"The right of assembly is a fundamental right"

Created: 01/11/2022, 1:15 PM

“Monday walks” like on our archive photo from the end of December in Memmingen are currently taking place in numerous German cities.

Such events fall under the right of assembly, a so-called "everyone's basic right", laid down in Article 8 of the Basic Law.

© Tom Otto

Unterallgäu - The right of assembly is a so-called "everyone's basic right" - recorded in Article 8 of the Basic Law, supplemented by the Bavarian Assembly Act.

"This fundamental right is a very valuable asset and its protection is also very important to me personally," says District Administrator Alex Eder.

There are a few things to keep in mind for the best possible and safe process. The security and order department at the Unterallgäu District Office and the Mindelheim Police Department point this out in a press release from the District Office.

It is important to note that meetings must generally be reported to the Security and Order Department at least 48 hours before they are announced. District Administrator Eder emphasizes: "The Monday walks currently taking place also fall under this regulation." Because these were used to announce a protest and even an unregistered meeting is still a meeting. Eder emphasizes the advantages of registering: “If the meeting is announced beforehand, we can help in advance that it goes off as safely as possible. We absolutely cannot and do not want to be able to completely reject or disproportionately restrict meetings.which are dangerous to traffic in the dark. The experts' look at the meeting announcement can provide some helpful information.

Eder also emphasizes: "It goes without saying that dangerous objects are not allowed to be brought into a meeting." He also advises participants to wear clearly visible clothing during the dark season for reasons of road safety.

During the gathering, the police then ensure the safety of everyone involved. In addition, a meeting leader must be appointed who organizes the course of the meeting and ensures order during the meeting. For this purpose, the chairman of the meeting can appoint stewards to help him with this. If no leader of the meeting is available from the ranks of the meeting, the police must take over this task. The head of the Mindelheim police station, Dagmar Bethke, hopes that the requirements of the right of assembly and the Infection Protection Ordinance are complied with - this includes maintaining a minimum distance of 1.5 meters between the participants. The implementation of the requirements succeeds best when a meeting is reported and the police have a contact person on site.

Even if no gathering was reported, the "Monday walks" legally remain a gathering, according to the police. The police, as the deputy head of the meeting, are then responsible for keeping order during the meeting, for example to implement minimum distances and to specify a safe route for the meeting. Under certain circumstances, it might be necessary to order a mask requirement, and road traffic should not be unduly impaired.

Bethke relies on communication with the meeting participants and hopes for their cooperation.

“We will pay very close attention to whether the participants in the meeting have the will for the event to proceed peacefully and safely.

If this is not the case, in addition to a higher police presence, the issue of a general order must also be considered.

The basic right to freedom of assembly is very important to the police, but we must ensure that it is exercised within the framework of the applicable law. "

In conclusion, Eder emphasizes: “Everyone should be able to express their opinion freely.

The employees of the district office and the police also want to ensure this.

It is therefore important that we all work together and, above all, that everything is always respectful and peaceful. "

More about rights and obligations at meetings at www.unterallgaeu.de/versammlungsrecht.