Could a landmark court decision undermine the right to peacefully protest in NSW?

Protesters walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the Palestine Action Group's March for Humanity in August. ‘Public safety is a legitimate end which the courts have previously accepted as a ground for permitting limitations on political protests,’ says constitutional law expert Anne Twomey. Photograph: Dean Lewins/Reuters

People organising protests in New South Wales could face a tough choice after this week.

On Thursday, the NSW court of appeal made a landmark ruling that criminalises attending a “prohibited” protest. It came as part of a judgment that banned a planned pro-Palestine march to the Sydney Opera House scheduled for the weekend.