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Riotous Assemblies Act, 1956

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Citation
  
Act No. 17 of 1956

Date commenced
  
16 March 1956

Date of Royal Assent
  
8 March 1956

Administered by
  
Minister of Justice


Enacted by
  
Parliament of South Africa

The Riotous Assemblies Act, Act No 17 of 1956 in South Africa (taking effect 16 March) prohibited gatherings in open-air public places if the Minister of Justice considered they could endanger the public peace. Banishment was also included as a form of punishment.

This act was presumably passed in response to the Congress of the People, held at Kliptown, near Johannesburg, in June 1955. Following a call from the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Indian Congress, the South African Coloured People's Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats, and the South African Congress of Trade Unions, some 3,000 people met with the purpose of adopting the Freedom Charter.

The Riotous Assemblies Act of 1956 surfaced in the notorious Treason Trial.

References

Riotous Assemblies Act, 1956 Wikipedia