HM322 (Pre Mid Assignment)

Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology

Sawabi, Topi

Assignment (Pre Mid)

Freedom of Associations and standard set by UDHR, 1948
of
Corporate Law and Professional Ethics
HM-322

Faisal Iqbal 2017111

Submitted to
Dr. Safarat Ali
Date 6/15/2020

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S.NO. Abbreviation Details

1 UDHR Universal declaration of human rights
2 COP Constitution of Pakistan
3 ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

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Contents
Abstract; ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Introduction; ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
THE CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK ON THE FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION .. 5
STATUTORY LIMITATIONS OF FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION; ……………………… 5
 Limitation on the right to assemble and the right to demonstrate; …. 6
 The offence of unlawful assembly and riot; ……………………………………. 6
 Judicial safeguards; ………………………………………………………………………... 7
PAKISTAN’S INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS ON THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF
ASSOCIATION; …………………………………………………………………………………………. 8
Obligations under the UN framework; …………………………………………………….. 9
 Article 20 of the UDHR ……………………………………………………………………………………. 9
 Article 22 of the ICCPR ……………………………………………………………………………... 9

References ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 10

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Abstract;
Beyond making a difference in the world, human rights work will allow you to make a difference
in individual people's lives, as well as work towards peace. For those interested in investing in
their local communities and bettering the people around them, human rights studies may be a
good place for them to start. So in this Assignment I am going to presents an overview about the
freedom of association. The purpose of this report is to investigate and study the articles 17 of
the constitution of Pakistan, 1973 and Article 20 of the universal declaration of human rights
(UDHR), 1948 about Freedom of Association.

Introduction;
The freedom of association has been described as the right of the individual to join with others
in a voluntary and lasting way for the common achievement of a legal goal. Freedom of
association allows individuals to join together to pursue and further collective interests in groups.
The freedom of association consists of both individual and collective entitlements. At the
individual level, the freedom of association entitles an individual to form and join association
freely. The collective aspect of the freedom of association entails that associations must be free
from unreasonable interference. The freedom of association implies reciprocity in the sense that
association with others depends on their acceptance. Hence, an individual does not have the
right to associate with people who do not care to associate with him or her. The freedom of
association also implies a negative aspect – the freedom not to associate. Generally, a person
may not be compelled to join an association. However, an individual may be forced to join
associations that are necessary for the functioning of democratic society. For instance, a person
may be compelled to join professional associations established to ensure a certain standard of
performance, such as, medical associations and lawyers associations. The right of armed forces
and police to freedom of association can be restricted to a greater extent than that of others.
However, these restrictions are not considered a violation of the right of armed forces and police
to freedom of association, as they only limit their choices of associations. The freedom of
association is closely related to other rights such as the right to freedom of religion and the right
to work. For instance, the freedom of association entails that trade unions freely administer their
own affairs, join federations and international organizations, and draw up their own rules.
Freedom of association also encompasses the rights of persons to be elected and act within
unions without intimidation and the right not to join without fear of retribution. The freedom of
association is also related to the right to strike. The latter is an important tool that trade unions
can apply to protect their interests or to express their grievances. However, the right to strike
has to be exercised in accordance with the law.

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THE CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK ON THE FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

Freedom of association is provided under Article 17(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic
of Pakistan, 1973 (the “Constitution”) which states that[1]:

 Every citizen shall have the right to form associations or unions, subject to any reasonable
restrictions imposed by law in the interest of sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan, public
order or morality.
 Every citizen, not being in the service of Pakistan, shall have the right to form or be a
member of a political party, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the
interest of the sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan and such law shall provide that where
the Federal Government declares that any political party has been formed or is operating
in a manner prejudicial to the sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan, the Federal
Government shall, within fifteen days of such declaration, refer the matter to the
Supreme Court whose decision on such reference shall be final.
 Every political party shall account for the source of its funds in accordance with law.
The freedom of association is very broad. It consists of four elements[2]:

 the right to assemble;

 the right to associate;
 the right to cooperate with others; and
 the right to form and join associations or organizations.
The right to assemble, associate and cooperate with others includes also the right to express
views publicly for that purpose. The freedom of association is important for political activities [3].
A person with political interest is entitled to form or join political parties and to express political
views publicly. Politicians have the right to freely and peaceably assemble or organize assembly
of politicians and/or non-politicians Politicians may also associate in political parties and
collaborate with other politicians, organizations or persons. And beside it’s also beneficial for
students to join student union for its own interest to solve their problem, and this right is given
to them under the Article 17 of the constitution of Pakistan 1973.

