The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has determined that Germany infringed upon a protester’s right to freedom of assembly by convicting him for wearing a self-made plastic visor during a demonstration in 2015. This decision, rendered on Tuesday, arises from the application of Ruß, who was convicted by German courts for violating a prohibition on wearing protective devices—a regulation under the German Public Assembly and Possessions Act (Versammlungsgesetz)—at public outdoor assemblies.
The protest in question was associated with the inauguration of the new European Central Bank Headquarters in Frankfurt, drawing over 17,000 participants. While primarily peaceful, certain factions of the protest devolved into violent episodes. Ruß had donned a visor constructed from rubber and overhead projector foil, emblazoned with the phrase “Smash Capitalism.” Despite the generally peaceful nature of the protest, Ruß was fined 400 euros by the national courts for what they deemed a breach of regulations against protective weapons, or “Schutzwaffen.”
Ruß challenged this through the ECHR, positing that his conviction transgressed his rights to freedom of expression and assembly, alongside Article 7, which protects against punishment without law. However, the European court dismissed all but the assembly claim, indicating that the statement on the visor was not directly prosecuted and the legal interpretation of the Act was neither unforeseeable nor arbitrary.
In their assessment, the ECHR identified the German courts’ oversight in not appropriately evaluating whether the employment of the plastic visor had genuinely posed a threat to public safety. This evaluation is critical, as it is a prerequisite for classifying objects as protective weapons under Article 27 of the law.
Ultimately, the ECHR concluded that prosecuting Ruß was unnecessary and disproportionate within a democratic society, thereby constituting a breach of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This ruling highlights the need for a balanced assessment of assembly rights against public safety considerations in democratic societies. The complete ruling can be found on the ECHR Hudoc database.