Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008

In short

This law, the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008, sets out how Ireland cooperates with other countries in criminal investigations and legal proceedings. It allows for sharing of information, evidence, and assistance in various criminal justice matters across borders.

What it regulates

Requests for and provision of information about financial transactions for criminal investigations.
Interception of telecommunications messages for criminal justice purposes.
Freezing, confiscation, and forfeiture of property related to criminal activities.
The process for providing and obtaining evidence, including from prisoners and through remote links.

Who it concerns

Authorities in Ireland involved in criminal investigations and prosecutions.
Authorities in "designated states" (other countries) seeking or providing assistance in criminal matters.

Key points

Certain Articles of the 2000 Convention and the Second Additional Protocol are given the force of law.
It establishes a "Central Authority" for handling requests for assistance.
It covers the spontaneous exchange of information between states.
It includes specific provisions for mutual assistance between Ireland and the United States of America.

Legal text

Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008 Skip to content Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Gaeilge Léim go dtí an t-ábhar Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach English Gaeilge English Produced by the Office of the Attorney General Táirgthe ag Oifig an Ard-Aighne Home Legislation Acts of the Oireachtas Statutory Instruments Pre-1922 Legislation Constitution External Resources Bills (Houses of the Oireachtas) Iris Oifigiúil / Official Gazette Revised Acts (LRC) Classified List of Legislation (LRC) Translations (acts.

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s)or rangeBliain nó blianta nó raon TypeCineál All Legislation Acts Statutory Instruments Advanced SearchCuardach Casta HomeBaile ActsAchtanna 2008 Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008 Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008 Permanent Page URL View by SectionAmharc de réir Ailt View Full ActAmharc ar an Acht Iomlán Bill History Stair Bille Commencement, Amendments, SIs made under the Act Tosach Feidhme, Leasuithe, IRí arna ndéanamh faoin Acht Revised Act Acht Athbh… Open PDFOscail PDF Print Full ActPriontáil an tAcht Iomlán Number 7 of 2008 CRIMINAL JUSTICE (MUTUAL ASSISTANCE) ACT 2008 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART 1 Preliminary and General Section 1. Short title and commencement. 2. Interpretation (general). 3. General restriction on providing assistance. 4. Designated state. 5. Certain Articles of 2000 Convention and Second Additional Protocol to have force of law. 6. Requests (general). 7. Transmission of evidence to designated state (general). 8. Central Authority. 9. Spontaneous exchange of information. 10. Repeals. 11. Saving. PART 2 Information about Financial Transactions for Criminal Investigation Purposes 12. Interpretation (Part 2). Information about financial transactions for use in the State 13. Account information order and account monitoring order. 14. Request to designated state for information about financial transactions. Information about financial transactions for use in designated state 15. Request from designated state for information about financial transactions. 16. Action on request. 17. Account information order and account monitoring order on foot of request. 18. Transmission of information obtained to requesting authority. 19. Requesting authority to be informed of possible further investigations. Supplementary 20. Variation or discharge of account information order or account monitoring order. 21. Offences under this Part. PART 3 Interception of Telecommunications Messages Introductory 22. Interpretation (Part 3). Requests for interception where technical assistance required 23. Request to member state for interception. 24. Request to State for interception. 25. Action on request. Notifications of other interceptions 26. Notification to member state of interception. 27. Notification by member state of interception. Miscellaneous 28. Indirect interception of telecommunications messages. 29. Application of Act of 1993 in relation to this Part. 30. Amendment of section 110 of Act of 1983. PART 4 Freezing, Confiscation and Forfeiture of Property Chapter 1 Interpretation 31. Interpretation (Part 4). Chapter 2 Freezing of Property 32. Freezing order relating to evidence. 33. Transmission of freezing order for enforcement outside the State. 34. Transmission of external freezing orders to State for enforcement. 35. Recognition and enforcement of external freezing orders. 36. Application, etc. , of freezing co-operation orders. 37. Registration of freezing co-operation orders. 38. Exercise of powers under this Chapter by High Court or receiver. 39. Receivers: supplementary provisions. 40. Bankruptcy of defendant, etc. 41. Property subject to freezing co-operation order dealt with by Official Assignee. 42. Application of proceeds of realisation. 43. Winding up of company holding realisable property. 44. Duration of freezing co-operation order. 45. Variation or discharge of freezing co-operation order. 46. Refusal to make freezing co-operation order. 47. Postponement of freezing co-operation order. 48. Subsequent treatment of frozen property. Chapter 3 Confiscation of Property 49. Request for confiscation of property in designated state. 50. Transmission to State of external confiscation order. 51. Confiscation co-operation order. 52. Enforcement, etc., of confiscation co-operation orders. 53. Realisation of property subject to confiscation co-operation order. 54. Interest on sums unpaid under confiscation co-operation orders. 55. Payments under confiscation co-operation orders to be expressed in euro. 56. Exercise of powers under this Chapter by High Court or receiver. 57. Application to confiscation co-operation orders of certain provisions relating to freezing co-operation orders. Chapter 4 Forfeiture of Property 58. Transmission of external forfeiture order to designated state for enforcement. 59. Transmission of external forfeiture order to State for enforcement. 60. Forfeiture co-operation order. PART 5 Provision of Evidence Chapter 1 Interpretation 61. Interpretation (Part 5). Chapter 2 Taking of Evidence 62. Evidence from person in designated state. 63. Evidence for use in designated state. 64. Privilege of witnesses. Evidence of prisoners 65. Transfer of prisoner to give evidence or assist criminal investigation in State. 66. Transfer of prisoner to give evidence or assist investigation outside State. Evidence through television link 67. Evidence through television link for use in State. 68. Request for evidence through television link for use outside State. 69. Action on request. 70. Taking of the evidence. Evidence by telephone link for use outside State 71. Request for evidence by telephone link. 72. Taking of evidence. Search for Evidence 73. Search for evidence at place in designated state. 74. Search for evidence for use outside State (general). 75. Search for particular evidence for use outside State. Chapter 3 Identification evidence 76. Definitions (Chapter 3). 77. Identification evidence for use in State. 78. Identification evidence for use outside State. 79. Action on request. PART 6 Other Forms of Assistance Chapter 1 Service of documents 80. Documents for service outside State. 81. Mode of service. 82. Service of documents in State. Chapter 2 Examining objects and sites 83. Examining objects and sites. Chapter 3 Restitution 84. Restitution of stolen property from designated state. 85. Request to State for restitution of stolen property. 86. Action on request. 87. Order for restitution. Chapter 4 Controlled deliveries 88. Interpretation (Chapter 4). 89. Controlled delivery in designated state. 90. Controlled delivery in State. 91. Amendment of Garda Síochána Act 2005. 92. Application of Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Act 2004 in relation to controlled deliveries. PART 7 Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Between the State and the United States of America 93. Definitions (Part 7). 94. Application in State of Ireland - US Treaty. PART 8 Miscellaneous 95. Exchange of information concerning terrorist offences between Europol, Eurojust and member states. 96. Application and amendment of Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Act 2004. 97. Presence of representatives of requesting state at execution of request. 98. Presence of members of Garda Síochána at execution of request in designated state. 99. Use of information or evidence obtained in response to request in designated state. 100. Disclosure prejudicing investigation. 101. Liability of officers of body corporate. 102. Evidence in proceedings (general). 103. Provisional measures. 104. Recognition of third party rights. 105. Amendment of Criminal Justice Act 1994. 106. Amendment of section 8

(7)of Criminal Assets Bureau Act

Personal data protection.
Exercise of powers by judge of District Court outside district court district.
Regulations.
Expenses.
Laying of orders or regulations before Houses of Oireachtas. SCHEDULE 1 Text of 2000 Convention SCHEDULE 2 Text of 2001 Protocol SCHEDULE 3 Text of Agreement with Iceland and Norway SCHEDULE 4 Text of Articles 49 and 51 of Schengen Convention SCHEDULE 5 Text of Framework Decision SCHEDULE 6 Text of Title III of EC/Swiss Confederation Agreement SCHEDULE 7 Text of 2005 Council Decision SCHEDULE 8 PART 1 Text of 1959 Convention PART 2 Text of First Additional Protocol to 1959 Convention SCHEDULE 9 Text of Second Additional Protocol to 1959 Convention SCHEDULE 10 Text of Chapter IV of 2005 Convention SCHEDULE 11 Text of Articles 13, 14, 18, 19 and 20 of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, done at New York on 15 November
SCHEDULE 12 Text of Articles 46, 49, 50 and 54 to 57 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, done at New York on 31 October 2003 SCHEDULE 13 Text of EU/US Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance SCHEDULE 14 Text of Ireland/US Treaty of 18 January 2001, as applied by Instrument of 14 July 2005 Acts Referred to Bail Act 1997 1997, No. 16 Bankers’ Books Evidence Act 1879 42 & 43 Vic., c. 11 Bankruptcy Act 1988 1988, No. 27 Central Bank Act 1971 1971, No. 24 Children Act 2001 2001, No. 24 Companies Act 1963 1963, No. 33 Companies Acts 1963 to 2006 Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 1961, No. 39 Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996 1996, No. 31 Criminal Justice Act 1994 1994, No. 15 Criminal Justice Act 2006 2006, No. 26 Criminal Justice (Joint Investigation Teams) Act 2004 2004, No. 20 Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997 1997, No. 4 Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005 2005, No. 2 Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 2001, No. 50 Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention against Torture) Act 2000 2000, No. 11 Data Protection Act 1988 1988, No. 25 Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 Dentists Act 1985 1985, No. 9 European Arrest Warrant Act 2003 2003, No. 45 Europol Act 1997 1997, No. 38 Extradition Acts 1965 to 2001 Extradition (Amendment) Act 1994 1994, No. 6 Extradition (European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism) Act 1987 1987, No. 1 Extradition (European Union Conventions) Act 2001 2001, No. 49 Garda Síochána Act 2005 2005, No. 20 Immigration Act 1999 1999, No. 22 Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 1993, No. 10 Medical Practitioners Act 1978 1978, No. 4 Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 1977, No. 12 Nurses Act 1985 1985, No. 18 Official Secrets Act 1963 1963, No. 1 Police (Property) Act 1897 60 & 61 Vic., c. 30 Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983 1983, No. 24 Prisons Act 1970 1970, No. 11 Prisons Act 1972 1972, No. 7 Probation of Offenders Act 1907 7 Edw. 7., c. 17 Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006 2006, No. 12 Registration of Deeds and Title Acts 1964 and 2006 Statutory Declarations Act 1938 1938, No. 37 Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners Act 1995 1995, No. 16 Number 7 of 2008 CRIMINAL JUSTICE (MUTUAL ASSISTANCE) ACT 2008 AN ACT— (a) TO ENABLE EFFECT TO BE GIVEN IN THE STATE TO CERTAIN INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS, OR PROVISIONS OF SUCH AGREEMENTS, BETWEEN THE STATE AND OTHER STATES RELATING TO MUTUAL ASSISTANCE IN CRIMINAL MATTERS; (b) TO REPEAL AND RE-ENACT, WITH AMENDMENTS, PART VII (INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION) OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 1994; AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS. [28th April, 2008] BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS: PART 1 Preliminary and General Short title and commencement. 1.—

(1)This Act may be cited as the Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) Act 2008.

