Ordre Publie

Guidelines on the Approach to the Public Order Ordinance in

Relation to Public Meetings and Public Processions

These Guidelines are not intended to be exhaustive. They are intended to assist

enforcement officers and other persons in their understanding of the statutory scheme,

including some of the terms, of the Public Order Ordinance (POO), Cap. 245, in the light of

the constitutional right of peaceful assembly in relation to public meetings and public

processions.

The Relevant Freedoms

2.

The freedom or right to peaceful assembly and to peaceful public procession are

fundamental rights guaranteed in the Basic Law (BL) of the HKSAR and the Hong Kong Bill

of Rights Ordinance (BORO), Cap. 383. Article 27 of the Basic Law provides:

“Hong Kong residents shall have freedom of speech, of the press and of publication;

freedom of association, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration; and the

right and freedom to form and join trade unions; and to strike.”

3.

The BOR is the domestic enactment of the International Covenant on Civil and

Political Rights (ICCPR) as applied to Hong Kong. BL 39 has entrenched the ICCPR as

applied to Hong Kong. The most relevant right recognized in BOR is Article 17 which

provides:

“The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed

on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and

which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or

public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of the rights and freedoms

of others.”

The right to freedom of expression, BOR 16, is a right that has close association with the

right to peaceful assembly. The rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are

not absolute but may be subject to restrictions provided that the restrictions are provided by

law and are necessary to pursue one of the legitimate purposes specified in the two articles.

‘Peaceful Assembly’...