II. Notification Regime 71. Participating in and organizing assemblies is a right and not a privilege, and thus its exercise does not require the authorization of the state. A system of prior notification may be put in place to allow states to facilitate the exercise of this right and to take the necessary measures to protect public safety and rights of other citizens.50 1. A notification regime requires that the presumption is always in favor of holding assemblies, and that assemblies not be automatically penalized, through dispersal or sanction, due to failure to notify, subject to the provisions further detailed below. 2. Lack of notification shall not be understood to make an assembly illegal. 72. Notification procedures shall be nonburdensome. 1. A notification regime shall not stipulate that notifications be required too far in advance; rather, any notice period shall be as short as possible. Notification may be sought far enough in advance for an exchange of views as to any possible conditions, and for the relevant authorities to prepare.51 2. An appropriately simple procedure would involve the filling in of a clear and concise form, available and submittable online and elsewhere, requesting information as to the date, time, location and/or itinerary of the assembly, and the name, address and contact details of principle organizer(s). 3. Procedures shall be flexible in instances of late notification or submission of incomplete information, with a view to facilitating the conduct of assemblies. 4. 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 50 See also Inspector-General of Police v. All Nigeria Peoples Party and others, Nigeria Court of Appeal (2007), paras. 16, 23, 25; New Patriotic Party v. Inspector General of Police, Ghana Supreme Court (2000), paras. 26, 38-39, 48, 54-5; Amnesty International and Others v. Sudan, Comm. Nos. 48/90, 50/91, 52/91 and 89/93 (1999), paras. 81-82 (the Commission here observes moreover that the right to freedom of assembly derives in practice form the right to association; the opposite is clearly the case as well). 51 In particular, the notice period shall not be more than 5 days; ideally, 48 hours. 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.