STATUTORY LIMITATIONS OF FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION;

Freedom of association is vital for democracy and expression of views. It is also closely related to
other rights, such as the right to take part in public affairs and freedom of religion. Through the
freedom of association, individuals assemble, associate and collaborate to pursue their interests,
and express their views including grievances and support. However, the freedom of association
is not absolute. It is subject to restrictions. Hereinafter, statutory restrictions on the freedom of

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association will be examined. The text will focus on the right to assemble and the right to
demonstrate.

Limitation on the right to assemble and the right to demonstrate;

The right to assemble and the right to demonstrate must be exercised within the confines of the
laws. If individuals exercise these rights outside the limits of the law, they cannot enjoy the
protection of Article 17 of the Constitution 1973 and Article 20 of Universal Declaration of Human
Rights 1948 unless any such limitation is arbitrary, unreasonable or un-proportionate to the aim
it seeks to achieve.
Individuals, organizations or political parties cannot assemble or demonstrate as they please.
They must follow the procedure prescribed by law. The law vests the Minister for Home Affairs
(Interior minister) and the District administration with powers to regulate and, where necessary,
restrict processions and assemblies. These powers include receiving and considering notice of
assembly or procession; to set requirements for the conduct of assembly or procession; and to
postpone, cancel or disperse any assembly or procession.
Any person who wants to convene, collect, form or organize any assembly or procession in any
public place must notify the Interior minister or Deputy commissioner of the area of his or her
impending assembly or procession at least forty-eight (48) hours before the scheduled assembly
or procession. The notification must be in writing and must specify the place, time and purpose
of the assembly or procession. After giving a 48-hour notice, the person may hold an assembly
or procession in accordance with the notice. There is no need of a police “permit”. However, the
Police Force may stop or prevent the holding or continuance of the assembly or procession. The
Police Force may do so if the assembly or procession is held in a manner contrary to the
particulars of the notice or if it is likely to cause (or actually causes) breach of peace, public order
or public safety. If the Police Force stops the assembly or procession before it is held, it must give
a written order to the person who submitted the notice. It should not give the order through
other media such as radio, television or newspaper, unless it additional to the written order duly
served to the person wishing to hold the assembly or procession. It is noteworthy that the proper
authority to stop the holding of assembly is the Minister for Home Affairs (Interior minister) and
the District administration of the area where assembly or procession would be held and to whom
the 48-hour notice was submitted.

If the person wishing to hold an assembly or procession is aggrieved by the stop order of the
District administration of the area, he or she may appeal to the Minister for Home Affairs whose
appellate decision shall be final.

The Minister for Home Affairs (Interior minister) may allow any assembly or procession to be held
without notification. This being a discretionary power, it must be exercised reasonably and
without discrimination.

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The offence of unlawful assembly and riot;

This offence is committed when three or more persons assemble to commit a crime. An assembly
is also considered unlawful if three or more persons assemble and conduct themselves in such a
manner that raises reasonable fear that the assembly will cause breach of peace. Such an
assembly will also be considered unlawful if it raises reasonable fear that it will provoke other
persons to commit a breach of peace. An assembly in the last two scenarios will be considered
unlawful only if the persons so assembled intend to carry out some common purpose.
Therefore, except for assembling with intent to commit a crime, for an assembly to constitute an
offence:

 three or more persons must assemble;

 the persons must intend to carry out common purpose;
 the assembly must raise a reasonable fear that it will itself breach peace or that it will
provoke other persons to breach peace.

Once common purpose is established, it is immaterial that the original assembly was lawful. It is
possible, therefore, for a lawful assembly to turn into unlawful assembly. This occurs when a
lawful assembly raises reasonable fear of breach of peace. When an unlawful assembly has begun
to execute the common purpose by a breach of peace and terror, it is called a riot. Where twelve
or more persons commit a riot or assemble riotously a proclamation may be made to disperse
them. The proclamation may be made, in the first place, by the magistrate. However, in the
absence of the magistrate, the proclamation may be made by a police officer of or above the
rank of the inspector or any commissioned officer in the military forces. For any of these persons
to make the proclamation, a riot must be committed in his or her view. The proclamation may be
made personally by the above-mentioned or by any person ordered by them. The proclamation
may only be made if the number of rioters is twelve or more. There is no formal proclamation.
Hence, it may be made in any form the person making it thinks fit, provided it constitutes a
command for rioters to disperse peacefully.
The authority making the proclamation must give a reasonable time for the rioters to disperse. If
that time expires or if the rioters prevent the proclamation by force, all things necessary may be
done to disperse the rioters. However, the phrase “all things necessary” does not include
unlawful means. Implicit in that, any measure taken must be legitimate, reasonable and
proportionate. Such measures may be taken by the person authorized to make a proclamation
or any police officer or any person aiding them.

