c. Procedures shall be flexible in instances of late notification or submission of incomplete information, with a view to facilitating the conduct of assemblies. d. Notification shall be free of charge. 73. A failure to respond by the authorities shall be taken as acknowledgement that the assembly may go ahead along the lines proposed. 74. Should the authorities receive notification from multiple groups aimed at holding assemblies in the same space at the same time, efforts shall be made to facilitate multiple concurrent assemblies. Where this is impossible, an impartial and reasonable means shall be found to allocate the space.52 75. No notification need be submitted for small assemblies, assemblies unlikely to generate disturbance or spontaneous assemblies. Spontaneous assemblies include assemblies that occur as immediate reactions to events, and planned assemblies that necessarily occur within a tighter deadline than that required relative to notification.53 76. A single authority shall be designated as the entity responsible for receiving notifications.54 The designated authority shall be impartial. Upon receipt of notifications, the authority in question shall be responsible for communicating with other concerning agencies. 77. The authority in question shall have a membership broadly representative of the diversity in society. It shall make the relevant procedures, including decisionmaking procedures, as clear, transparent and readily available as possible.55 It shall have a procedure for receiving information from individuals who believe their rights will be negatively affected by particular assemblies. 52 According priority to the first application received is an appropriate method in such instances, unless such an application was submitted with the clear intent of preventing the later assembly from being held in the form desired by its organizations. 53 Planned spontaneous assemblies are justified in circumstances in which an immediate response to a current event is warranted in order to achieve the aim of the assembly in question. Even within a long-running campaign, there may be particular events requiring the organization of spontaneous assemblies of such a sort. Where some degree of planning is involved, organizers of such assemblies may still be requested to notify the authorities as soon as reasonably possible, in order to allow the authorities to better fulfill their positive obligations. 54 The public shall be clearly informed as to the body in question. 55 Procedures shall be available in writing. Assistance shall be provided where necessary to help assembly organizers with the notification process. Decisions, including acknowledgement of assemblies without conditions, shall be made publicly available on an ongoing basis. An annual report shall also be prepared, including decisions and statistics on notifications received as well as conditions imposed. Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa  | 25

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