Mark Shelton, professional support lawyer at DLA
Q I am the manager of a small shopping centre. Over the last few weeks, campaigners have gathered in the centre to ask shoppers to sign a petition against a local development. I have repeatedly asked them to leave, but they have refused. They claim that because of their rights to freedom of assembly and expression, they are entitled to remain on the premises. Are they right?
A Probably not. This situation was recently considered by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Appleby v United Kingdom (44306/98). A group of environmental campaigners had challenged a local shopping centre owner’s refusal to allow them to collect signatures within the shopping centre. They argued that a shopping centre is the same thing as a town centre: a “quasi-public” space, in which they could legitimately expect to exercise their human rights to freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of association. The court accepted this, but had to balance those rights against the private property right of the owner to refuse admittance to its property at its absolute discretion. In this case, the court decided that there had been no breach of human rights. Your circumstances sound very similar, but be aware that any variations could make for a different result.
Mark Shelton, professional support lawyer at DLA
