TNAG-0194-FCO40-230-Emergency-legislation-and-Public-Order-ordinance-discussions-1969 — Page 25

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4.

Clause amends section 7 by providing that an application for

the licence of the Commissioner of Police for a funeral procession shal

be made not less than twenty-four hours before the procession is held.

The clause also exempts funeral meetings and meetings held for social

purposes in a restaurant from the need to be licensed.

5.

By section 9 of the principal Ordinance, every licensee of a

licence obtained under section 7 shall be present at the public meeting

or public procession from the first assembly to the final dispersal

thereof, and shall comply with any police directions regarding such

meeting or procession throughout the period of assembly, conduct and

dispersal there of and the period of one hour following the final dis-

persal thereof. It is now felt that these conditions can cause problems

when the licensee is unavoidably absent from the meeting. Accordingly,

clause 5 proposes to amend section 9 by providing a defence for a licen-

see who is absent from a meeting by reason of illness or other unavoid-

able cause.

Furthermore, the requirement that police directions be

complied with during the period of one hour after the final dispersal of

a meeting or procession is deleted.

6.

Clause 6 amends subsection (2) of section 11 so as to oblige a

police officer, when exercising the powers conferred by the subsection,

to act only on reasonable belief.

7.

Clause 7 makes it clear that paragraph (a) of section 12(2)

applies only to meetings or processions for which a licence is required

under section 7. Also, subsection (3) is amended so as to afford to a

person charged with an offence under the subsection the defence of law-

ful authority or reasonable excuse; this is intended to confer protection

on any innocent bystander who becomes unintentionally involved in an

unlawful assembly.