International standards stipulate that protesters can choose the issue, cause, form, manner, and location of their protests, and they do not need permission in law or in practice to do so. Any notification system must be simple and voluntary. International standards say that the State’s primary responsibility is to facilitate – not control – protests. Any policing of protests should be based in law, and be necessary and proportionate. Dispersal orders should be exceptional, only made when there is an imminent threat of violence, and never justified by non-conformity to notification requirements. If there are isolated acts of violence, the State’s responsibility is to disperse the individual not the group, and any use of force should be only of last resort.