TORONTO - Occupy Toronto protesters might be enjoying their last few nights in a downtown park as a judge is set to decide their fate Monday.

And the battle moved from the street to the courtroom Friday as lawyers for the city and the protesters made their best legal pitches in front of a judge.

The two sides were arguing over whether the protesters could remain in St. James Park, where they have hunkered down for the past month as part of the global demonstration over corporate greed as well as social injustice.

Earlier this week a court order was issued allowing protesters to continue camping in the park after city bylaw officers distributed notices demanding tents and other structures be removed and protesters clear out overnight.

But in court on Friday, the lawyer for the protesters suggested that by going forward with the eviction, the city was infringing on freedom of expression.

"The encampment is an exercise of conscience," Lawyer Susan Ursel told Justice David Brown.

"(It's a) manifestation of what they're trying to create in the world."

But Justice Brown questioned Ursel asking why the occupiers never asked the city for a permit to camp in the park.

"There is a process when neighbours in the community are affected," he said.

However, Ursel argued that the city does not issue permits to camp in the park after 11 p.m.

Brown also questioned the symbolism of the tents, adding that he did not see it as an eviction notice but merely a condition restricting the use of the park during the overnight hours.

He stated that "the (city's) notice says you can use the park for political expression."

"But ditch the tents and not during the midnight hours."

Brown also rebuked the protesters for taking away the park from the public who have been unable to use the area adjacent to the majestic St. James Cathedral since the protest began.

Ursel argued during the day that the city should discuss with the protesters ways in which the two sides can share the park instead of forcing them out.

"Why don't (the protesters) go out and initiate the discussion?" Brown asked. "It's a two-way street, democracy."

Brown is expected to release his decision on Monday. He was initially expected to announce his decision Saturday evening following the court hearing, but said Thursday that he needed more time to mull the arguments.

With files from The Canadian Press