The New Law of Peaceful Protest Rights and Regulation in the Human Rights Act Era

by Mead, David

• ISBN13: 9781841136219
• ISBN10: 1841136212
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-06
• Publisher: Hart Publishing

Summary

The right to peaceful protest and peaceful assembly is considered fundamental to most democratic systems of government yet it has received much less attention in recent years than the right to which it is most closely linked, the right to freedom of speec

Author Biography

David Mead is Senior Lecturer in Law at the Norwich Law School, University of East Anglia. He has written extensively on public order and the right of peaceful protest in both the UK and at Strasbourg. He has provided specialist expert advice to Turkey on peaceful protest as part of the EU's TAIEX Enlargement scheme.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. v
Table of Cases	p. xi
Table of UK Legislation	p. xxv
Introduction	p. 1
Overview	p. 1
Historical Development of The Right	p. 4
The Function of Free Speech and Protest	p. 6
Protest and Democracy	p. 9
A Simple Dichotomy: Protest v Direct Action	p. 11
Deciding to Engage in Collective Action	p. 12
The Socio-Legal Aspect	p. 14
The Role and Behaviour of the Police	p. 18
Protest and Protesters at the Start of the New Millenium	p. 20
Protecting Human Rights in the Human Rights Act Era	p. 25
The Right to Protest at Common Law	p. 26
The European Convention on Human Rights	p. 29
A Home-Grown Bill of Rights? The Human Rights Act 1998	p. 38
Conclusion: The Likely Influence of the Human Rights Act on Peaceful Protest	p. 55
Strasbourg Case Law on the Right to Peaceful Protest	p. 57
Introduction	p. 57
A Content Study of Protest Cases	p. 59
The Scope of the Right to Peaceful Protest	p. 63
The Extent of Lawful Interferences with the Right	p. 76
Conclusions	p. 114
The Locus of Protest	p. 118
Introduction and Overview	p. 118
Rights of Access Over Land for the Purpose of Protest	p. 121
Place-Specific Restrictions on Protest	p. 138
Police Powers in Relation to Protests on Land	p. 162
Conclusion	p. 167
Peaceful Persuasion and Communication Dissent	p. 168
Overview	p. 168
Marching, Meeting and Holding Demonstrations: The Statutory Scheme in the Public Order Act 1986	p. 169
Showing Support for Causes and Campaigns	p. 213
Conclusion	p. 233
Taking Direct Action	p. 237
Introduction and Overview	p. 237
Direct Action Protesters as Terrorists	p. 239
Crimes of Violence and Damage	p. 241
Aggravated Trespass	p. 252
Harassment and Intimidation	p. 264
Other Criminal Measures to Control Direct Action	p. 292
Conclusion	p. 306
Preventive Action by the Police	p. 311
The General Duties of the Police	p. 311
Stop and Search Powers	p. 313
Preventing Breaches of the Peace	p. 319
Anti-Social Behaviour Orders	p. 362
Dispersal Orders	p. 364
Strasbourg Case Law	p. 373
Conclusions	p. 375
Private Law Remedies and Proceedings	p. 381
Introduction	p. 382
Possible Claims by Private Parties	p. 384
Conclusions	p. 398
Conclusion	p. 399
A Strasbourg Snapshot: The Right of Peaceful Protest under the ECHR in 2010	p. 400
A Domestic Snapshot: The Right of Peaceful Protest in England and Wales in 2010	p. 401
The Wider Picture: A Recap of Some Key Themes	p. 408
An Agenda for Change	p. 412
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950	p. 426
Bringing an Individual Case to Strasbourg: An Overview	p. 431
A Summary of Strasbourg Case Law on the Right to Peaceful Protest	p. 433
Human Rights Act 1998, Chapter 42	p. 467
Bibliography	p. 477
Index	p. 485
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