(2)This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be appointed by order or orders of the Minister, either generally or with reference to a particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so appointed for different purposes and different provisions. Interpretation (general). 2.—

(1)In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires— “Act of 1994” means the Criminal Justice Act 1994 ; “Agreement with Iceland and Norway” means the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway on the application of certain provisions of the 2000 Convention and 2001 Protocol, done at Brussels on 19 December 2003; “Articles 49 and 51”, in relation to the Schengen Convention, means those Articles of the Convention, as applied to the State by Council Decision (2002/192/EEC) of 28 February 2002 concerning Ireland’s request to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis, but does not include paragraph (

a)(repealed by Article 2.2 of the 2000 Convention) of Article 49; “authority” includes a person; “1959 Convention” means the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, done at Strasbourg on 20 April 1959, and includes the Additional Protocol of 17 March 1978 thereto; “2000 Convention” means the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European Union, done at Brussels on 29 May 2000; “2005 Convention” means the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism, done at Warsaw on 16 May 2005; “2005 Council Decision” means Council Decision 2005/671/JHA of 20 September 2005 on the exchange of information and co-operation concerning terrorist offences; “1977 Terrorism Convention” means the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism, done at Strasbourg on 27 January 1977; “Central Authority” means the authority mentioned in section 8 ; “criminal conduct” means any conduct— (
a)which constitutes an offence, or (
b)which occurs in a designated state and would, if it occurred in the State, constitute an offence; “criminal investigation”— (
a)means an investigation into whether a person has committed an offence (within the meaning of the relevant Part) under the law of the State or a designated state in respect of which, where appropriate, a request for assistance may be made under the relevant international instrument, and (
b)includes an investigation into whether a person has benefited from assets or proceeds deriving from criminal conduct or is in receipt of or controls such assets or proceeds; “criminal proceedings” means proceedings, whether in the State or a designated state, against a person for an offence and includes— (
a)proceedings to determine whether a person has benefited from assets or proceeds deriving from criminal conduct or is in receipt of or controls such assets or proceeds, (
b)proceedings concerning measures relating to— (
i)the deferral of delivery or suspension of enforcement of a sentence or preventive measure, (
ii)conditional release, or (iii) a stay or interruption of enforcement of a sentence or preventive measure, (
c)in relation to requests for assistance by a requesting authority in a member state— (
i)without prejudice to subsection

(2)(

b)of sections 74 and 75 (requests for evidence or evidential material), proceedings brought by an administrative authority in respect of conduct which is punishable under the law of the State or that state or of both of them, by virtue of being infringements of the rules of law, and where the decision may give rise to proceedings before a court having jurisdiction in particular in criminal matters, (
ii)proceedings in claims for damages arising from wrongful prosecution or conviction, (iii) clemency proceedings, (
iv)civil actions joined to criminal proceedings, as long as the criminal court concerned has not taken a final decision in the criminal proceedings, and (
v)proceedings in respect of measures relating to— (I) the deferral of delivery or suspension of enforcement of a sentence or preventive measure, (II) conditional release, or (III) a stay or interruption of enforcement of a sentence or preventive measure, and (
d)in relation to requests for assistance by a requesting authority in a designated state (other than a member state), without prejudice to subsection

(3)of sections 74 and 75 proceedings brought by an administrative authority in respect of conduct which is punishable under the law of the State or that state or of both of them, by virtue of being infringements of the rules of law, and where the decision may give rise to proceedings before a court having jurisdiction in particular in criminal matters; “designated state” means a member state and any other state designated under section 4 ; “EC/Swiss Confederation Agreement” means the Co-operation Agreement between the European Community and its member states, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other part, to combat fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests, done at Luxembourg on 26 October 2004; “evidence” means oral evidence or, as appropriate, any document or thing which could be produced as evidence in criminal proceedings, including any information in non-legible form which could be converted into permanent and legible form for the purposes of those proceedings; “Framework Decision” means Council Framework Decision (2003/577/JHA) of 22 July 2003 on the execution in the European Union of orders freezing property or evidence; “imprisonment” includes detention and, in relation to a designated state, any other form of deprivation of liberty; “international instrument” means any of the following agreements, or provisions of agreements, between the State and other states or another state in relation to mutual assistance in criminal matters: (

a)the 2000 Convention; (
b)the 2001 Protocol; (
c)the Agreement with Iceland and Norway; (
d)Articles 49 and 51 of the Schengen Convention; (
e)the Framework Decision; (
f)Title III of the EC/Swiss Confederation Agreement; (
g)the 2005 Council Decision; (
h)the 1959 Convention; (
i)the Second Additional Protocol; (
j)Chapter IV of the 2005 Convention; (
k)Articles 13, 14, 18, 19 and 20 of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, done at New York on 15 November 2000; (
l)Articles 46, 49, 50 and 54 to 57 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, done at New York on 31 October 2003; (
m)a bilateral agreement between the State and a designated state for the provision of such assistance; and (
n)any reservation or declaration made in accordance with such an instrument; “member state” means— (
a)a member state of the European Union (other than the State), for the purposes of mutual assistance under the provisions of the 2000 Convention, 2001 Protocol, Articles 49 and 51 of the Schengen Convention, Framework Decision or 2005 Council Decision, and (
b)Iceland and Norway or any other designated state, for the purposes of mutual assistance under any of those provisions; “Minister” means the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform; “offence”— (
a)means an offence in respect of which a request for mutual assistance may be made under the relevant international instrument, (
b)includes a revenue offence, if or to the extent that the relevant international instrument or the law of the designated state concerned provides for mutual assistance in respect of such an offence, but (
c)does not include a political offence; “place” means a physical location and includes— (
a)a dwelling, residence, building or abode, (
b)a site, (
c)a vehicle, whether mechanically propelled or not, (
d)a vessel, whether sea-going or not, (
e)an aircraft, whether capable of operation or not, and (
f)a hovercraft; “political offence”, except in Part 2 — (
a)includes an offence connected with a political offence, (
b)does not include any offence in respect of which a person may be surrendered to another state under the European Arrest Warrant Act 2003 or the Extradition Acts 1965 to 2001; “prison” means a place of custody administered by or on behalf of the Minister (other than a Garda Síochána station) and includes— (
a)St. Patrick’s Institution, (
b)a place provided under section 2 of the Prisons Act 1970 , and (
c)a place specified under section 3 of the Prisons Act 1972 ; “property”, except in Part 4 , includes— (
a)money and all other property, real or personal, movable or immovable, (
b)a chose in action and any other intangible or incorporeal property, (
c)proceeds of the disposal of property, and (
d)evidence; “2001 Protocol” means the Protocol to the 2000 Convention, done at Luxembourg on 16 October 2001; “relevant international instrument” means the international instrument in accordance with which a request for assistance is made; “request” means a request for assistance which is made by a requesting authority under and in accordance with a relevant international instrument; “requesting authority” means— (
a)a court or tribunal exercising jurisdiction in criminal proceedings in a designated state and making a request, or (
b)any other authority in that state appearing to the Minister to have the function of making the request; “revenue offence”— (
a)means an offence under the law of the State or a designated state in connection with taxes, duties, customs or exchange regulation, (
b)includes such an offence under the law of a designated state irrespective of whether the law of the State provides for taxes, duties, customs or exchange regulation of the same kind as that state provides, but (
c)does not include— (
i)an offence involving the use or threat of force or perjury or the forging of a document issued under statutory authority, or (
ii)an offence alleged to have been committed by an officer of the Revenue of that state in his or her capacity as such officer; “Schengen Convention” means the Convention, signed in Schengen on 19 June 1990, implementing the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985; “Second Additional Protocol” means the Second Additional Protocol of 8 November 2001 to the 1959 Convention; “state”, in relation to a state other than the State, includes a territory, whether in the state or outside it— (
a)for whose external relations the state or its government is wholly or partly responsible, and (
b)to which the relevant international instrument applies or whose law provides for mutual assistance in criminal matters, and “designated state” and “member state” are to be construed accordingly.

(2)Reservations made pursuant to Article 13 of the 1977 Terrorism Convention do not apply to mutual assistance in criminal matters between member states.

(3)The following provisions of this Act give effect to Council Decision (2002/192/EC) of 28 February 2002 concerning Ireland’s request to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis, in so far as those provisions relate to mutual assistance in criminal matters: (a) paragraph (c) of the definition of “criminal proceedings” in subsection

(1); (b) subsections

(1)and

(2)of sections 74 and 75 ; (c) section 82

(1)(b).

(4)Judicial notice shall be taken of a relevant international instrument.

(5)When interpreting any provision of this Act— (

a)a court may consider the relevant international instrument and any explanatory document issued in connection with it, and (
b)give the instrument and any such document such weight as is appropriate in the circumstances.

