Obstruction of a Highway: Understanding Protest Rights Post-Director of Public Prosecutions v Ziegler

Legislation on Obstruct Highway

The legislation says that, “If a person, without lawful authority or excuse, in any way wilfully obstructs the free passage along a highway he is guilty of an offence.” This is defined in Section 137(1) of the Highway Act 1980.

Sentence On Obstruct Highway

If you are found liable for this offence you could receive a term of imprisonment of up to 51 weeks (12 months). You could also receive a fine or both.

Obstruct Highway as it Relates to Your Article 9,10 and 11 European Human Convention Rights

If a Court accepts that you were obstructing the highway as a result of a peaceful protest, then your Article 9, 10 or 11 European Human Convention Rights were engaged at the time the offence was committed. This means that the landmark case of Director of Public Prosecutions v Ziegler will be affording you further protections at trial. For instance, this case set a precedent to say that in an obstruct highway case, the court must determine whether your conviction would be a necessary and proportionate interference with your European Human Convention rights. As the exercise of your European Human Convention rights may serve as a lawful excuse and therefore as a defence to the alleged offence.

In doing so, the case of Ziegler asserted that there should be a proportionality assessment conducted to balance your rights afforded via the European Human Convention, against the rights of those whom were necessarily disrupted by your conduct at the time the alleged offence occurred.

The Supreme Court in Ziegler set out a number of factors that may be taken into account when conducting the proportionality assessment.

Factors Set Forth in Director of Public Prosecutions v Ziegler in Considering Proportionality

i) The extent to which the continuation of the protest would breach domestic law
ii) The importance of the precise location to the protestors
iii) The duration of the protest
iv) The degree to which the protest occupied the land
v) Whether there was prior notification
vi) The extent of actual interference the protest causes the rights of others
vii) The degree of “targeting”
viii) Whether the protest relates to matters that are important public issues
ix) Whether the protestors believed in the subject of their protest
x) Whether political pressure influenced the police

The court should consider these factors in balancing your rights as a protestor.

Your lawyer at trial will be making submissions on each factor based on the evidence in your case to advance this defence. For instance, the shorter and less disruptive the obstruction to the highway, the more likely it will be for the Court to find in your favour.

What should I do if I am arrested for obstruction of a highway?

Normally the police do not conduct interviews under caution in custody if you have been arrested for this offence. Instead, they are likely to either charge you and bail you, or release you on police bail conditions until a charging decision is made.

An allegation of this nature, can pose serious consequences for your livelihood. It is therefore recommended that you seek legal advice on whether you have an available defence. At Hodge Jones and Allen we have a dedicated and experienced team who deal with protest related offences.

Our experienced criminal defence solicitors are widely recognised as one of the leading criminal defence practices in the United Kingdom. If you need legal advice please call us on 0330 822 3451 or request a callback.