trespass - Trespass to land, Other legal uses

Unlawful entry onto the property of another. It includes entry below the land (eg mining) and within a reasonable distance above the land (eg shooting a bullet). Historically, the notion includes any unlawful act which interferes with another's property or rights. Despite the widely posted notice, trespassers can be sued, not prosecuted, although trespass may sometimes constitute a crime; for example, squatters may be criminally liable. The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act (1994) created new offences of aggravated trespass and collective trespass, mainly as a reaction to hunt saboteurs and New Age travellers.

Trespass to land

In law, trespass can be:

the criminal act of going into somebody else's land or property without permission of the owner or lessee; it is also a civil law tort that may be a valid cause of action to seek judicial relief and possibly damages through a lawsuit - see trespass to land. In other jurisdictions, it is not considered a crime or penal in nature, property is protected from trespass under civil law and privacy acts. In England and Wales, despite the prevalence of notices asserting that "trespassers will be prosecuted", unless the trespass is aggravated in some way, it will only be a civil wrong.

Although criminal and civil trespass laws vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, most have the following facets in common:

Property owners and their agents (for example, security guards) may only use reasonable force to protect their property. For example, setting booby traps on a property to hurt trespassers or shooting at trespassers are usually strictly forbidden except in extreme circumstances. Not all persons seeking access to property are trespassers. The law recognizes the rights of persons given express permission to be on the property ("licensees") and persons who have a legal right to be on the property ("invitees") not to be treated as trespassers. The usual procedure is to ask the trespassing person to leave, then to call law enforcement officials if they do not. It is usually illegal to arrest a trespasser and hold them on the property until law enforcement arrives as this defeats the purpose of allowing them to cure the trespass by leaving. The most obvious way is to put up a sign saying "No Trespassing" or "Private Property". Property owners may allow some trespasses while excluding others. For example a sign saying just "No Hunting" could conceivably allow hiking, snowmobiling, or bird-watching, but would give notice to hunters that they would be trespassing if they entered onto the property. For example, the owner of cattle or dogs may be responsible for an animal's trespass in some jurisdictions.

Other legal uses

Assault and battery are trespasses to the person and actionable in tort as such. Actions for breach of contract was developed by the common law courts out of trespass and came to be called trespass upon the case.