A Nicosia court order that a British couple give up their home in northern Cyprus should be honoured by the English courts since it represented the sole "legitimate power" on the island, a QC argued yesterday.

Tom Beasley - representing Meletios Apostolides in his bid to retrieve his former family land in Kyrenia now occupied by David and Linda Orams' villa - described the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyrpus (TRNC) as an "illegal regime" whose writ was not recognised internationally.

The barrister told London's High Court that, under European Union law, the Republic of Cyprus - based in the southern tranche of the island - was the only recognised state. Its laws were internationally seen as covering "the whole of the island", said the QC, even if they went unheeded in the TRNC.

Mr Apostolides, whose family were uprooted from their home in northern Cyprus by the Turkish invasion of 1974, has gone to London's High Court seeking to enforce the Nicosia court's order that the Orams demolish their £210,000 home and surrender the land to him.

The Orams' barrister, Cherie Booth QC, earlier urged Mr Justice Jack to dismiss Mr Apostolides' case, arguing that the disputed land is not within the Nicosia court's jurisdiction. This meant the order could not be effective within TRNC territory, while enforcing the Nicosia ruling in the English courts would also violate the Orams' property rights, she claimed.

Mr Beasley yesterday countered that, to claim the disputed plot was outside Republic of Cyprus territory, was "demonstrably wrong". Such an argument also contradicted the "universal refusal to recognise the TRNC", he said.

The Republic of Cyprus' accession to the EU two years ago had reinforced its status as sole legitimate power, said the barrister, adding: "Any suggestion that the land is not within the territory of the Republic is a very serious matter and should not be contemplated."

The Nicosia court's final ruling was reached after careful deliberation and took full account of the European Convention on Human Rights, said the barrister. The Orams were represented by "experienced lawyers" and Linda Orams had given evidence during the second hearing.

The judgement established the Orams lacked even an elementary defence that "they had acquired title to the land", the lawyer urged.

Mr Beasley was speaking on the third day of the High Court hearing, at which Ms Booth earlier related how the Orams' "nightmare" began after they discovered Mr Apostolides was laying claim to their "dream" holiday home. The retired couple, from Hove, ploughed the bulk of their savings into the purchase of the land in Kyrenia.

The hearing continues.