How far can farmers go? The right to protest has clear limits
In the media image: Julia Koblitz on Unsplash
Dutch farmers recently blocked roads with tractors, covering their licence plates. This is a criminal offence but the police chose not to intervene. Rowie Stolk explains that the right to protest can outweigh the enforcement of individual breaches of the law.
The assistant professor in constitutional and administrative law argues on the NOS news site that under Dutch law protests should be facilitated as broadly as possible. Citizens need opportunities to make their voices heard outside election periods. Even when protesters commit criminal offences, she says, the authorities should respond with restraint. Stolk maintains that criminal law should not be used too quickly to deal with demonstrators.
At the same time, Stolk says there are clear limits to the right to protest. Legally, the police have the authority to intervene, but she argues that decisions should be guided primarily by the circumstances and by public safety. ‘It is not an absolute right. If a protest leads to serious public disorder, it can be restricted.’ The length of time a road is blocked also plays an important role: ‘Blocking a motorway for days on end would probably not be protected by the right to protest, whereas a blockade lasting half an hour may well be.’
More information?
Read the full NOS article (in Dutch)