Collective Protestive Expression: The Nexus between Freedoms of Expression and Peaceful Assembly and the Right to Protest

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph. D. in Public International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Qom, Qom, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, University of Qom, Qom, Iran

3 BA in Law, Islamic Azad University, Qorveh Branch (Kurdistan), Qorveh, Iran

Abstract

Protest is one of the ways to express diverse viewpoints in society and critique the status quo. This article examines the interdependence between two foundational rights within international human rights law namely the right to freedom of expression and the right to freedom of peaceful assembly on one side and the right to protest on the other. Drawing upon Hohfeldian jurisprudential analysis, the study challenges the treatment of these rights as separate legal entitlements and instead argues that they function in a mutually reinforcing framework essential to democratic participation. The article approaches this relationship in two stages: first, by analyzing the connection between the right to protest and freedom of expression as a form of dissent-based communication; and second, by examining how freedom of peaceful assembly enables protest to manifest collectively and publicly. To conceptually integrate these dimensions, the article introduces the term Collective Protestive Expression, a construct that reframes protest as a communicative act rooted in expression and amplified through collective assembly. Unlike conventional understandings of protest as either political reaction or public disorder, this term positions protest as an essential rights-based practice and an expression of democratic citizenship. The article concludes that recognizing protest in this way provides both conceptual clarity and normative strength, especially in contemporary contexts where protest is increasingly restricted. By identifying protest as a product of the interplay between expressive and associational rights, this study offers a more holistic framework for understanding, protecting, and promoting protest within democratic legal orders.

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Main Subjects

Iranian Journal of International and Comparative Law

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 18 May 2025

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