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Seasons of change?

05 December 2019 / Neil Parpworth
Issue: 7867 / Categories: Features
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The ‘Autumn Uprising’: a public assembly or assemblies? Neil Parpworth investigates
  • Roots of the Autumn Uprising: the Extinction Rebellion.
  • Legislative framework: the Public Order Act.
  • The decision: interpreting s 14 powers.

The common law recognises that the citizen has a right to protest and that such a right is closely entwined with freedom of speech: see, for example, the remarks of Lord Denning in Hubbard v Pitt [1976] QB 142, [1975] 3 All ER 1 [1975] 1 All ER 1056 and the decisions in R v Roberts [2019] 1 WLR 2577, [2018] All ER (D) 34 (Dec) and Redmond-Bate v DPP [2000] HRLR 249, [1999] All ER (D) 864. Since the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998, the citizen has also been able to rely directly upon the Convention rights of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, as protected by Arts 10 and 11, before domestic courts. Where they have done so, judges have been quick to echo the sentiments of the Strasbourg court that such rights are hallmarks

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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