Background to the Research

• The Human Rights Act 1998 came into force on 2 October 2000 and all public authorities in NI - including the Parades Commission, the police and the courts - must adhere to the standards laid down by the European Convention on Human Rights.
• This report surveys that standards of the Convention and within this context assesses the legal position of individuals, organisations and the state in relation to the right to peaceful assembly and the right to protest in NI.
  

Research Approach

• The authors offer a summary of the position in relation to parades, protests and the policing of these events through the examination of international human rights standards, international practice and legal cases referring to those standards.
  

Main Findings

• Decisions taken by the European Court have often given a wide 'margin of appreciation' to national governments over freedom of assembly. This means that the court has preferred to find in favour of the institutions of the state rather than the applicant who has complained of an infringement by the state.
• Freedom of assembly covers not only static meetings, but also public processions. The state has a positive obligation to enable peaceful demonstrations to take place and should take reasonable and appropriate measures to facilitate this.
• There is no absolute right to assemble or parade. The state can place restrictions upon the right as long as the restrictions are necessary in a democratic society, have a legitimate purpose(s) including securing public safety, preventing disorder and protecting the rights and freedoms of others.
• Route restrictions have been held to be an infringement of the right to peaceful assembly, but infringements have been allowed if they are proportionate to the legitimate aim being pursued.
• The likelihood of public disorder at an event has been a central issue for the Euorpean Court. It has often made adjudications that accept the decision of the local courts in restricting freedom of assembly - particularly if it can show violence is possible or a history of violence from any party can be demonstrated.
• A policy of communal consent, whereby marches through residential areas would be permitted only if the march organisers had obtained the consent of the residents, has no basis in international human rights law. Although it can be argued that event organisers have a responsibility to liaise with local communities in order to create conditions in which an assembly might take place peacefully.
• The rights of individuals and communities affected by parades may include the right to respect for private and family life, the right to respect for one's freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the right to peaceful enjoyment of one's possessions. These rights are not absolute and can be restricted in similar circumstances to freedom of assembly.
• The police have a dual role to protect people's rights and to adjudicate between those rights. They have the responsibility to facilitate the exercise of human rights and the authority to restrict such practice.
• The police have the authority to prevent or disperse any assemblies that might create unreasonable disruption, that threatens to disturb public order or that have the potential to provoke violence from others because it interferes with their rights and freedoms.
• In dispersing assemblies,the police should always attempt to use peaceful means in the first instance. The police have the right to use force to disperse assemblies but such force must always be both proportionate and necessary in the circumstances.
• The police have a positive obligation to protect life and they have a responsibility to ensure that all operations are prepared and planned with this in mind.
• In relation to the procedure of making determinations on the right to peaceful assembly account should be taken of the right to a fair hearing.
• In relation to policing peaceful assembly, account should be taken of the right not to be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
• Issues over the protection of minority rights remain problematic in NI.