ABSTRACT
This chapter sets the legal background to the right to peaceful protest and the range of offences that can arise in the course of protesting. The introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) incorporated Arts 10 and 11 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into UK domestic law. The London Metropolitan Police justified their actions on the grounds that it would help any subsequent post-incident investigation to identify people involved in criminal activity. Amends the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) so that the powers of citizen's arrest do not apply to the offences of stirring up religious and racial hatred. This represented a constitutional shift in the domestic protection of the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. A 'public assembly' is an assembly of two or more people in a public place that is wholly or partly open to the air. This can extend to privately owned land that the public generally has access to.
