The Administrative Court of Lisbon has authorised Renata Cambra to remain in Rossio with a tent until November 24, ruling that her right to protest cannot be automatically restricted by a rule prohibiting demonstrations after 12:30 a.m. The decision concerns Cambra’s case alone, leaving uncertainty over how police should respond to tents set up by other demonstrators.
The court found that the time-limit rule, as interpreted to make any protest illegal after 12:30 a.m., was unconstitutional in this case. It said restrictions on the fundamental right to demonstrate require an assessment of the circumstances, and that a quiet overnight vigil could be compatible with residents’ right to rest.
Cambra must comply with conditions intended to protect public safety and access. These include keeping pedestrian routes and emergency access clear, maintaining sanitary conditions, avoiding noise between midnight and 6:30 a.m., and not lighting fires or using pyrotechnics or flammable materials. The court also said she must cooperate with the authorities. The PSP and Lisbon’s Municipal Police are responsible for monitoring compliance, including the tent’s location.
The ruling does not give demonstrators a general right to camp in public spaces. The court repeatedly framed its decision as applying to Cambra, and said it did not create a permanent right to install tents or a “blank cheque” for protesters. Her lawyer has argued that other demonstrators should benefit from the same protections and said a similar application could be brought on behalf of 200 people. However, another judge would not be bound to reach the same conclusion.
The court also ruled that Cambra will have to move to an alternative location when the Christmas market takes place in Rossio. It did not specify where she should continue her protest.
Because the judge found the police’s interpretation of the time-limit rule unconstitutional, the Public Prosecutor is required to appeal the decision to the Constitutional Court. Only that court can declare a provision unconstitutional with general effect. Until then, the finding applies to Cambra’s case in Lisbon, not to demonstrators elsewhere or to the protest as a whole.
The decision also states that demonstrators must comply with the law prohibiting the concealment of faces in public in this context. The court’s ruling has left protesters and authorities facing different interpretations of who is covered, while the police remain responsible for enforcing its specific conditions.
Sources: Observador.