(6)For convenience of reference— (

a)Schedule 1 sets out the English text of the 2000 Convention, (
b)Schedule 2 sets out the English text of the 2001 Protocol, (
c)Schedule 3 sets out the English text of the Agreement with Iceland and Norway, (
d)Schedule 4 sets out the English text of Articles 49 and 51 of the Schengen Convention, (
e)Schedule 5 sets out the English text of the Framework Decision, (
f)Schedule 6 sets out the English text of Title III of the EC/Swiss Confederation Agreement, (
g)Schedule 7 sets out the English text of the 2005 Council Decision, (
h)Schedule 8 sets out the English text of the 1959 Convention and the First Additional Protocol thereto, (
i)Schedule 9 sets out the English text of the Second Additional Protocol to the 1959 Convention, (
j)Schedule 10 sets out the English text of Chapter IV of the 2005 Convention, (
k)Schedule 11 sets out the English text of Articles 13, 14, 18, 19 and 20 of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, done at New York on 15 November 2000, (
l)Schedule 12 sets out the English text of Articles 46, 49, 50 and 54 to 57 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, done at New York on 31 October 2003, (
m)Schedule 13 sets out the English text of the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance between the European Union and the United States of America, done at Washington D.C. on 25 June 2003, and (
n)Schedule 14 sets out the English text of the Treaty between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United States on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, done at Washington D.C. on 18 January 2001, as applied by the Instrument contemplated by Article 3

(2)of the said Agreement of 25 June 2003 and done at Dublin on 14 July 2005. General restriction on providing assistance. 3.—

(1)Assistance shall be refused— (

a)if the Minister considers that providing assistance would be likely to prejudice the sovereignty, security or other essential interests of the State or would be contrary to public policy (ordre public), (
b)if there are reasonable grounds for believing— (
i)that the request concerned was made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing a person on account of his or her sex, race, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, language, political opinion or sexual orientation, (
ii)that providing assistance— (I) may prejudice a person’s position for any of those reasons, or (II) may result in the person being subjected to torture or to any other contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights, (
c)if the request is not in accordance with the relevant international instrument, or (
d)if, and for as long as, the provision of assistance would prejudice a criminal investigation, or criminal proceedings, in the State, and may be refused on any other ground of refusal of assistance specified in the relevant international instrument.

(2)In this section, “ torture” has the meaning given to it by the Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention against Torture) Act 2000 . Designated state. 4.— The Minister for Foreign Affairs, after consultation with the Minister, may by order designate a state (other than a member state) for the purposes of mutual assistance between the State and that state under this Act or specified Parts or provisions of it in accordance with the relevant international instrument. Certain Articles of 2000 Convention and Second Additional Protocol to have force of law. 5.—

(1)Subject to the provisions of this Act, Articles 4 (formalities and procedures in the execution of requests) and 6 (transmission of requests) of the 2000 Convention and Articles 4 (channels of communication) and 8 (procedure) of the Second Additional Protocol have the force of law in their application to the State.

(2)For the purposes of subsection

(1)— (

a)references in the Articles mentioned in that subsection to a requested state or requested party or to authorities, judicial authorities or competent authorities of that state or party shall be construed as references to, where appropriate, the Central Authority or the judge or court concerned, and (
b)references to those Articles are references to the Articles as modified by any reservation or declaration made in relation to them. Requests (general). 6.—

(1)Subject to the provisions of this Act concerning particular requests, the relevant international instrument concerned has effect in the State in relation to— (

a)the form of the requests and the information they are to provide, (
b)the action that may be taken where a request does not comply with the provisions of the instrument or where the information provided is not sufficient to enable the request to be dealt with, (
c)any restrictions in the instrument in relation to the refusal of particular requests, (
d)any requirements in the instrument relating to the protection, disclosure, use or transmission of information or evidence received under it, (
e)the formalities and procedures in dealing with requests, unless those formalities and procedures are contrary to the fundamental principles of the law of the State, and (
f)the transmission and mode of transmission of requests, including, where so provided for in the instrument, transmissions via the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) in urgent cases.

(2)This Act applies only to requests made after the relevant international instrument has entered into force, or, as the case may be, has been applied, between the State and the designated state concerned.

(3)Requests received and not executed before the date on which they would fall to be dealt with under this Act shall be dealt with, or continue to be dealt with, as if this Act had not been passed.

(4)Requests shall— (

a)be addressed to the Central Authority, unless the relevant international instrument provides otherwise, (
b)where appropriate, indicate the relevant international instrument under which the request is being made, and (
c)be in writing or in any form capable of producing a written record under conditions allowing their authenticity to be established.

(5)Requests to a designated state and any supporting or related documents shall be accompanied, where appropriate, by a translation of the requests and of any such documents, or of the material parts of them, into the official language or one of the official languages of that state, unless it is known that such a translation is not required by the appropriate authority in the designated state concerned.

(6)Requests from a designated state and any supporting or related documents, if not in Irish or English, shall be accompanied by a translation into either of those languages of the requests and of any such documents or the material parts of them.

(7)The Central Authority may— (

a)accept requests and any supporting or related documents as evidence of the matters mentioned in them unless it has information to the contrary, and (
b)seek such additional information from the requesting authority concerned as may be necessary to enable a decision to be taken on a request.

(8)Action on a request may be postponed by the Minister if the action would prejudice criminal proceedings or a criminal investigation.

(9)Before refusing a request or postponing action on it the Minister shall, where appropriate and having consulted the requesting authority, consider whether the request may be granted partially or subject to such conditions as he or she considers necessary.

(10)Reasons shall be given for any such refusal or postponement.

(11)The Minister shall also inform a requesting authority of any circumstances that make it impossible to comply with the request or are likely to delay compliance significantly. Transmission of evidence to designated state (general). 7.—

(1)Evidence obtained in the State in compliance with a request shall be transmitted to the designated state concerned in accordance with the directions of the Minister.

(2)If any such evidence is to be accompanied by a certificate, affidavit or other verifying document, the judge concerned or, as the case may be, the appropriate member of the Garda Síochána or officer of the Revenue Commissioners, shall supply the required document for transmission to the designated state.

(3)Where the evidence consists of a document, the original or a copy shall be transmitted and, where it consists of any other item, the item itself or a description, photograph or other representation of it shall be transmitted, as may be necessary to comply with the request. Central Authority. 8.—

(1)The Minister is the Central Authority for the purposes of this Act.

(2)The Central Authority has the function of receiving, transmitting and otherwise dealing with requests, except those made under Part 3 , and of co-operating, in accordance with the relevant international instrument, with corresponding persons or bodies in designated states in relation to requests received from them.

(3)The Minister may, if he or she considers it appropriate, designate persons to perform specified functions of the Central Authority, and different persons may be so designated to perform different such functions.

(4)While such a designation is in force, a reference in this Act to the Central Authority, in so far as it relates to the performance of a function specified in the designation, is to be construed as a reference to the person so designated to perform that function.

(5)The Minister may amend or revoke a designation.

(6)The Minister shall, by notice in writing, inform the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union of the names of any persons designated for the time being under this section. Spontaneous exchange of information. 9.—

(1)Without prejudice to section 100 , the Director of Public Prosecutions, Commissioner of the Garda Síochána or Revenue Commissioners (in this section referred to as the “providing authority”) may, in accordance with the relevant international instrument and without receiving a request to that effect, communicate information to a competent authority in a designated state either relating to matters which might give rise to such a request or for the purpose of current criminal investigations or criminal proceedings or of initiating either of them.

(2)The providing authority may impose conditions on the use by the competent authority of the information so communicated.

(3)Subsection

(2)does not apply in relation to the competent authority of a designated state which has made a declaration under paragraph 4 of Article 11 of the Second Additional Protocol unless, as required by such a declaration, the authority has received prior notice of the nature of the information to be communicated and has agreed to its being communicated.

(4)Any conditions imposed by a competent authority in a designated state on the use of information communicated by it to the providing authority shall be complied with pursuant to the relevant international instrument.

(5)In this section references to a competent authority in a designated state are references to the authority in such a state appearing to the providing authority to be the appropriate authority for receiving or communicating the information concerned. Repeals. 10.— Without prejudice to section 11 , the following provisions are repealed: (

a)Part VII (International Co-operation) of the Act of 1994 and the Second Schedule (taking of evidence for use outside State) thereto; (
b)section 15 (amendment of Act of 1994) of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997 ; and (
c)section 22 (amendment of section 56A of Act of 1994) of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 . Saving. 11.—

(1)Where— (

a)mutual assistance between the State and another state was provided for by or under a provision of Part VII of the Act of 1994 before the repeal of that Part on the commencement of section 10 (a), and (
b)the state is not designated under section 4 for the purposes of that assistance, the assistance concerned shall continue to be provided under and in accordance with the corresponding provision of this Act, which accordingly shall have effect, with any necessary modifications, for that purpose.

(2)The reference in subsection

(1)to Part VII of the Act of 1994 includes a reference to the Second Schedule to that Act.

(3)References in subsection

(1)to a state include references to a country or territory within the meaning of the said Part VII. PART 2 Information about Financial Transactions for Criminal Investigation Purposes Interpretation(Part 2). 12.—

(1)In this Part, except where the context otherwise requires— “account” means an account, of whatever nature, in a financial institution, whether in the State or a designated state, which is held or controlled by a person and includes— (

a)an account held by the person under a different name or different version of the person’s name, (
b)an account held by the person jointly with another person, (
c)an account held by another person on which the person is authorised to operate, whether by way of a power of attorney or otherwise, (
d)an account held by another person (in this Part referred to as a “sending or recipient account”) to or from which payments have been or are being made from or to an account in the name of a person specified in an account information order, and (
e)any other account held by another person, where information in relation to it would be relevant to the investigation referred to in the request; “account information order” means an order under section 13 or 17 that a specified financial institution shall, within a time to be specified by the applicant for the order by notice in writing or any extension of that time under subsection

(2)— (

a)state— (
i)whether an account or accounts in the name or names of a specified person or persons or in a specified different version or versions of that name or those names is or are held in the financial institution, and (
ii)whether it has become aware, in the ordinary course of business, of any other account or accounts in the institution on which the specified person or persons is or are authorised to operate, whether by way of a power of attorney or otherwise, and (
b)if so, provide to the applicant or his or her nominee, in a manner and form specified in the notice, any information that it has in relation to any such account or accounts and any sending or recipient accounts, including details of any operations thereon specified in the notice during any period so specified; “account monitoring order” means an order under section 13 or 17 that a specified financial institution shall enable the applicant for the order to monitor, during a period, and in a manner and form, specified by the applicant by notice in writing, any operations so specified that are being carried out on an account or accounts in a specified name or names or in a specified different version or versions of that name or those names in the financial institution; “financial institution” means— (
a)if the financial institution is in the State— (
i)a person who holds or has held a licence from the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland under section 9 of the Central Bank Act 1971 , (
ii)a person referred to in section 7

(4)of that Act, or (iii) a credit institution (within the meaning of the European Communities (Licensing and Supervision of Credit Institutions) Regulations 1992 ( S.I. No. 395 of 1992 )) which has been authorised by that Authority to carry on the business of a credit institution in accordance with the supervisory enactments within the meaning of those Regulations, or (

b)if the financial institution is in a designated state, a bank or a non-bank financial institution; “form”, where it occurs in the definition of account information order and account monitoring order, means a form which— (
a)is permanent and legible, whether or not it has been converted into such a form from an electronic or other non-legible form, or (
b)if so specified by the applicant for such an order, is an electronic or other non-legible form which is capable of being converted into a permanent and legible form; “political offence”— (
a)includes an offence connected with a political offence, (
b)does not include— (
i)an offence to which section 3 of the Extradition (European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism) Act 1987 (the “Act of 1987”) applies, or (
ii)an offence, as defined in subsection

(3), of conspiracy or association to commit such an offence; “2001 Protocol” means the Protocol of 16 October 2001 to the 2000 Convention; “sending or recipient account” has the meaning given to it by paragraph (d) of the definition of “account”.

