The Right of Assembly in Central Europe

Abstract

The article deals with the legal regulation of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic with regard to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The chosen topics focus on the definition of assembly, the relationship between freedom of expression and property rights together with the right of assembly.  In each of above-mentioned countries, the assembly to which constitutional protection is granted, the definitiondiffers slightly; with the widest concept of assembly deriving from the judicature of the ECHR. The constitutional protection of the Assembly, in particular found in Germany and Austria, which is significantly narrower than the protection provided by the European Convention on Human Rights, may thus at some stage come  into conflict with the requirements of the ECHR. The section devoted to freedom of speech deals, among other things, with cases exhibiting shocking photographs, which were part of the campaign against abortion, in front of schools in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. In the future, the most serious problem is the conflict of the right of assembly along with the right of ownership, consisting in assemblies held on private property, which is used by the public, such as shopping malls, airports or railway stations. This has been the focus of the professional public and the courts for a long time, especially in Germany.