This is a re-post from the Library of Congress Index of Legal Reports

Freedom of peaceful assembly is a recognized right under international human rights law.  This report provides a comparative review of one aspect of this right: whether advance notification or authorization is required for an assembly to take place under the law of France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.  The report also reviews the relevant case law of the European Court of Human Rights.

All of the countries surveyed require advance notification, except Sweden, which requires either authorization or notification depending on the type of assembly, and the United States, where the Supreme Court has held that it is permissible under the US Constitution for a government to require a permit to hold a peaceful assembly.