(2)The time specified by an applicant for an account information order— (

a)is a time within which a financial institution may reasonably be expected to provide the information specified in the order, and (
b)may be extended for a period specified by the applicant in a further notice in writing, after consultation with the financial institution concerned.

(3)The offence of conspiracy or association referred to in paragraph (b)(

ii)of the definition of “political offence” is an offence— (
a)which is constituted by the behaviour described in Article 3

(4)of the Convention relating to Extradition between the Member States of the European Union, done at Brussels on 27 September 1996, namely, behaviour by a person which contributes to the commission, by a group of persons acting with a common purpose, of— (

i)one or more than one offence in the field of terrorism as mentioned in Articles 1 and 2 of the 1977 Terrorism Convention, drug trafficking or other forms of organised crime, or (
ii)other acts of violence against the life, physical integrity or liberty of a person or creating a collective danger for persons, and (
b)which is punishable, even if the person does not take part in the actual commission of the offence or offences, by a term of imprisonment for a period of 12 months or a more severe penalty, where the contribution was intentional and made with knowledge of the purpose and general criminal activity of the group or of its intention to commit the offence or offences concerned.

(4)The reference in this section to section 3 of the Act of 1987 is to that section as amended by section 2 of the Extradition (Amendment) Act 1994 and sections 12 and 27 of the Extradition (European Union Conventions) Act 2001 . Information about financial transactions for use in the State Account information order and account monitoring order. 13.—

(1)For the purposes of a criminal investigation in the State, a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector may apply ex parte and otherwise than in public to a judge of the High Court for an account information order or an account monitoring order or for both of those orders.

(2)The application may relate to— (

a)all financial institutions in the State or the designated state concerned, (
b)a category or categories of such financial institutions, or (
c)a particular such financial institution or particular such financial institutions.

(3)The judge may make the order or orders applied for in relation to the financial institution or financial institutions specified in the application if satisfied that— (

a)the Garda Síochána are investigating whether a specified person— (
i)has committed an offence, or (
ii)is in possession or control of assets or proceeds deriving from criminal conduct, and (
b)there are reasonable grounds for believing— (
i)that the financial institution or financial institutions concerned may have information which is required for the purposes of the investigation, and (
ii)that it is in the public interest that any such information should be disclosed for those purposes, having regard to the benefit likely to accrue to the investigation and any other relevant circumstances.

(4)An order under this section shall contain sufficient information in relation to any account specified in it to enable the account to be identified by the financial institution concerned.

(5)An order under this section has effect notwithstanding any obligation as to secrecy or any other restriction on disclosure imposed by statute or otherwise.

(6)A notice in writing given to a financial institution pursuant to an order under this section and specifying operations on accounts kept therein may be modified by the applicant for the order, in consultation with the financial institution, with a view to avoiding as far as practicable the provision by that institution of information that is not relevant to the criminal investigation concerned.

(7)Any information provided by a financial institution in the State in compliance with an order under this section is not admissible in evidence against the financial institution, except in any proceedings for an offence under section 21

(1)(b). Request to designated state for information about financial transactions. 14.—

(1)Where an account information order or account monitoring order relates to information concerning an account or accounts in a financial institution in a designated state, the Director of Public Prosecutions may send the order to the Central Authority for transmission to a competent authority in that state, together with a request by the Director for the supply of the information to which the order relates.

(2)Notwithstanding subsection

(1), the Director may make a request directly to a competent authority in a designated state for the supply of any information to which an account information order or account monitoring order could relate if a criminal investigation is taking place in the State and the Director has reasonable grounds for believing— (

a)that a financial institution or financial institutions in the designated state may have information which is required for the purposes of the investigation, and (
b)that it is in the public interest that any such information should be disclosed for those purposes, having regard to the benefit likely to accrue to the investigation and any other relevant circumstances.

(3)Any request under this section shall include— (

a)a statement by the Director that an investigation is taking place into a specified offence and that the person mentioned in the request is the subject of the investigation, and (
b)the following information: (
i)why the Director considers that the requested information is likely to be of substantial value for the purposes of the investigation; (
ii)why he or she considers that a financial institution or financial institutions in the designated state may keep the account or accounts concerned; (iii) if available, the name or names of that institution or those institutions; (
iv)the maximum period of imprisonment to which a person of full capacity and not previously convicted is liable on conviction for the offence; (
v)the content of subsections

(4)and

(5); and (vi) any other information that may facilitate compliance with the request.

(4)Information obtained in response to a request under this section shall not, without the consent of the competent authority, be used for any purpose other than that permitted by the relevant international instrument.

(5)When any such information is no longer required for that purpose (or for any other purpose for which such consent has been obtained), it shall be returned to the competent authority unless the authority indicates that it need not be returned. Information about financial transactions for use in designated state Request from designated state for information about financial transactions. 15.—

(1)This section applies to a request for information in relation to any account or accounts that may be held in a financial institution in the State by a person who is the subject of a criminal investigation in a designated state.

(2)The request shall include— (

a)a statement that a specified offence has been committed in the designated state concerned and that the person mentioned in the request is the subject of an investigation into the offence, (
b)a statement that— (
i)any information that may be supplied in response to the request will not, without the Minister’s prior consent, be used for any purpose other than that specified in the request, and (
ii)the record of any such information will be returned when no longer required for the purpose so specified (or any other purpose for which such consent has been obtained), unless the Minister indicates that its return is not required, and (
c)the following information: (
i)why the requesting authority considers that the requested information is likely to be of substantial value for the purposes of the investigation; (
ii)why it considers that a financial institution or financial institutions in the State may hold the account or accounts concerned; (iii) if available, the name or names of that institution or those institutions; (
iv)the maximum period of imprisonment under the law of the designated state by which the offence is punishable; and (
v)any other information that may facilitate compliance with the request.

(3)In subsection

(1), “information” includes— (

a)information as to whether a financial institution in the State keeps an account or accounts mentioned in that subsection, (
b)details of any such account or accounts, (
c)details of operations on any such account or accounts during a particular period. Action on request. 16.— The Minister may, if of opinion that the request complies with section 15 , authorise a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector to apply to a judge of the High Court for an account information order or account monitoring order, or for both of those orders, in relation to the information requested. Account information order and account monitoring order on foot of request. 17.—

(1)On receipt of an authorisation under section 16 a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector may apply ex parte and otherwise than in public to a judge of the High Court for an account information order or account monitoring order or for both of those orders.

(2)The application— (

a)may relate to— (
i)all financial institutions in the State, (
ii)a category or categories of such financial institutions, or (iii) a particular such financial institution or particular such financial institutions, and (
b)shall be accompanied by a copy of the request concerned and of any supporting or related documents.

(3)The judge may make the order or orders applied for in relation to the financial institution or financial institutions specified in the application if satisfied that— (

a)there are reasonable grounds for believing that an offence under the law of the designated state concerned has been committed, (
b)the person mentioned in the request is the subject of an investigation into the offence, (
c)the request is otherwise in accordance with the relevant international instrument, and (
d)there are reasonable grounds for believing that the specified financial institution or financial institutions may have information which is required for the purposes of the investigation.

(4)An order under this section shall contain sufficient information in relation to any account specified in it to enable the account to be identified by the financial institution concerned.

(5)An order under this section has effect notwithstanding any obligation as to secrecy or any other restriction on disclosure imposed by statute or otherwise.

(6)Any information provided by a financial institution in compliance with such an order is not admissible in evidence against it, except in any proceedings for an offence under section 21

(1)(b). Transmission of information obtained to requesting authority. 18.— Information disclosed by a financial institution in compliance with an account information order or account monitoring order under section 17 shall be transmitted to the requesting authority concerned in accordance with arrangements approved by the Minister. Requesting authority to be informed of possible further investigations. 19.— During the execution of a request under this Part the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, if of opinion that it may be appropriate to undertake investigations which were not initially foreseen or could not be specified when the request was made, shall inform the requesting authority accordingly. Supplementary Variation or discharge of account information order or account monitoring order. 20.—

(1)A judge of the High Court may vary or discharge an account information order or account monitoring order on application by— (

a)a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector, or (
b)any financial institution affected by the order.

(2)Where the application relates to an order under section 17 , the judge shall arrange for the competent authority in the designated state concerned to be notified— (

a)of the application and the grounds for making it, so as to enable the authority to submit any arguments that it deems necessary at the hearing of the application, and (
b)of the outcome of the application.

(3)The application shall be heard otherwise than in public. Offences under this Part. 21.—

(1)A financial institution in the State is guilty of an offence— (

a)if, without reasonable excuse, it does not comply with an account information order or account monitoring order, or (
b)if, while purporting to comply with such an order, it— (
i)makes a statement which it knows to be false or misleading in a material particular, or (
ii)recklessly makes a statement which is false or misleading in such a particular.

(2)Subsection

(1)is without prejudice to the law relating to contempt of court.

(3)A financial institution in the State and any person who is a director, or an officer or other employee, of the institution is guilty of an offence if the institution or person, knowing or suspecting that an application has been made under this Part for an account information order or an account monitoring order or both, makes any disclosure which prejudices, or is likely to prejudice, the criminal investigation giving rise to the application.

(4)In proceedings for an offence under subsection

(3)it is a defence for the financial institution or person to prove that the institution or person— (

a)did not know or suspect that the disclosure to which the proceedings relate prejudiced, or was likely to prejudice, the criminal investigation concerned, or (
b)had lawful authority or reasonable excuse for making the disclosure.

