ethics and rights and freedoms of others”. The provisions of this Charter have been transposed into Article 27 of the Constitution of the Republic of Chad. 116. Public assemblies are governed by Ordinance No. 45/INT/SUR of 27 October 1962. In accordance with Article 1 of the aforementioned Ordinance 45, “public assemblies may not take place without prior authorization. They are prohibited on public roads”. 117. The application to hold a public assembly must be filed within a certain time limit. Article 2 states that “the application to hold a public assembly shall be filed at least five days and not more than fifteen clear days prior to the scheduled date, at the main town of the prefecture or subprefecture”. The Minister of the Interior issues an Order to authorize or prohibit the meeting; this Order is notified to the organizers. It should be noted that in Chad, public assemblies, whether organized by political parties or associations, have not faced any hindrances provided that they comply with the conditions laid down in Article 2 above. However, “failure to submit an application as provided for in Article 2 shall be punishable by an imprisonment term of 15 days” (Article 6 paragraph 2). 118. In order to prevent terrorist attacks, the Government has taken a number of measures to restrict public demonstrations including the declaration of a state of emergency in the Lake Chad region and carrying out checks in public places. J. Freedom of expression 119. Article 9 of the African Charter stipulates that “1. Every individual shall have the right to receive information. 2. Every individual shall have the right to express and disseminate his opinions within the law”. 120. The Constitution of the Republic of Chad incorporated the provisions of the African Charter in its Article 27. 121. Several laws have been adopted to strengthen pieces of legislation relating to freedom of expression, including:  Act No. 12/PR/1994 of 9 April 1994, as amended by Act No. 19/PR/2003 of 24 October 2003, establishing the High Council for Communication (HCC). The HCC is a regulatory and arbitration body for the press in Chad. It established the Award for Excellence in Journalism, which recognizes the best articles in the print and broadcast media (public and private);  Act No. 17/PR/2010 of 13 August 2010 on the press regime in Chad. Article 16 of this Act states that: “Any newspaper or periodical may be published, without prior authorization and without bond. However, a request for publication must be submitted with the Public Prosecutor and the Page 32 sur 87