The Mayor Commonalty and Citizens of London v Samede (St Paul’s Churchyard Camp Representative) and Others: CA 22 Feb 2012

The defendants sought to appeal against an order for them to vacate land outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London which they occupied as a protest.
Held: The application for leave to appeal failed. The only possible ground for appeal was on the question of whether the protestors human right to free speech had been interrupted. It had, but the interruption was not so substantial as to amount to an infringement of the rights.

Judges:

Lord Neuberger MR, Stanley Burnton, McFarlane LJJ

Citations:

[2012] EWCA Civ 160, [2012] PTSR 1624, [2012] HRLR 14, [2012] WLR(D) 41, [2012] 2 All ER 1039, [2012] BLGR 372

Links:

Bailii, WLRD

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal fromCity of London v Samede and Others QBD 18-Jan-2012
The claimant sought an order for possession of land outside St Paul’s cathedral occupied by the protestor defendants, consisting of ‘a large number of tents, between 150 and 200 at the time of the hearing, many of them used by protestors, either . .
CitedKuznetsov v Russia ECHR 23-Oct-2008
The applicant had taken part in a small demonstration which, for a short time, obstructed access to a public court building.
Held: The court: ‘reiterate[d] at the outset that the right to freedom of assembly covers both private meetings and . .
CitedHall and Others v Mayor of London (on Behalf of The Greater London Authority) CA 16-Jul-2010
The appellants sought leave to appeal against an order for possession of Parliament Square on which the claimants had been conducting a demonstration (‘the Democracy Village’).
Held: Leave was refused save for two appellants whose cases were . .
CitedUdall v Capri Lighting Ltd (in liquidation) CA 1987
A claim was made for the price of goods sold and delivered. The defendant’s solicitor gave an oral undertaking to his counterpart to procure the execution by directors of his client company of charges over their homes in return for an adjournment . .
CitedG and E v Norway ECHR 3-Oct-1983
The court considered the protection to be given to native peoples such as the Saami of Northern Norway. . .
CitedG v Germany ECHR 1987
ECHR (Commission) The applicants had conducted a sit-in, to protest against nuclear arms, and which obstructed a highway, which gave access to a US army barracks in Germany, for twelve minutes every hour.
CitedPerna v Italy ECHR 25-Jul-2001
. .
CitedLaporte, Regina (on the application of ) v Chief Constable of Gloucestershire HL 13-Dec-2006
The claimants had been in coaches being driven to take part in a demonstration at an air base. The defendant police officers stopped the coaches en route, and, without allowing any number of the claimants to get off, returned the coaches to London. . .
ApprovedTabernacle v Secretary of State for Defence CA 5-Feb-2009
The claimant sought judicial review to test the validity of the bye-laws which prohibited them from camping on public land to support their demonstration.
Held: The bye-laws violated the claimant’s right to freedom of assembly and of . .
CitedManchester City Council v Pinnock SC 9-Feb-2011
The council tenant had wished to appeal following a possession order made after her tenancy had been demoted. The court handed down a supplemental judgment to give effect to its earlier decision. The Court had been asked ‘whether article 8 of the . . .

Cited by:

CitedLord Carlile and Others v Secretary of State for The Home Department Admn 16-Mar-2012
The claimant had invited an Iranian dissident to speak in Parliament, and now challenged the decision of the Home Secretary to refuse her a visa on the basis that her exclusion was not conducive to the public good. She was a member of an . .
CitedRoberts and Others v Regina CACD 6-Dec-2018
Sentencing of Political Protesters
The defendants appealed against sentences for causing a public nuisance. They had been protesting against fracking by climbing aboard a lorry and blocking a main road for several days.
Held: The appeals from immediate custodial sentences were . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Land, Human Rights

Updated: 07 October 2022; Ref: scu.451456