(5)A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection

(3)is liable— (

a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, and (
b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.

(6)A financial institution which is guilty of an offence under this section is liable— (

a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000, and (
b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine. PART 3 Interception of Telecommunications Messages Introductory Interpretation (Part 3). 22.— In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires— “Act of 1983” means the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983 ; “Act of 1993” means the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993 ; “competent authority” means the person or body in a member state who or which in the opinion of the Minister is the competent authority for the purposes of Title III of the 2000 Convention; “interception” means the interception of telecommunication messages to or from a person specified in the authorisation of the interception at a telecommunications address so specified; “telecommunications address” has the meaning that it has in the Act of 1993. Requests for interception where technical assistance required Request to member state for interception. 23.—

(1)This section applies where— (

a)for the purpose of a criminal investigation the Minister has given an authorisation of an interception under section 2 of the Act of 1993, (
b)the person specified in the authorisation is present in the State or a member state, and (
c)technical assistance from a member state is needed to intercept the telecommunications messages concerned.

(2)Where this section applies, the Minister may cause a request to be made to a competent authority in the member state for— (

a)the interception by that authority and immediate transmission to the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána or a member of the Garda Síochána nominated by him or her of telecommunications messages to or from the telecommunications address concerned, or (
b)the interception and recording of the messages and the transmission of the recording to the Commissioner or member.

(3)The request shall— (

a)confirm that an authorisation of an interception has been given by the Minister under the Act of 1993 for the purpose of a criminal investigation, (
b)give sufficient information to identify the person whose telecommunications messages are to be intercepted, (
c)give an indication of the criminal conduct under investigation, (
d)state the desired duration of the interception, (
e)provide sufficient technical data, including the network connection number of the telecommunications address concerned, to ensure that the request can be met, and (
f)where the request— (
i)relates to a specified person who is present in the member state concerned, or (
ii)is a request under subsection

(2)(b), provide a summary of the facts relating to the offence being investigated and any further information that the competent authority may require to enable it to decide whether the requested interception would be authorised by it in similar circumstances.

(4)If the request relates to a person who is present in a member state other than that from which the technical assistance is required, that other member state shall be notified of the authorisation in accordance with section 26 .

(5)Information received in response to the request is deemed to be official information for the purposes of the Official Secrets Act 1963 .

(6)For the removal of doubt, it is declared that an authorisation may be given under section 2 of the Act of 1993 where the person whose telecommunications messages are to be intercepted is present in a member state. Request to State for interception. 24.—

(1)This section applies where— (

a)a criminal investigation is taking place in a member state, (
b)a lawful interception order or warrant for the interception of telecommunications messages to or from a specified person or telecommunications address has been issued in the member state in connection with the investigation, (
c)a competent authority in the member state makes a request to the Minister for— (
i)the interception and immediate transmission to the authority or a person nominated by it of telecommunications messages to or from the telecommunications address concerned, or (
ii)the interception and recording of the messages and the transmission of the recording to the authority or the person nominated by it, and (
d)the specified person— (
i)is present in the member state or another member state and the competent authority in the former member state needs the technical assistance of the State to intercept the telecommunications messages, or (
ii)is present in the State and the interception can be made therein.

(2)The request shall— (

a)indicate the name of the competent authority, (
b)confirm that a lawful interception order or warrant has been issued in connection with a criminal investigation, (
c)give sufficient information to identify the person whose telecommunication messages are to be intercepted, (
d)give an indication of the criminal conduct under investigation, (
e)state the desired duration of the interception, (
f)provide sufficient technical data, including the network connection number of the telecommunications address concerned, to ensure that the request can be met, and (
g)if the person is present in a member state other than that in which the lawful interception order or warrant has been issued and from which no technical assistance is required to carry out the interception, confirm that that member state has been informed of the order or warrant pursuant to Article 20

(2)(a) of the 2000 Convention.

(3)Where— (

a)the person whose telecommunications messages are to be intercepted is present in the State, or (
b)the request is for the interception and recording of the messages and transmission of the recording, the request shall also include a summary of the facts relating to the offence being investigated and any further information that the Minister may require to enable him or her to decide whether the conduct constituting the offence, if it occurred in the State, would constitute a serious offence within the meaning of the Act of 1993 and otherwise justify the giving of an authorisation under that Act. Action on request. 25.—

(1)Subject to subsection

(3), where the request is for the interception and immediate transmission of specified telecommunications messages, the Minister may give an authorisation of the interception if of opinion that section 24 applies and is complied with in relation to the case.

(2)Subject to subsection

(3), where— (

a)the request is for the interception and recording of specified telecommunication messages and transmission of the recording, and (
b)immediate transmission of the interception is not possible— (
i)from the State, (
ii)to the member state, or (iii) in both of those cases, the Minister may give an authorisation of the interception if of opinion that section 24 applies and is complied with in relation to the case.

(3)Where in a case referred to in subsection

(1)or

(2), the person who is the subject of the request is present in the State, the Minister may give an authorisation of the interception only if of opinion that— (

a)the conduct being investigated in the requesting state would, if it occurred in the State, constitute a serious offence within the meaning of the Act of 1993 and otherwise justify the giving of an authorisation under that Act, and (
b)section 24 applies and is complied with in relation to the case.

(4)If a declaration is made by the State under the 2000 Convention that it is bound by paragraph 6 (as given effect to by subsections

(2)and

(3)) of Article 18 of the Convention only where immediate transmission from the State of the interception concerned is not possible, paragraphs (b)(ii) and (b)(iii) of subsection

(2)thereupon cease to have effect.

(5)Where the person who is the subject of the request is present in the State, the Minister may make the authorisation subject to any condition (including a condition related to the use of the intercepted messages) that would apply if the authorisation were one given under section 2 of the Act of 1993 in relation to a person present in the State.

(6)Where an authorisation is given, the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána shall— (

a)arrange for the transmission of the telecommunications messages concerned to the competent authority in the member state or a person nominated by it, or (
b)as appropriate, arrange for the recording of the messages and transmission of the recording to that authority or person.

(7)In considering any request under Article 18.8 of the 2000 Convention for a transcript of such a recording, the Minister shall have regard to all the circumstances of the particular case; and the granting of such a request may be subject to any condition to which authorisation of the interception may be subject.

(8)The authorisation is deemed to be an authorisation under section 2 of the Act of 1993, and that Act and section 110 of the Act of 1983 (in so far as it relates to directions related to such authorisations) have effect accordingly, with any necessary modifications, for all purposes as if the authorisation and any such directions had been given under the Act of 1993 and the Act of 1983. Notifications of other interceptions Notification to member state of interception. 26.—

(1)Where— (

a)for the purpose of a criminal investigation the Minister has given an authorisation of an interception under section 2 of the Act of 1993, (
b)the telecommunications address of the person specified in the authorisation is being used on the territory of a member state, and (
c)technical assistance from the member state is not required to carry out the interception, the Minister shall inform the competent authority in the member state of the authorisation— (
i)before the interception, if the Minister is then aware that the person is present on that territory, or (
ii)in any other case, immediately after the Minister becomes so aware.

(2)The notification shall include the following information: (

a)confirmation that authorisation of an interception has been given by warrant under section 2 of the Act of 1993 in connection with a criminal investigation; (
b)details sufficient to identify the subject of the interception; (
c)an indication of the criminal conduct under investigation; and (
d)the expected duration of the interception.

(3)The Minister shall comply with any condition, requirement or request imposed or made by the competent authority in relation to the interception pursuant to Article 20.4 of the 2000 Convention.

(4)Pending a decision by the competent authority on whether to consent to the interception or to its continuance— (

a)any interception made may be continued, but (
b)material intercepted may not be used unless— (
i)otherwise agreed between the Minister and the competent authority, or (
ii)in connection with taking urgent measures to prevent an immediate and serious threat to public security (including measures in respect of any serious offence), in which case the Minister shall inform the competent authority of any such use and the reasons justifying it.

(5)In subsection

(4)(b)(ii), “serious offence” means an offence specified in the Schedule to the Bail Act 1997 for which a person of full capacity and not previously convicted may be punished by a term of imprisonment for a term of 5 years or by a more severe penalty.

(6)If so requested by the competent authority, the Minister shall supply it with a summary of the facts of the case and any further information necessary to enable it to decide whether an interception would be authorised by it in similar circumstances.

(7)Subsection

(6)is without prejudice to subsection

(4), unless otherwise agreed between the Minister and the competent authority.

(8)Where the Minister is of opinion that the information to be provided under subsection

(2)is of a particularly sensitive nature, the information may, with the agreement of the competent authority concerned, be transmitted to it through a specific person or body.

(9)This section does not apply in relation to a member state which has declared in accordance with the 2000 Convention that it is not necessary to provide it with information on interceptions as envisaged in Article 20 of that Convention. Notification by member state of interception. 27.—

(1)This section applies where— (

a)the competent authority in a member state has authorised an interception, (
b)the telecommunications address of the person specified in the authorisation is being used on the territory of the State, (
c)technical assistance from the State is not required to carry out the interception, and (
d)the competent authority notifies the Minister accordingly in accordance with Article 20 of the 2000 Convention.

(2)Where this section applies, the Minister, without delay and at the latest within a period specified in subsection

(7), shall proceed in accordance with subsection

(3)or subsections

(4)and

(5), as appropriate.

(3)If an authorisation would be given under section 2 of the Act of 1993 in similar circumstances, the Minister shall authorise the interception to be carried out or continued.

(4)If— (

a)an authorisation under the said section 2 would not be given, (
b)section 3 applies, or (
c)the offence concerned is a political offence or revenue offence, the Minister shall require that the interception not be carried out or be terminated and give the reasons for so requiring in writing.

(5)Where subsection

(4)applies, the Minister shall require that any material already intercepted while the telecommunications address was being used in the State may not be used or may be used only under specified conditions, the justification for which shall be communicated by the Minister to the competent authority in writing.

(6)The Minister may request the competent authority to supply a summary of the facts of the case and any further information necessary to enable him or her to decide whether an authorisation would be given under section 2 of the Act of 1993 in similar circumstances.

(7)The following period is specified for the purposes of subsection

(2): (

a)a period not exceeding 96 hours; or (
b)where it is necessary to determine whether an authorisation under section 2 of the Act of 1993 would be given in similar circumstances, a period not exceeding in total 12 days.

