{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/public-order-act-1986/section-16",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/public-order-act-1986/section-16.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1986/64",
  "legislation_title": "Public Order Act 1986",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/public-order-act-1986",
  "path": "section/16",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "16",
  "heading": "Interpretation.",
  "text": "In this Part—\n“the City of London” means the City as defined for the purposes of the Acts relating to the City of London police;\n“the metropolitan police district” means that district as defined in section 76 of the London Government Act 1963;\n“public assembly” means an assembly of 20 2 or more persons in a public place which is —\n(a)wholly or partly open to the air, or\n(b)within any of paragraphs (a) to (f) of section 31(1) of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003;\n“public place” means—\n(a)any highway, or in Scotland any road within the meaning of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984, and\n(b)any place to which at the material time the public or any section of the public has access, on payment or otherwise, as of right or by virtue of express or implied permission;\n“public procession” means a procession in a public place.",
  "extent": "E+W+S",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "S. 16: in definition of \"public assembly\", reference to \"20\" substituted (E.W.) (20.1.2004) for reference to \"2\" by Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 (c. 38), ss. 57, 93(1); S.I. 2003/3300, art. 2(e)(i)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Words in s. 16 substituted (29.6.2026) by Crime and Policing Act 2026 (c. 20), ss. 167(3), 255(3)(e)"
    },
    {
      "type": "M",
      "label": "M1",
      "text": "1963 c. 33."
    },
    {
      "type": "M",
      "label": "M2",
      "text": "1984 c. 54."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/64/section/16",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T09:53:53.024565+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}