Recent Judicial Decisions
| Author | Damian Carney,David Wicks |
| DOI | 10.1350/pojo.2011.84.4.570 |
| Date | 01 December 2011 |
| Published date | 01 December 2011 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Judicial Decisions |
DAVID WICKS
Legal Correspondent
Email: dcw@3pumpcourt.com
DAMIAN CARNEY
Legal Correspondent
Email: Damian.Carney@port.ac.uk
RECENT JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Legality of Containment of Demonstrators
R (on the application of Moos and McClure) v Commissioner
of Police of the Metropolis [2011] EWHC 957(Admin); [2011]
HRLR 24
Queen’s Bench Division (Administrative Court)
14 April 2011
The President of the Queen’s Bench Division and Sweeney J
heard the substantive claim for judicial review, following the
grant of permission by Collins J.
Keywords: breach of the peace; demonstration; European
Convention on Human Rights, Articles 5, 10 and 11; legal-
ity of containment; Public Order Act 1986, s. 14
The facts
On 1 April 2009, two large demonstrations were organised in the
City of London to protest against the G20 Summit, which was
held in London the following day. One demonstration outside the
Royal Exchange turned violent and there was serious public
disorder; the other demonstration, based on the Climate Change
Camp at Bishopsgate, was non-violent, although it did com-
pletely block a four-lane carriageway. The police decided to
contain the Climate Change protest in Bishopsgate as they
believed that troublemakers dispersed from the Royal Exchange
demonstration would be attracted to the Bishopsgate protest and
cause disruption. The police contained the Climate Change
protest from 7pm to 11.15pm, which the protestors claimed was
unlawful because they should have been released sooner when
no violence from the demonstrators at this protest had mani-
fested itself. They also claimed that excessive force had been
used by police against the contained demonstrators as the police
used shields to push the protestors back 20–30 metres once the
372 The Police Journal, Volume 84 (2011)
DOI: 10.1358/pojo.2011.84.4.570
To continue reading
Request your trial