Lord Chief Justice clarifies ambit of the so called ‘right to protest’ and its impact on some criminal offences

News | Wed 30th Mar, 2022

Tom Little QC, instructed by the DPP, has succeeded in an important appeal in the Divisional Court before the Lord Chief Justice and Mr Justice Holgate which has provided much needed clarity as to whether there is any need for the Prosecution to prove, in addition to the elements of the offence, that a particular prosecution is a proportionate interference with the Article 10 and 11 rights of a defendant.  The decision last year of DPP v. Ziegler [2021] UKSC 23; [2021] 3 WLR 179 in the Supreme Court had raised more questions than it answered and had been widely misunderstood. Tom’s submissions on the two main grounds of appeal were accepted by the Divisional Court and on the first ground of appeal, whilst the Court did not determine the issue for procedural reasons, they did indicate support for his submissions. That issue will have to be determined in a future case.

https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/director-of-public-prosecutions-v-elliot-cuciurean/