1. Unauthorized assembly (Section 17A Public Order Ordinance)

1. Unauthorized assembly (Section 17A Public Order Ordinance)

An unauthorised assembly is:

(1) Any public meeting or public procession that takes place without first having notified the Commissioner of Police, or when having been prohibited to or objected by the Commissioner of the Police;

(2) A gathering or 3 or more persons taking part or forming part of a public gathering refuse or neglect to obey any order by the police given to:

• control and direct the conduct of all public gatherings at any public place, or specifying the route and time of passage of any public procession in the interests of national security or public safety, public order or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others;
• control and direct the extent to which music may be played, or which music or human speech or any other sound may be amplified, broadcast and relayed in or directed towards a public place in order to prevent an imminent threat to the interests of national security or public safety, public order or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others;
• prevent the holding of, stop, disperse or vary the route of any public gathering whether or not notification to the Commissioner of Police was given; or
• Stop or disperse any public gathering exclusively for religious purpose, or any meeting not in a public place, or any type of gathering at any time, if reasonably believes a breach of the peace may result.

The following conduct amount to an offence under section 17A(3) of the Public Order Ordinance and is liable to imprisonment of 5 years on indictment, or a fine of $5,000 and imprisonment of 3 years on summary conviction:

• Knowingly takes or continues to take part in an unauthorised assembly without lawful authority or reasonable excuse;
• Holding, convening, organising, forming or collecting, or assisting in the holding etc. of an unauthorised assembly;

Any organiser or person acting in his place who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with any direction given to him by a police officer to ensure compliance to statutory conditions or conditions imposed by the Commission of Police is liable to a fine of $5,000 and imprisonment of 12 months.

In a prosecution for inciting others to knowingly take part in an unauthorised assembly (and by extension knowingly take part in an unauthorised assembly), an accused may raise as a defence by challenging the legality of a prohibition order issued by the Commissioner of Police if the accused was not involved in the process leading to the Commissioner’s decision to prohibit the meeting.  However, the same defence is not available if an accused was the particular individual against whom the prohibition was directed. (HKSAR v. Chow Hang Tung [2024] HKCFA 2)