The courts and delegated officers of local jurisdictions may impose restrictions on any of the rights of a convicted criminal as a condition of a legal stipulation.
Freedom of association is also legally restricted in certain circumstances such as with the Civil Rights Act, in which private discrimination against certain protected classes was made illegal.
Because freedom of association necessarily recognizes pluralistic sources of power and organisation, aside from the government, it has been a primary target for repression by all dictatorial societies.
In Germany, a similar set of repressive laws were put in place against both trade unions and social democrat organisations by the Bismarck government under the Sozialistengesetze (the "Socialist Acts") in 1878.
In West Germany after World War II, free trade unions were quickly resurrected and guaranteed by the German Grundgesetz.
[7] Other Supreme Court cases involving freedom of association issues include:[8] A fundamental element of personal liberty is the right to choose to enter into and maintain certain intimate human relationships.
In the United States, expressive associations are groups that engage in activities protected by the First Amendment – speech, assembly, press, petitioning government for a redress of grievances, and the free exercise of religion.
In Roberts v. United States Jaycees, the U.S. Supreme Court held that laws banning associations from excluding people for reasons unrelated to the group's expression are constitutional.
The policy requires student organizations to allow "any student to participate, become a member, or seek leadership positions, regardless of their status or beliefs" and so, can be used to deny the group recognition as an official student organization because it had required its members to attest in writing that "I believe in: The Bible as the inspired word of God; The Deity of our Lord, Jesus Christ, God's son; The vicarious death of Jesus Christ for our sins; His bodily resurrection and His personal return; The presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the work of regeneration; [and] Jesus Christ, God's son, is Lord of my life."
The organization of labor was commonly resisted during the 19th century, with even relatively liberal countries such as the United Kingdom banning it for various periods (in the UK's case, between 1820 and 1824).
In a 6-to-3 opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas, the Court said that the National Labor Relations Board had failed to give adequate protection to employers' property rights when it adopted a rule four years ago that gave union organizers greater access to areas like the parking lots of shopping centers or factories."
The freedom of association is however not only exercised in the political sense, but also for a vast array of interests – such as culture, recreation, sport and social and humanitarian assistance.
Jeremy McBride argues that the formation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which he equates with civil society, is the "fruit of associational activity".