(8)Where paragraph (b) of subsection

(7)> applies, the Minister shall communicate in writing to the competent authority the conditions which justify the request for an extension of the period mentioned in paragraph (a) of that subsection.

(9)Information provided under this section by the competent authority is deemed to be official information for the purposes of the Official Secrets Act 1963 . Miscellaneous Indirect interception of telecommunications messages. 28.—

(1)In this section, “authorised undertaking” has the meaning given to it by the European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) (Authorisation) Regulations 2003 ( S.I. No. 306 of 2003 ), as amended by the European Communities (Electronic Communications Networks and Services) (Authorisation) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 ( S.I. No. 372 of 2007 ).

(2)Where— (

a)a person is present in the State, (
b)an authorisation has been given under section 2 of the Act of 1993 for the interception of telecommunications messages to or from the person, (
c)the messages cannot be directly intercepted in the State, but (
d)an authorised undertaking which has received directions under section 110 of the Act of 1983 in relation to interceptions can facilitate interception of the messages by accessing interception equipment in a member state, the authorised undertaking shall facilitate the interception of the messages by accessing that equipment.

(3)Where— (

a)a person is present in a member state, (
b)a lawful order or warrant for the interception of telecommunications messages to or from the person has been made or issued in the member state for the purposes of a criminal investigation and is in force, (
c)the messages cannot be directly intercepted in the member state, but (
d)an authorised undertaking which has received directions under section 110 of the Act of 1983 in relation to interceptions— (
i)can directly intercept the messages, and (
ii)has interception equipment enabling a provider of telecommunications services in the member state to intercept them, the authorised undertaking shall facilitate the interception of the messages by the provider. Application of Act of 1993 in relation to this Part. 29.— The Act of 1993 applies and has effect in relation to this Part with the necessary modifications, including the following: (
a)references in the Act of 1993 to “this Act” are to be construed as references to this Part; (
b)references therein to an authorisation are to be construed as references to— (
i)an authorisation deemed under section 25

(8)to be an authorisation under section 2 of the Act of 1993, or (ii) an authorisation under section 27

(3), as the case may be; (

c)references therein to a contravention of a provision of the Act of 1993 are to be construed as references to a contravention of a provision of this Part; (
d)references therein to official documents are to be construed as references to official documents available to the Minister in connection with a request under this Part; and (
e)references to a person in sections 8

(5)and 9

(11)of the Act of 1993 are to be construed as references to a person who is present in the State. Amendment of section 110 of Act of 1983. 30.— Section 110 (general ministerial powers in relation to postal and telecommunications services) of the Act of 1983 is amended by the addition of the following subsections: “

(6)A person who, without reasonable excuse, does not comply with a direction under this section is guilty of an offence and liable— (

a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000, or (
b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(7)Proceedings for an offence under subsection

(6), including any appeal or subsequent proceedings, shall be held in camera.”. PART 4 Freezing, Confiscation and Forfeiture of Property Chapter 1 Interpretation Interpretation(Part 4). 31.—

(1)In this Part: “appeal” includes any proceedings for the discharge or setting aside of a judgment and any application for a new trial or stay of execution; “certificate” means the certificate— (

a)provided for in Article 9 of the Framework Decision, and (
b)the standard form of which is set out in the Annex to the Decision; “confiscation co-operation order” has the meaning given to it by section 51 ; “confiscation order” means a confiscation order within the meaning of the Act of 1994; “defendant” means the person to whose property an external freezing order or external confiscation order relates; “external confiscation order” means an order made by a court in a designated state for the purpose of— (
a)recovering property in the State which was received or obtained as a result of or in connection with conduct which would, if it occurred in the State, constitute an indictable offence, (
b)recovering the value of such property, or (
c)depriving a person of a pecuniary advantage so received or obtained; “external forfeiture order” means an order for the forfeiture of property in the State which is made by a court in a designated state in or in connection with proceedings resulting from conduct which would, if it occurred in the State, constitute an indictable offence; “external freezing order” means any measure— (
a)taken provisionally by a competent judicial authority of a designated state in criminal proceedings to prevent the destruction, transformation, moving, transfer, disposal or use of specified property in the State that could be subject to confiscation or be evidence in those proceedings, and (
b)made for the purpose of— (
i)subsequent confiscation of the property, or (
ii)protection of evidence; “forfeiture co-operation order” has the meaning given to it by section 60 ; “freezing co-operation order” has the meaning given to it by section 35 ; “freezing order” means— (
a)an order under section 24 (as amended by section 105 (
a)of this Act) of the Act of 1994, (
b)an order under section 14 or 15 of the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005 , or (
c)an order under section 32 , which relates to property in a designated state or in so far as it does so; “issuing judicial authority” means a judicial authority in a designated state, as defined in the law of that state, which makes, validates or in any way confirms an external freezing order; “issuing state” means the designated state in which an issuing judicial authority exercises jurisdiction; “property” includes property of any description, corporeal or incorporeal, movable or immovable and wherever situated, which the competent judicial authority in the designated state considers— (
a)to be the proceeds of an offence, (
b)to be equivalent to either the full value or a part of the value of such proceeds, or (
c)to be the instrumentalities or objects of an offence, and includes documents evidencing title to or an interest in the property; “realisable property” means— (
a)in relation to a freezing co-operation order or confiscation co-operation order made in respect of specified property, the property specified in the order, and (
b)in any other case— (
i)any property held by the defendant, and (
ii)any property held by a person to whom the defendant has directly or indirectly made a gift, but does not include property which is the subject of an order made by a court in other proceedings in the State unless or until that order is discharged.

(2)For the purposes of this Part, dealing with property held by any person includes (without prejudice to the generality of the expression)— (

a)where a debt is owed to that person, making a payment to any person in settlement or reduction of the debt, and (
b)removing the property from the State.

(3)References in this Part to a gift are to a gift which, if the external confiscation order were a confiscation order, would be a gift caught by the Act of 1994, and the provisions of that Act concerning a gift so caught apply and have effect in relation to a gift referred to in this Part. Chapter 2 Freezing of Property Freezing order relating to evidence. 32.—

(1)This section applies where criminal proceedings have been instituted, or a criminal investigation is taking place, in the State.

(2)Where this section applies, the Director of Public Prosecutions or a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector may apply ex parte and otherwise than in public to a judge of the High Court for an order (a “freezing order”) prohibiting the destruction, transformation, moving, transfer, disposal or use by any person of specified property, whether in or outside the State, that could be evidence in those proceedings or, as the case may be, in any such proceedings that may be instituted.

(3)The judge may make the order applied for if satisfied— (

a)that criminal proceedings have been instituted or a criminal investigation is taking place, (
b)that evidence relating to the offence concerned— (
i)is on specified premises, (
ii)is likely to be of substantial value (whether by itself or together with other evidence) to the proceedings or investigation, and (iii) is likely to be admissible at a trial for the offence, and (
c)in case the evidence is in a designated state, that a request has been or will be made for it to be transferred to the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána.

(4)An order under this section does not apply in relation to any documents subject to legal privilege.

(5)The High Court may vary or discharge an order under this section on application by— (

a)a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of inspector, or (
b)any person affected by it, and shall discharge it if its continuance in force would not be in the interests of justice.

(6)If— (a) an order under this section is transmitted for enforcement in a designated state pursuant to section 33

(4), and (b) the order is later varied or discharged in relation to property in the designated state, the Court shall cause the Central Authority to be informed as soon as practicable of the variation or discharge, and that Authority shall thereupon notify the appropriate authority in the designated state accordingly. Transmission of freezing order for enforcement outside the State. 33.—

(1)If— (

a)any property to which an application for a freezing order relates is in a member state, and (
b)the application is granted, the applicant may request the judge concerned to cause a certificate to be completed.

(2)The certificate shall— (

a)bear a signature (which may be an electronic signature) by or on behalf of the court concerned, and (
b)include a statement as to the accuracy of the information in the certificate.

(3)If the freezing order is an order under section 32 for the protection of evidence, the court concerned may indicate to the judicial authority of the member state any formalities and procedures in enforcing the order that are necessary to ensure that the evidence is admissible in criminal proceedings.

(4)The freezing order and certificate shall be sent by a registrar of the Court to the applicant, who shall send them to the Central Authority for transmission to the appropriate authority in the member state concerned with a view to having the freezing order enforced.

(5)If a freezing order relates to property in a designated state (other than a member state), the Director of Public Prosecutions may send to the Central Authority, for transmission to the appropriate authority in the designated state with a view to having the freezing order enforced— (

a)a duly authenticated copy of the order, and (
b)such other information as may be required by the appropriate authority in accordance with the relevant international instrument. Transmission of external freezing orders to State for enforcement. 34.—

(1)An external freezing order from a member state and a certificate duly completed and certified as accurate by the issuing judicial authority together with a request or instruction relating to the subsequent treatment of the evidence or property concerned shall, unless otherwise provided by a declaration by the State under Article 4.2 of the Framework Decision, be transmitted to the Central Authority in connection with a request for enforcement of the order.

(2)A request from any other designated state for the enforcement of an external freezing order shall be accompanied by— (

a)a duly certified copy of the order, (
b)a statement of the grounds— (
i)for making the order, and (
ii)for believing that the evidence or property concerned will be subject to an order of confiscation, and any other information required by the relevant international instrument.

(3)Transmission of the documents mentioned in subsection

(1)or

(2)shall be by any means capable of producing a written record under conditions which allow the Central Authority or the High Court to establish the documents’ authenticity.

(4)An issuing judicial authority is deemed to have complied with subsection

(3)if facsimile copies of the external freezing order, the certificate (where appropriate) and any translation thereof are transmitted in compliance with any regulations that may be made under subsection

(6).

(5)If the Central Authority or the High Court is not satisfied that a facsimile copy of a document transmitted in accordance with this section corresponds to the document of which it purports to be such a copy, the Central Authority or the Court shall— (

a)request the issuing judicial authority to cause the original or a copy of the document to be transmitted to the Central Authority, and (
b)agree with that judicial authority on the manner in which the original or copy is to be so transmitted.