Judicial safeguards;
Freedom of association is a constitutional right. It is, however, not an absolute right. State
authorities may restrict it in public interest. Such limitation must be prescribed by a lawful law.
The courts have set out attributes of a lawful law. First, the law must not be arbitrary. The
restricting law must make adequate safeguards against arbitrary decisions by state authorities.

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The law must explicitly and clearly state the grounds upon which the restriction is sought, for
example, public interest or national security. This enables the court to determine whether the
law is within the requirements of the Constitution. Moreover, the law must provide effective
safeguards against abuse by authorities when using the law.
Second the restricting law must be reasonable. The test of reasonableness is applied on a case-
to-case basis. The court should not apply an abstract or general standard. The court must, in
particular,
consider:

 the underlying purpose of the restriction;

 the extent and urgency of the protected public interest;
 the prevailing conditions at the material time.
The court must be satisfied that the restriction does not reduce access to court or impair the
essence of the freedom of association. Moreover, the restriction must pursue a legitimate aim
and must not be unreasonably broad. Third, the restriction must be proportionate to its
objective. The means employed to restrict the freedom of association must not be more than is
reasonably necessary to achieve a legitimate objective. In other words, the restricting law must
be so framed as not to limit the freedom of association more than is reasonably necessary to
achieve a legitimate objective. Therefore, if the evil created by the restriction is greater than the
achieved objective, the law will be void. However, if the achievement of the restriction is greater
than the extent of the breach of the freedom of association, the law will be considered valid.
Moreover, the restricting law must not be too broad so as to net everyone including even the
untargeted members of the society.
If the law which restricts or breaches the freedom of association does not meet these safeguards
it cannot be considered to serve public interest and cannot, therefore, be saved by Article 17 of
the Constitution or by the Article 20 of Universal Declaration of Human right. It is null and void.
These safeguards equally apply for any conduct which infringes freedom of association on ground
of public interest.

PAKISTAN’S INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS ON THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF

ASSOCIATION;
Pursuant to Article 17 of the Constitution 1973, the State authorities must preserve and uphold
human dignity in accordance with the spirit of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights
(UDHR). Moreover, Pakistan is state party to various global and regional treaties that enshrine
freedom of association. It follows, therefore, that Pakistan has the obligation to uphold the

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freedom of association in terms of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) and these
treaties as well as its interpretation by various oversight bodies.

Obligations under the UN framework;

 Article 20 of the UDHR sets out that “everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful
assembly and association” and that “no one may be compelled to belong to an
association.” Hence the UDHR identifies both positive and negative aspects of the right to
freedom of association [4, 5].

 Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) draws from
the UDHR but the ICCPR allows for possible restrictions to the right to freedom of
association. Pursuant to Article 22(2) of the ICCPR, the restrictions to the right to freedom
of association must be[6]:
 prescribed by law;
 necessary in a democratic society;
 in the interests of national security or public safety, public order, the protection of
public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedom of others.

 Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) allows for
the imposition of lawful restrictions on members of the armed forces and of the police in
their exercise of the right to freedom of association. It also enters a caveat that it does
authorize any legislative measures taken by States Parties to the (ILO 87) Convention
concerning Association and Protection of the Right to Organize (1948) which would
prejudice the guarantees provided for in that Convention (ILO 87). The scope of Article 22
of the ICCPR does not contain the right to strike.

 Other instruments which provide for the right to freedom of association at the global level
include:
 Article 8 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR) which sets out the right of trade unions to form federations, the right of
trade unions to function freely, and the right to strike;
 Article 15 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) which stipulates the
right of children to freedom of association; and
 ILO 87 Convention concerning Association and Protection of the Right to Organize
(1948)
 ILO 98 Convention concerning the Application of the Principles of the Right to
Organize and to Bargain Collectively (1949).

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References

1. Khosa, A., The Constitution of Pakistan 1973. Lahore Kausar Brothers. Art,
1988. 175.
2. Emerson, T.I., Freedom of Association and Freedom of Expression. The Yale
Law Journal, 1964. 74(1): p. 1-35.
3. Raggi, R., An Independent Right to Freedom of Association. Harv. CR-CLL Rev.,
1977. 12: p. 1.
4. Assembly, U.G., Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), GA Res.
217A (III), UN GAOR, 3d Sess. UN Doc. A/810. Available online at:
http://www. un. org/Overview/rights. html [last accessed 19 Nov 2014],
1948.
5. De Baets, A., The impact of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the
study of history. History and Theory, 2009. 48(1): p. 20-43.
6. Callamard, A., Expert meeting on the links between articles 19 and 20 of the
ICCPR: Freedom of expression and advocacy of religious hatred that
constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence UN HCHR,
October 2-3, Geneva. Geneva: UNHCHR, 2008.

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