Following an inquest into a death in prison the Coroner for Hertfordshire has criticised the management of chronic back pain in prisons across the country in a report to the Secretary of State for Justice. Tom Stoate represented the family of the deceased
Immigration Law News 6 October 2013David Villa, an Eritrean teenager who is possibly using the name of an Atletico Madrid footballer to conceal his true identity, tells his story of fleeing war-torn Eritrea before surviving the horrific sea voyage in which hundreds of migrants died off Lampedusa, Italy.For more information, click here. 30 September 2013 […]
Employment Law News The Big Work Survey reveals over-stressed staff According to the survey, the UK is a nation of over-stressed staff who regularly eat lunch whilst still working at their desks. The UK workforce were also found to be prone to working overtime, working through holidays and even working when ill, according to the […]
Legal 500 2013 (Housing) The Garden Court Housing Team were delighted to be recommended as a top tier set in the newly-created Social Housing chapter of Legal 500 2013. Described as "the premier set for homelessness and tenant-focused work", nine members of the team are highlighted as leading individuals. For full details, click here. Housing […]
Legal 500 2013 We were delighted once again to be the only barristers’ chambers in the country to be recommended as a top tier set for immigration (including business immigration) in the Legal 500 2013. The team is recognised as an "elite set [which] has always been at the forefront of immigration representation", in addition […]
Garden Court Chambers is once again delighted to have been recommended as a Top Tier Set in this year's Legal 500. We are recommended in six areas of law as a set, with 11 silks and 27 junior barristers recognised individually.
Housing Law News Homelessness: while the numbers of homeless applications and acceptances are going up in England, they are falling in Wales. But the latest Welsh statistics indicate a significant increase in the use of B&B accommodation. For the latest statistics, click here. Housing benefit (bedroom tax 1): the first tranche of judgments on the […]
Immigration Law Cases Rahim, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2013] EWHC 2794 (Admin) 13 September 2013Mr Ockelton, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge (DHCJ), held in the case of an Iraqi national who had originally claimed asylum in 2003 but who in 2010 had gone to […]
Employment Law News Low Pay Britain A report published by the Resolution Foundation entitled, "Low Pay Britain 2013" shows that 4.8 million Britons (20 per cent of all employees) earn below the Living Wage – a leap from 3.4 million (14 per cent) in 2009 – at the height of the recession. It is believed […]
Housing Law News Legal aid in housing cases: the number of housing law cases in which legal advice and assistance has been sought from legal aid solicitors and advisers in England has nose-dived since the introduction of cuts to the scope of legal aid in April 2013. This is particularly surprising as most mainstream housing […]
Rajeev Thacker is currently instructed for the Slack family in the inquest into the deaths of Rachael Slack, her two year old son Auden and her ex-partner Andrew Cairn.
Garden Court Chambers is delighted to be part of Open House London weekend again on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September 2013. The weekend gives the public the opportunity to see our 17th and 18th century buildings completely free of charge.
Housing Law News Homelessness in England: on 5 September 2013 the homelessness statistics for England for the first quarter of 2013/14 were published. They show that: (1) 13,460 applicants were accepted as owed a main homelessness duty, 5% higher than during the same quarter of 2012; (2) 56,210 households were in temporary accommodation on 30 […]
Immigration Law News The Ministry of Justice has announced a second stage of consultation on amended proposals regarding changes to the provision of legal aid. To read further, click here. And for further proposals on reforming judicial review, click here. Proposed changes to Immigration RulesOn Friday 6 September 2013, a written ministerial statement was laid […]
A nine-month old girl has been returned to her family after her parents won an unusual High Court case in which they were accused of "baby shaking". Barristers acting for the parents cast enough doubt on the medical evidence for the judge to refuse the l
Housing Law News Private rented sector: in January 2013, the Newham London Borough Council declared the whole of its district an area of mandatory licensing of private sector landlords. On 27 August 2013 it published statistics indicating that 110 legal cases are on-going against local landlords, including: (1) 67 prosecutions for failure to license and/or […]
Immigration Law News The scheme by which immigration judicial reviews are to take place in the Tribunal, rather than the High Court, is now to take effect imminently. The scheme applies to any case in which an application for permission is issued in the High Court on or after 9 September 2013 or in the […]
Housing Law News Private rented sector: the Home Office consultation, on tackling illegal immigration in privately rented accommodation by requiring private landlords to carry out immigration status checks on prospective tenants, closed last week. For the response made by the Residential Landlords' Association, click here. For the response made by the Housing Team at Garden […]
Immigration Law News The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has published updated guidance on asylum seekers from Afghanistan. For further information, click here. The Migration Matters Trust has carried out an analysis of the likely increase in net migration from Bulgaria and Romania, following the end of transitional controls at the beginning of 2014. […]
Tom Wainwright has successfully secured the acquittal of a participant in the ‘Critical Mass’ protest which took place on the opening night of the Olympic Games following a four-day appeal at Southwark Crown Court.
