header-logo header-logo

Public: An unlawful procession?

05 March 2009 / Seamus Burns
Issue: 7359 / Categories: Features , Public , Community care , Constitutional law
printer mail-detail

Kay is a welcome boost for small but priceless freedoms. Seamus Burns explains why

It is extremely heartening to see the law lords recognising the perils of acceding to the wishes of the police in insisting on cyclists giving advance notice of an impromptu, yet long established, cycle ride (see Kay v Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis [2008] UKHL 69, [2008] All ER (D) 255 (Nov)).

This may appear an innocuous requirement by the police, but, is nonetheless, a worrying example of the executive (here the police) chipping away at our residual freedoms. The law lords' decision arguably recognises that authoritarian societies can emerge incrementally: the price of our freedoms rest on the constant vigilance partially of our judges.

Legal issues

Lord Phillips set out the “agreed facts” in the case, namely: “Critical Mass is not an organisation but the name given to a recurrent event…It takes place in central London on the evening of the last Friday of every month, as it has done

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
Writing in NLJ this week, Victoria Rylatt and Robyn Laye of Anthony Gold Solicitors examine recent international relocation cases where allegations of domestic abuse shaped outcomes
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
back-to-top-scroll