In recent years schools have borne the brunt of protestors’ frustrations about the lack of access to services in South Africa. This article explores the current tensions between the constitutionally guaranteed rights to “assemble peacefully and unarmed” (the right to protest) on the one hand, and the right to basic education, on the other. The article seeks to establish whether the exercise of the right to protest in a manner that hinders the realisation of the right to a basic education should result in criminal prosecution, and if so, whether this means that the right to protest can be justifiably limited in order for the right to basic education to prevail. The article begins with a brief background to the rights under consideration within the contemporary South African context. Secondly, relevant human rights standards are considered, and the specific provisions which guarantee these rights in South Africa’s Constitution and domestic law are analysed. Thirdly, there is an analysis of case law that guarantees both the right to protest and right to basic education and a discussion of whether, based on available jurisprudence, there are grounds to support the idea that aspects of the right to protest can be limited to allow for the right to basic education to be realized. The article draws on the report of a national investigative hearing that was conducted by the South African Human Rights Commission during 2016. This article looks beyond the findings of that hearing to consider relevant case law in more detail, and examine the possible criminal prosecutions that may arise from interfering with the right to a basic education, and the implications this has for the balancing of competing constitutional rights. The article concludes that exercise of the right to protest must be exercised in a lawful manner that does not unreasonably interfere with the right to basic education, failing which it can be justifiably limited, and prosecutions should ensue.

中文翻译：

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＃学校遭到大火：对妨碍基础教育权的抗议活动的刑事司法回应

近年来，由于南非缺乏获得服务的机会，示威者的挫败感使学校首当其冲。本文探讨了一方面由宪法保障的“和平无武装集会”权利（抗议权）与另一方面基础教育权之间的当前紧张关系。该条旨在确定抗议权的行使是否以阻碍实现基础教育权的方式进行，是否会导致刑事诉讼；如果是，这是否意味着抗议权可以合理地受到限制？为了使基础教育权占上风。本文首先简要介绍了当代南非背景下正在考虑的权利。其次，要考虑相关的人权标准，并分析了南非宪法和国内法中保障这些权利的具体规定。第三，对判例法进行了分析，该判例法既保障了抗议权和基础教育权，又讨论了根据现有的判例是否有理由支持将抗议权的各个方面限制为允许实现基础教育的权利。本文借鉴了南非人权委员会在2016年进行的一次全国性调查听证会的报告。本文超越了听证会的调查结果，以更详细地考虑相关的判例法，并研究可能对刑事诉讼提起的诉讼。源自对基础教育权的干预，以及这对平衡竞争宪法权利的影响。该条的结论是，抗议权的行使必须以合法的方式进行，不得不合理地干扰基础教育权，否则可以合理地限制基础教育权，应提起诉讼。