A/HRC/41/41/Add.4 assemblies, provides that the notification can be submitted in written form, in person or by post. 35. The law on freedom of assemblies provides that, regardless of the type of assembly, it is incumbent on the police to provide security and enable demonstrations to be held, as long as they are peaceful. However, article 32 of the law provides that if the assembly is held in violation of the notification requirements envisaged in chapter 2 of the law, then the police should use a loudspeaker to inform the persons present that the assembly is illegal and that participants are subject to liability as defined by the law. 36. Article 18 of the law sets out the grounds for applying restrictions to an assembly and stipulates that holding counter-assemblies is not a ground for imposing limitations on the first assembly, unless there is an imminent danger of a clash between participants. 37. Article 19 of the law prohibits an assembly if its purpose is to forcibly overthrow the constitutional order, incite ethnic, racial or religious hatred, or advocate violence or war; or if it is to be conducted at such a distance from a number of listed facilities, including the residence of the President of the Republic, the seats of the National Assembly and the Government or the courts or correctional facilities, as to threaten their activities. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that this provision could amount to a blanket application of legal restrictions by prohibiting demonstrations in certain locations. In that regard, he emphasizes that blanket bans are intrinsically disproportionate, because they preclude consideration of the specific circumstances of each proposed assembly (A/HRC/31/66, para. 30). 38. In the case of spontaneous or urgent assembly, article 27 of the law requires the organizer of the assembly to inform the police in charge of the area concerned. For urgent assemblies, the organizer should inform the authorizing entity and the police prior to taking steps to organize an assembly. 39. The law provides that decisions of the authorizing entity can be appealed to the administrative court within three days of a decision to apply restrictions or prohibit an assembly, or within 24 hours if the decision is made not later than seven days prior to the planned assembly. The appeals are accepted on the same day and are examined by the court within two calendar days. 40. The Special Rapporteur became aware that in 2017, the Ministry of Justice had presented a new draft law to amend the current law on freedom of assemblies, reportedly to bring it into compliance with the 2015 constitutional reforms. He also became aware that the draft presented numerous restrictive provisions that gave rise to concern. The Special Rapporteur took note that, in accordance with the regulations of the e-draft.am platform, the draft law was still accessible to the public on the platform and that all drafts uploaded onto the platform remained accessible regardless of whether they had been adopted or not. 7 41. The Special Rapporteur is also aware that in addition to this initiative, in 2018 some members of the National Assembly presented to the parliament a new draft law on amendments to the law on freedom of assembly, which envisages restrictions on the conduct of assemblies at a certain distance from religious locations. 42. The Special Rapporteur considers that neither of the drafts contribute to strengthening the current legal framework and notes that, according to the information received from the Government, they have been removed from the government agenda. 43. Overall, the Special Rapporteur notes that the law on freedom of assemblies is in accordance with international human rights standards, however he notes that its application can present some challenges. 7 6 See www.e-draft.am/projects/106/about.