The Protest Handbook: protesting for the right to be heard

June 28, 2012 - PRLog -- Press Release                                            
Brand New Title
April 2012
The Protest Handbook
Tom Wainwright, Anna Morris, Owen Greenhall and Katherine Craig

Protesting for the right to be heard

While police and governmental responses become tougher on those who carry out popular protest, both protesters and law enforcement agents are in greater need of access to the law, full knowledge of rights and powers and remedies to legal action.

Who is ready to assist and protect lawful protest?

Whether defending or prosecuting protesters, practitioners currently need to leaf through large volumes on criminal law to prepare for protest cases. Often they find relevant sections on police powers, criminal offences and the European Convention to be incomplete, spread out or not cross-referenced - all making their workload greater than it needs to be.

Even worse, protesters find themselves at ground level with no knowledge of their rights and no understanding of how they can use the law to their advantage – with the potential of facing the police charges unlawfully.

Questions that need answering

What is clear amongst practitioners and protesters is that many important questions are often left unanswered:
•   When is a police officer acting outside ‘the execution of his duty’?
•   When is the defence of necessity available?
•   When are limits on the right to protest necessary and proportionate?
•   Are police powers and public order legislation being used in a way that is compliant with the Human Rights Act?

But these questions do need examining and presenting in a way that can be easily accessed and used to work through protest cases successfully, as well as to assist activists during the time of a protest or thereafter.

The only practical handbook available

The Protest Law Handbook is the only practical guide to protest law currently on the market that provides the specific assistance needed for practitioners and protesters alike. It draws together all relevant areas of criminal and civil law, as well as the relevant authorities, cross referenced for ease of study and use.

Guiding practitioners and non-practitioners through the process from beginning to end

This brand new title is presented in five clear chapters that relate to each stage of a potential case. The chapters include practical assistance in line with protesters’ experience of attending demonstrations, the chronological structure of a case, relevant areas of substantive law in sections that cover groups of similar offences, the topical issue of the law relating to occupations and remedies available where protesters’ rights have been infringed.

Drawing all protest-related legislation together into one accessible volume

The most current guide to protest law available covers this list of legislation, case law and more:
•   Austin v UK, ECtHR Grand Chamber, Judgment 15th March 2012
•   Police Reform and Social Responsibilities Act 2011, ss141-149
•   Police (Conduct) Regulations 2008
•   R v Jones and others (2007) 1 AC 136
•   R (LaPorte) v Chief Constable of Gloucestershire (2007) 2 AC 105
•   Police (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations 2004
•   Police Reform Act 2002
•   Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
•   Public Order Act 1986
•   Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
•   European Convention on Human Rights

Excellent tools and regular updates

To further ensure that users have all the tools they need, a complete set of appendices can be found at the back of the book. These cover:
•   Flowcharts of actions to be taken
•   Extracts from relevant legislation
•   Standards of professional behaviour
•   Useful websites
•   Key concepts

Most helpfully, to assist readers in staying up to date on protest law, an online updating service, theprotesthandbook.com will provide updates on developments in the law that can be cross-referenced with the text along with new helpful hints and tools.

Who should buy this book?

This is an essential title for all barristers and solicitors who work in criminal practice, as well as charities, organisations and community groups that provide advice and support for protests and protesters themselves.

About the authors
Tom Wainwright and Anna Morris are barristers at Garden Court Chambers, Owen Greenhall is a barrister and former member of the ‘Climate Camp’ legal team and Katherine Craig is a solicitor at the leading human rights firm of Christian Khan.
All four are committed protest lawyers with a strong reputation and wide experience in protecting and upholding the rights of protestors, particularly their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.
ISBN: 978 1 84766 981 0 Pub date: April-12 Format: Paperback Price: £50