orders to break up protests or to prevent activity from certain individuals.

Injunctions

Injunctions can be sought for protestors who conduct themselves in front of business premises or company buildings. The business is entitled to use an injunction to prevent further activity and stop the protest. Such injunctions are civil orders, and criminal proceedings and penalties can be brought against any person who does not adhere to the terms of the order. When an injunction is issued, protestors are entitled to apply to the court to contest the terms.