(6)The Minister may, if he or she considers it necessary for the purposes of ensuring the accuracy of documents transmitted in accordance with this section, make regulations— (

a)prescribing procedures to be followed in connection with the transmission of documents in accordance with this section, and (
b)specifying features to be present in any equipment being used in that connection. Recognition and enforcement of external freezing orders. 35.—

(1)The Central Authority shall, on receipt of an external freezing order, certificate (where appropriate), any other supporting or related documents and any translation, forthwith cause an application to be made to the High Court for an order (in this Part referred to as a “freezing co-operation order”) recognising the external freezing order and prohibiting any person from dealing with the property specified in the external freezing order.

(2)The application may be made ex parte and otherwise than in public and shall be accompanied by the documents mentioned in subsection

(1)or copies thereof and, in the case of a designated state (other than a member state), shall be made with the consent of the Minister.

(3)An application from a member state for the enforcement of an external freezing order shall be dealt with as soon as possible and, whenever practicable, within 24 hours of receipt of the order and a duly completed certificate.

(4)On an application under this section the Court may, subject to subsection

(5), make a freezing co-operation order, subject to any conditions that may be specified in the order.

(5)The Court may— (

a)refuse to make a freezing co-operation order on a ground mentioned in section 3 or 46 , or (
b)postpone its making on a ground mentioned in section 47 .

(6)Where a request from a member state concerns an offence referred to in Article 3

(2)of the Framework Decision which is punishable in that state by a maximum term of imprisonment of not less than 3 years, the Court may not refuse to make a freezing co-operation order solely on the ground that the conduct constituting the offence concerned does not constitute an offence under the law of the State.

(7)Where— (

a)an external freezing order is for the protection of evidence, (
b)it is necessary to ensure that the evidence is admissible in the proceedings concerned, and (
c)for that purpose certain formalities and procedures in the enforcement of the external freezing order are expressly indicated by the issuing judicial authority, the freezing co-operation order shall make provision for observing those formalities and procedures, unless their observance would be contrary to the fundamental principles of the law of the State.

(8)The Court shall cause notice of the freezing co-operation order to be given to any person who appears to be or is affected by it, unless the Court is satisfied that it is not reasonably possible to ascertain the person’s whereabouts. Application, etc., of freezing co-operation orders. 36.—

(1)A freezing co-operation order may apply— (

a)where particular property is specified in the external freezing order, to the property so specified, and (
b)in any other case— (
i)to realisable property held by a specified person, whether the property is described in the freezing co-operation order or not, and (
ii)to any realisable property held by a specified person, being property transferred to the person after the external freezing order was made.

(2)A freezing co-operation order may make such provision as the Court thinks fit for the living expenses and legal expenses of the person possessing the property concerned.

(3)The Court— (

a)may at any time appoint a receiver— (
i)to take possession of any realisable property to which a freezing co-operation order applies, and (
ii)in accordance with the Court’s directions, to manage or otherwise deal with the property, subject to such exceptions and conditions as it may specify, and (
b)may require any person having possession or control of the property to give up possession of it to the receiver.

(4)Where the Court has made a freezing co-operation order, a member of the Garda Síochána or an officer of customs and excise may seize any realisable property for the purpose of preventing its removal from the State.

(5)Property taken possession of under subsection

(4)shall be dealt with in accordance with the Court’s directions. Registration of freezing co-operation orders. 37.—

(1)Where a freezing co-operation order is made in relation to land, or an order is made varying or discharging such an order, the registrar of the High Court shall send to the Property Registration Authority a notice of the making of the order, together with a copy of the order.

(2)On receipt of those documents the Authority shall— (

a)if the land is registered land, cause an entry to be made in the register kept by it under the Registration of Deeds and Title Acts 1964 and 2006 inhibiting, until the order is discharged, any dealing with the land and any charge thereon, and (
b)if the order is subsequently varied or discharged, cause the entry to be varied accordingly or cancelled, as the case may be.

(3)If subsection

(2)(a) does not apply, the Authority shall cause the notice of the making, variation or discharge of the freezing co-operation order to be registered in the register of deeds maintained by the Authority under section 35 of the Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006 .

(4)Where a freezing co-operation order is made which affects an interest in a company or its property, or an order is made varying or discharging such an order, the registrar of the High Court shall send to the Registrar of Companies a notice of the making of the order, together with a copy of the order.

(5)On receipt of those documents the Registrar of Companies shall, if the company is a registered company, cause the notice to be entered in the Register of Companies and— (

a)if the company is an existing company within the meaning of the Companies Acts 1963 to 2006, send a copy of the notice to each director and the secretary of the company at the company’s registered office, or (
b)in any other case, send a copy of the notice by post to the person resident in the State who has been authorised to accept, on behalf of the company concerned, service of process and any notices required to be served on it.

(6)In this section— “Register of Companies” means the Register of Companies maintained under the Companies Acts 1963 to 2006; “registered company” means— (

a)a company formed and registered under those Acts, (
b)an existing company within the meaning of those Acts, or (
c)a company registered under Part XI of the Companies Act 1963 or the European Communities (Branch Disclosure) Regulations 1993 ( S.I. No. 395 of 1993 ). Exercise of powers under this Chapter by High Court or receiver. 38.—

(1)The powers of the High Court under section 36 or of a receiver appointed under that section shall be exercised, subject to this section, with a view to making available for recovery property which may become liable to be recovered under any confiscation co-operation order that may be made in the defendant’s case.

(2)The powers shall be exercised with a view to allowing any person, other than the defendant or the recipient of a gift, to retain or recover the value of any property held by the person.

(3)In the case of realisable property held by a person to whom the defendant has directly or indirectly made a gift, the powers shall be exercised with a view to realising no more than the value for the time being of the gift.

(4)In exercising the powers no account shall be taken of any obligations of the defendant or the recipient of any gift that conflict with the obligation to satisfy any confiscation co-operation order that may be made in the defendant’s case. Receivers: supplementary provisions. 39.— A receiver appointed under section 36 who takes any action— (

a)in relation to property which is not realisable property, being an action which he or she would be entitled to take if it were such property, (
b)believing, and having reasonable grounds for believing, that he or she is entitled to take that action in relation to that property, is not liable to any person in respect of any loss or damage resulting from the action except in so far as the loss or damage is caused by his or her negligence. Bankruptcy of defendant, etc. 40.—

(1)Where a person who holds realisable property is adjudicated bankrupt— (

a)property for the time being subject to a freezing co-operation order made before the order adjudicating the person bankrupt, and (
b)any proceeds of property realised by virtue of section 36 , for the time being in the hands of a receiver, is excluded from the property of the bankrupt for the purposes of the Bankruptcy Act 1988 .

(2)Where a person has been adjudicated bankrupt, the powers of the High Court under section 36 or of a receiver appointed under that section shall not be exercised in relation to property of the bankrupt for the purposes of the said Act of 1988.

(3)Where a person is adjudicated bankrupt and has directly or indirectly made a gift— (

a)no decision as to whether the gift is void shall be made under section 57, 58 or 59 of the said Act of 1988 in respect of the making of the gift at any time when property of the person to whom the gift was made is subject to a freezing co-operation order, and (
b)any decision as to whether it is void made under any of those sections after the discharge of the freezing co-operation order shall take into account any realisation under this Act of property held by the person to whom the gift was made.

(4)In any case in which a petition in bankruptcy was presented, or an adjudication in bankruptcy was made, before 1 January 1989, this section has effect with the modification that for references to the property of the bankrupt for the purposes of the said Act of 1988 there shall be substituted references to the property of the bankrupt vesting in the assignees for the purposes of the law of bankruptcy existing before that date. Property subject to freezing co-operation order dealt with by Official Assignee. 41.—

(1)Without prejudice to the generality of any provision of any other enactment, where— (

a)the Official Assignee or a trustee appointed under Part V of the Bankruptcy Act 1988 seizes or disposes of any property in relation to which his or her functions are not exercisable because it is for the time being subject to a freezing co-operation order, and (
b)at the time of the seizure or disposal he or she believes, and has reasonable grounds for believing, that he or she is entitled (whether under an order of the court or otherwise) to seize or dispose of the property, he or she is not liable to any person in respect of any loss or damage resulting from the seizure or disposal except in so far as the loss or damage is caused by his or her negligence in so acting, and he or she has a lien on the property, or the proceeds of its sale, for such of his or her expenses as were incurred in connection with the bankruptcy or other proceedings in relation to which the seizure or disposal purported to take place and for so much of his or her remuneration as may reasonably be assigned for his or her acting in connection with those proceedings.

(2)Where the Official Assignee or a trustee appointed as aforesaid incurs expenses in respect of any property mentioned in subsection

(1)(a) and, when doing so, does not know and has no reasonable grounds for believing that the property is subject to a freezing co-operation order, he or she is entitled (whether or not he or she has seized or disposed of that property so as to have a lien) to payment of those expenses under section 42 . Application of proceeds of realisation. 42.—

(1)Money paid or recovered in respect of a freezing co-operation order (including any variation of such an order) may, to the extent necessary, be applied to meet expenses incurred in exercising any powers under this Act and the remuneration of any person employed for that purpose.

(2)Money paid or recovered in respect of a freezing co-operation order, after payment of any expenses or remuneration in accordance with subsection

(1)— (

a)shall be applied towards satisfaction of the order, and (
b)shall, subject to any provision to the contrary in the relevant international instrument, be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Finance unless, on request by or on behalf of the designated state concerned, the Court provides otherwise. Winding up of company holding realisable property. 43.—

(1)Where realisable property is held by a company and an order for its winding up has been made or a resolution has been passed by it for a voluntary winding up, the functions of the liquidator (or any provisional liquidator) are not exercisable in relation to— (

a)property for the time being subject to a freezing co-operation order made before the relevant time, and (
b)any proceeds of property realised by virtue of section 36 for the time being in the hands of a receiver.

(2)Where such an order has been made or such a resolution passed, the powers conferred on the High Court under section 36 or on a receiver appointed under that section shall not be exercised in relation to any realisable property held by the company in relation to which the functions of the liquidator are exercisable— (

a)so as to inhibit him or her from exercising those functions for the purpose of distributing any property held by the company to the company’s creditors, or (
b)so as to prevent the payment out of any property of expenses (including the remuneration of the liquidator or any provisional liquidator) properly incurred in the winding up in respect of the property.

