Relevant criminal offences

To comply with article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights - freedom of assembly - the state must not only tolerate peaceful protests but must also positively facilitate them.

In the words of the Commons home affairs committee report following the G20 protests, "the police must constantly remember that those who protest on Britain's streets are not criminals but citizens motivated by moral principles, exercising their democratic rights. The police's doctrine must remain focused on allowing this protest to happen peacefully. Any action which may be viewed by the general public as the police criminalising protest on the streets must be avoided at all costs."

The criminal law does, however, regulate and criminalise protesters where they go beyond what is protected by the European convention.

• Organisers must often tell the police they are organising an assembly or a procession, or a demonstration near Parliament. The police can impose conditions on the protest and may even ban processions. It is an offence for a protester to breach those conditions (Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, and Public Order Act 1986).
• The Public Order Act 1986 created a range of offences - from the use of threatening, abusive, or insulting words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress (section 5 of the Act, maximum sentence of a fine) to violent disorder (section 2 of the Act, maximum sentence of 5 years' prison) and riot (section 1 of the Act, maximum sentence of 10 years prison).
• A lot may turn on where a protest takes place. Any unreasonable use of the pavement or road may amount to an obstruction of the highway (Highways Act 1980). If protesters are on private land and do something intended to disrupt someone else's lawful activity, they may be committing an "aggravated trespass" (Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994).

This note was first published in the Morning Star on 25th March 2011, the day before the TUC anti-cuts demonstration in London