Right of Admission and Permanence – Concept and limits


We explain what the right of admission and permanence is and what its limits are. In addition, what is to reserve the right of admission.

Admission rights
The right of admission and permanence is in most legal systems.

What is the right of admission and permanence?

When we talk about the right of admission and permanence, we refer to the decision contemplated by public and / or private establishments regarding allow or deny the entry and stay of one or more individuals to their spaces, as long as this does not detract from their basic basic rights and is protected under objective conditions for entry and stay.

In short, it is about the right to deny entry to the facilities or an event that their organizers or administrators have, in the event that there is any irregularity or any forced condition that supports said decision, and that it is done without violating the elemental human rights of the individual.

This right is contemplated in most of the legal systems of the world, regardless of whether it is the public or private sphere, always accompanied by the necessary display on visible posters to all attendance of the minimum standards of entry or permanence of the public, and in the same way always adapting to consumer protection regulations .

This legal agreement is sustained based on the following characteristics:

  • The rules of entry and permanence in the space will never be contrary to human dignity nor will they be discriminatory on the basis of sex, race, religion or social class.
  • These norms will be uniformly executed according to the criterion of equality before the law.
  • The right of admission and permanence will never be considered an absolute right and must be governed by law, not by the particular criteria of the owner or director of the same.
  • Public spaces will be freely accessible to all the public, except that:
    • The minimum age necessary to enjoy the event without damage is breached.
    • Present in an irregular state: drunk, hygiene, madness, drug use or any other behavior that is uncomfortable and risky for themselves and others.
    • The capacity has been exceeded.
    • The establishment’s opening hours have already ended.
    • Damage public property.

Limits of the right of admission and permanence

The right of admission and permanence under no circumstances shall it violate or contravene the social peace pact with which companies are governed. In other words, it should not be exercised to harm third parties, whether moral, legal or physical, or to discriminate against the attending public based on subjective criteria of race, sex, religion, sexual orientation or socioeconomic class.

Under no precept does this right become a license for exclusivity or discrimination, although there is the possibility that a space is governed by rules of etiquette, protocol or dress which must, in any case, be available for the public to observe and understand.

What does it mean to reserve the right of admission?

When an establishment “reserves the right of admission”, it advises its public that is governed by specific rules of conduct and protocol that, contrary, could result in the request to leave the place or, in more serious cases, the expulsion from the place and / or the call to the competent authorities.

In principle, this means that a business or an organization is not obliged to attend or deal with an individual who does not meet the minimum standards established for their entry and / or permanence on the site.