ABSTRACT
People exercise their freedom of assembly when they visit the cinema, hold a birthday party, join a picket, or march in protest. The focus of this chapter is on activities which have a public or political dimension-marches, meetings, rallies, demonstrations, pickets and festivals. These activities enable citizens to organise independently of government, both for their own ends and to protest or influence national or local policies on issues of concern. In many ways, they represent a collective freedom of expression.
