Freedom of peaceful assembly is sometimes difficult to separate from freedom of expression. Authors of communications to the Human Rights Committee that relate to protests often invoke both freedom of expression and of assembly, and the Human Rights Committee is willing to apply both rights.[1]
The IACHR has stated that demonstrations are “a form of expression involving the exercise of related rights such as the right of citizens to assemble and demonstrate and the right to the free flow of opinions and information.”[2]
The ECtHR also acknowledges that there is no clear dividing line between the two rights.[3] It considers the guarantee of freedom of peaceful assembly a lex specialis, which must be interpreted in light of freedom of expression, which is the lex generalis:
In practice, the ECtHR has tended to analyze certain forms of protest as exercises of freedom of expression rather than freedom of peaceful assembly. These include one-person protests,[5] the establishment of protest camps,[6] shouting slogans during a ceremony,[7] hunger strikes,[8] symbolic acts of protest (such as hanging out clothing representing the “dirty laundry of the nation”,[9] pouring paint on a sculpture[10] or burning flags and photos[11] ), displaying signs or political symbols,[12] occupations of public buildings[13] and direct actions intended to block activities that demonstrators disapprove of.[14]
