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Barrister profile
Marina Sergides
Chambers UK 2014
Year of Call
2000
"A really decent opponent," according to peers, Marina Sergides has a practicethat covers a variety of housing matters. She's also particularly focused on cases Email Address
involving the Court of Protection or mental health matters. "Popular with clients and someone with excellent advocacy skills." She "has a great understanding ofhow a case develops - she's tactically astute." Telephone
020 7993 7849
Chambers UK 2013
Education
LLB (Hons) (London)
".the "very tenacious" and "truly exceptional" Marina Sergides, a lawyer who is"very knowledgeable about housing law" and who has a "great eye for detail." Languages
Sources say that she has "proved time and time again that she is a gifted lawyer." A "dynamic and powerful communicator," Sergides has a particular specialism inpossession proceedings" .
Practice Areas:
Marina Sergides is a
Practice
Marina Sergides joined Garden Court Chambers as a housing and immigration pupil in 2002 and became a tenant in the same year. She is a practitioner specialising in housing, social security, prison law and inquests.
Housing Law
Marina specialises in all aspects of social housing law. She has extensive experience in nuisance possession proceedings, s204 homelessness appeals, unlawful eviction and harassment claims, disrepair claims, judicial reviews, human rights, public law defences, disability discrimination and cross over ASBO proceedings in the magistrates and county courts. In particular, Marina has worked extensively in cases involving tenants with mental health problems, wherecapacity has been in issue, and where the Official Solicitor has been instructed.
Marina has represented tenants before the Social Security Tribunal and beforethe Social Security Commissioner.
In December 2010 Marina was part of an Advocats San Frontier and Haldane Garden Court Chambers
delegation that visited Palestine and the Occupied Territories on a fact finding Marina was listed in the Legal 500 for Housing Law.
Marina is also sits on Islington Law Centre's Management Committee and theHousing Law Practitioners Association conference steering group Inquest Law
Marina has also represented bereaved families in inquests arising from deaths atwork, whilst in the care of the state and where health and safety regulations havebeen breached. In 2010, Marina acted on behalf of the family of Darwin Kealey atthe inquest into his death at HMP Wormwood Scrubs. There were eight interested Barrister profile
Marina Sergides
parties at the inquest, which heard evidence about a catalogue of systemicfailures by the police, Serco and the Prison Service. The jury returned a narrativeverdict, identifying a range of missed opportunities and failures that occurredduring his detention. Prison Law
Marina has represented prisoners before independent adjudicators and paroleboards and has advised in judicial review challenges. Marina recently acted onbehalf of a lifer in a Parole Board hearing alongside a Special Advocate, in whatwas only the third such case of its type. In December 2006 Marina was co-editorof the Prison Booklet produced for the post Mubarak Inquiry Conference. It wasprovided for the 500 prison officials, Prison Governors and MPs that were amongstthe attendees.
Notable Cases
Aslam v Ali, 10 June 2009, LAG December 2009
Mr Aslam lived with his wife and eight children in a four bedroom house thatsuffered from substantial disrepair. The Court awarded damages at 50% of therental value for the period 2003 to 2006 and at 33.3% of the rental value for thepeiod 2006 to 2009.
The Court considered whether a claimant can be entitled to a discretionaryhousing payment if they are in receipt of maximum housing benefit and counciltax benefit.
Ferguson v Jones, Birmingham County Court, Legal Action December 2008
Damages for disrepair were awarded at £2700 p.a. pursuant to s.11 of the
Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.
Successful in arguing that a narrow boat with no permanent mooring was held tobe within the meaning of "dwelling". R v London Borough of Southwark
Ogunlowo, Camberwell Magistrate Court, Legal Action December 2004
[2004] UKSSCSC CH_4574_2003
The case considered whether there was a breach of Article 14 when read in
conjunction with either article 8 or Article 1 of Protocol 1 in the provision of
housing benefit for those residing in bail hostels. The Commissioner held that
there was.
Barrister profile
Marina Sergides
Inquests
HMP Chelmsford were crticised over the death of a teenager remand prisoner.
Eighteen year old Billy Coulson hanged himself in his cell at the prison inSeptember 2008. The prison failed to recognise his suicide risk.
Death of a vulnerable 23 year old man with mental health problems and who wasbeing treated in the heathcare wing.
Death in a secure mental health institution as a result of inappropriateadministration of Olanzapine.
Stewart Klincke, 55, died after being overcome by carbon dioxide fumes in a roomat the Scottish Courage brewery, on January 22, 2006. The Jury gave a narrativeverdict, finding that Mr Klincke would not have died if the valve was in its originalstate.
Publications, Training and Memberships
contributed to the annual Legal Action Disrepair Roundups in December 2004,2005 and 2006. She is also a regular contributor to Socialist Lawyer, themagazine of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers.
Marina has provided training to the Housing Law Practitioners Association andregularly provides training at the Garden Court Seminars on a wide range ofhousing and civil law topics. She recently spoke at the Garden Court JudicialReview Conference and currently provides training for Community Legal AdviceCentres.
Marina is a member of the Housing Law Practitioners Association, InquestLawyers Group, Haldane, Lobby for Cyprus, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, andthe Haldane Society. Marina was also a member of Pupillage and TrainingCommittee from 2002 until 2008 and was convenor in 2007 - 2008.

Source: http://www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk/barristers/marina_sergides.pdf