ABSTRACT
Introduction: public protest and freedom of speech Chapter 4 introduced you to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA). This chapter sets out the legal background to the right to freedom of assembly and peaceful protest and the range of offences that can arise in the course of protesting, culminating at times in riots. We will also look at human rights legislation, specifically Art 11 ECHR, the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and Art 10, the right to freedom of expression and the abundance of terrorism legislation passed by Parliament since 9/11 (the terrorism atrocities in the USA on 11 September 2001), the London bombings in July 2005, the Paris terrorism attacks in November 2015 and the Brussels airport terrorism attack in March 2016.
