Legal News

Irene Gardiner, 49, who has raised her family at a 500 year old house is going to challenge the new squatting laws which criminalises squatting, claiming it was breach of her human rights.
After the law had become effective from 1 September 2012 Ms Gardiner a mother of four has been asked to leave the property. And she has plans to take her case to the High Court.
A London law firm is fighting the test case against the police and Crown Prosecution Service, and Ms Gardiner wants assurances she will not be arrested and evicted from the cottage she has lived in for 11 years.
Last year she tried to claim lawful possession of the property through the court, but her application failed. She intends to appeal against this decision.
She has not been issued a formal eviction notice yet though she was asked to vacate the property.
The owner of the cottage has died and an executor, acting on behalf of the owner's estate and the various beneficiaries, wanted her to vacate.
The new legislation brings in six months of jail or a £5,000 fine, or both.
Ms Gardiner, an artist, first began squatting when she was 14. She said her cottage, which has no electricity or running water, had been occupied by squatters for about 30 years.
She said that she was moving around a lot when her children were little. When she was moving in between Portugal and Spain she was invited by the people who were occupying the cottage and were going to move out and Ms Gardiner had been in possession since then, Ms Gardiner said.
Two of Ms Gardiner's children attend school in Llanidloes, while two older siblings have left home.
She said she paid council tax on the property and had never claimed housing benefit, adding that she could not afford to live in a conventional home.
She said the law was unnecessary, and it victimised poor people.
The Legal firm representing her said prosecution and the new law would breach Ms Gardiner's rights to personal and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice said for too long squatters had been playing the justice system and had caused homeowners untold misery.
The new offence was going to ensure the police and other agencies could take quick and decisive action to protect homeowners against squatting, she added.