(3)In this section— “company” means any company which may be wound up under the Companies Acts 1963 to 2006; “relevant time” means— (

a)where no order for the winding up of the company has been made, the time of the passing of the resolution for its voluntary winding up, (
b)where such an order has been made and, before presentation of the petition for the winding up of the company by the court, such a resolution had been passed by the company, the time of the passing of the resolution, and (
c)in any other case where such an order has been made, the time of the making of the order. Duration of freezing co-operation order. 44.— A freezing co-operation order remains in force— (
a)where the external freezing order is for the purpose of securing evidence, until the evidence is transferred to the issuing state or a request for such a transfer is refused, (
b)where the order is for the purpose of subsequent confiscation of property, until a confiscation co-operation order is made or the request for such an order is refused and the refusal is upheld on any appeal against it, or (
c)until the freezing co-operation order is discharged in accordance with section 45 . Variation or discharge of freezing co-operation order. 45.—

(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, the High Court, on application by any person affected by a freezing co-operation order— (

a)may vary or discharge it, and (
b)shall discharge it— (
i)if proceedings in respect of the offence are not instituted, or an application for the transfer of the evidence or for a confiscation order is not made, within such time as the court considers reasonable, or (
ii)if the court considers that for any other reason the continuance in force of the order would not be in the interests of justice.

(2)Notice of an application under this section and of the grounds for it shall be given by the applicant, in such manner as may be prescribed by rules of court or as the Court may direct, to the Central Authority for transmission to the issuing authority.

(3)The making of an application under this section does not have suspensive effect.

(4)The substantive grounds for making the external freezing order may be reviewed only by a judicial authority in the issuing state concerned.

(5)The registrar of the Court shall inform the issuing judicial authority of the outcome of the application. Refusal to make freezing co-operation order. 46.—

(1)Without prejudice to section 3 , the High Court may refuse to make a freezing co-operation order only if— (

a)the offence to which the external freezing order relates is not an offence to which the relevant international instrument relates, (
b)where the external freezing order was made in a member state, the certificate is not produced, is incomplete or manifestly does not correspond to the external freezing order, (
c)there is an immunity or privilege under the law of the State which makes it impossible to make a freezing co-operation order, (
d)it is immediately clear from the information provided in a certificate that compliance with a request for the transfer of evidence or confiscation of property in relation to the offence in respect of which the external freezing order has been made would infringe the ne bis in idem principle, or (
e)in the case of an external freezing order from a designated state (other than a member state), there is not a reasonable basis for believing— (
i)that there are sufficient grounds for making the order, or (
ii)that the property will be subject to an external confiscation order.

(2)In a case referred to in subsection

(1)(b), the High Court may— (

a)specify a deadline for presentation of a certificate or for its completion or correction, (
b)accept an equivalent document, or (
c)if the Court considers that the information provided is sufficient, dispense with the requirement to produce the certificate.

(3)Where— (

a)the High Court refuses to make a freezing co-operation order, or (
b)notwithstanding consultation with the issuing judicial authority concerned, it is not possible to make such an order because— (
i)the evidence or property has disappeared, has been destroyed or cannot be found in the location indicated in the certificate, or (
ii)its location has not been indicated in a sufficiently precise manner, the Court shall direct the Central Authority to inform the judicial authority accordingly by any means capable of producing a written record. Postponement of freezing co-operation order. 47.—

(1)The High Court may postpone the making of a freezing co-operation order— (

a)where making it might prejudice an ongoing criminal investigation in the State, until such time as the Court deems reasonable, (
b)where the property or evidence concerned is already subject to a freezing order in criminal proceedings in the State, until that order is discharged, or (
c)subject to subsection

(2), where, in the case of an external freezing order freezing property with a view to its subsequent confiscation, the property is already subject to an order made in other proceedings in the State, until that order is discharged.

(2)Subsection

(1)(c) applies only if the order made in such other proceedings would have priority over a subsequent freezing order in criminal proceedings.

(3)Where the ground for postponement ceases to exist, the Court shall forthwith make a freezing co-operation order.

(4)The Court shall direct the Central Authority to inform the issuing judicial authority by any means capable of producing a written record of— (

a)any postponement under this section of the making of a freezing co-operation order, the reasons for the postponement and its expected duration, (
b)the making of a freezing co-operation order under subsection

(3), and (c) any other measure of restraint to which the property concerned may be subject. Subsequent treatment of frozen property. 48.—

(1)A request to transfer evidence subject to a freezing co-operation order to the issuing state shall be treated as a request for assistance in obtaining evidential material under section 75 .

(2)A request to make a confiscation co-operation order in relation to property subject to such an order shall be dealt with in accordance with Part 5 .

(3)Notwithstanding subsection

(1), where— (a) a request from a member state concerns an offence to which Article 3

(2)of the Framework Decision applies, and (b) the offence is punishable in the issuing state by a term of imprisonment of not less than 3 years, the High Court may not refuse a request for evidence to be transferred to that state on the ground that the conduct constituting the offence is not an offence under the law of the State. Chapter 3 Confiscation of Property Request for confiscation of property in designated state. 49.—

(1)If a confiscation order relates to property in a designated state, the registrar or clerk of the court concerned shall, on request and subject to any conditions that may be specified by rules of court, give to the Director of Public Prosecutions— (

a)a duly authenticated copy of the order, and (
b)a certificate signed by the registrar or clerk and stating that the prescribed time for lodging an appeal has expired or, as the case may be, will expire on a specified date.

(2)If such a confiscation order has not been satisfied, the Director of Public Prosecutions may send to the Central Authority, for transmission to the competent authority in the designated state concerned— (a) the documents mentioned in subsection

(1), (

b)a document signed by or on behalf of the Director stating— (
i)that the order is in force and has not been satisfied, and (
ii)that the defendant appeared or was represented at the proceedings in which the order was made or, if not, the date on which the court proceedings began and the date on which the defendant received notice of them, (
c)a brief description of the conduct which resulted in the making of the order, and (
d)a request that the property concerned be realised and the proceeds applied in accordance with the law of that state.

(3)If— (

a)property is realised in pursuance of such a request, and (
b)the amount realised is less than, or equal to, the amount ordered to be paid under the confiscation order, the amount so ordered is deemed to be reduced by an amount equal to the proceeds of realisation or, as the case may be, the confiscation order is deemed to be discharged.

(4)In any proceedings a certificate purporting to be issued by a competent authority in the designated state and stating— (

a)that property has been realised pursuant to the request, (
b)the date of realisation, and (
c)the proceeds of realisation, is admissible, without further proof, as evidence of those matters.

(5)If the proceeds of realisation are stated in the certificate otherwise than in euro, they are to be taken as their euro equivalent calculated at the baseline rate of exchange prevailing on the date of realisation. Transmission to State of external confiscation order. 50.—

(1)An external confiscation order may be transmitted by or on behalf of the court that made it to the Central Authority with a request for its enforcement.

(2)The external confiscation order shall be accompanied by— (

a)a duly certified copy of the order, (
b)a statement by or on behalf of the court that made the order— (
i)that it is in force and not subject to appeal, and (
ii)that, if the person against whom it was made did not appear in the proceedings concerned, notice thereof was received by the person in good time to defend the proceedings, (
c)a brief description of the conduct constituting the offence which resulted in the making of the order, and (
d)any required translations, and shall include any further information required by the relevant international instrument. Confiscation co-operation order. 51.—

(1)The Central Authority, on receipt of an external confiscation order and accompanying documents, may cause an application to be made to the High Court for an order (a “confiscation co-operation order”) for the confiscation of the property in the State to which the external confiscation order relates.

(2)The application shall be accompanied by the request, the accompanying documents and any other related documents or by copies thereof.

(3)On the application the Court may, subject to subsection

(4), make a confiscation co-operation order.

(4)The Court may not make a confiscation co-operation order unless— (

a)it is satisfied— (
i)that the application is made with the consent of the Minister, (
ii)as to the matters mentioned in section 50

(2)(b), (iii) that the conduct which resulted in the making of the external confiscation order constitutes criminal conduct, and (

iv)that the making of the order is otherwise in accordance with the relevant international instrument, and (
b)an opportunity has been given to any person claiming to own, or have an interest in, the property subject to the external confiscation order to show cause why the order should not be made.

(5)The Court— (

a)may vary or discharge a confiscation co-operation order on the application of any person claiming to have an interest in the property concerned or to be otherwise affected by the order and may in that connection consult the court which made the external confiscation order, and (
b)shall— (
i)vary a confiscation co-operation order in accordance with any variation made in the external confiscation order, and (
ii)if satisfied that the external confiscation order has been revoked or has been satisfied in accordance with the law of the designated state concerned, discharge it. Enforcement, etc., of confiscation co-operation orders. 52.—

(1)Where the High Court makes a confiscation co-operation order for the payment of a sum of money, the order may, without prejudice to section 38 enabling property of the defendant in the hands of a receiver appointed under this Act to be applied in satisfaction of the order, be enforced by the Director of Public Prosecutions at any time after it is made (or, if the order provides for payment at a later time, then at any time after the later time) as if it were a judgment of the Court for the payment to the State of the sum specified in the order or of any lesser sum remaining due under it.

(2)Nothing in subsection

(1)enables a person to be imprisoned.

(3)Subject to subsections

(4)and

(5), if, at any time after payment of a sum due under a confiscation co-operation order has become enforceable in the manner provided for by subsection

(1), it is reported to the Court by the Director of Public Prosecutions that any such sum or any part of it remains unpaid, the Court may, without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the order or to the power to enforce the order subsequently in accordance with subsection

(1), order that the defendant be imprisoned for a period not exceeding that set out in the second column of the table to this section opposite to the amount remaining unpaid under the confiscation co-operation order as set out in the first column thereof.

(4)An order under subsection

(3)shall not be made unless— (

a)the defendant has been given a reasonable opportunity to make any representations to the Court, and (
b)the Court has taken into account those representations and any representations made by the Director of Public Prosecutions in reply.

(5)A defendant shall not be imprisoned for non-compliance with a confiscation co-operation order if the request for the enforcement of the external confiscation order so specifies and the relevant international instrument so provides.

(6)Any term of imprisonment imposed under subsection

(3)of this section shall be reduced in proportion to any sum or sums paid or recovered from time to time under the confiscation co-operation order. TABLE Amount outstanding under confiscation order Period of imprisonment Not exceeding €650 Exceeding €650 but not exceeding €1,300 Exceeding €1,300 but not exceeding €3,250 Exceeding €3,250 but not exceeding €6,500 Exceeding €6,500 but not exceeding €13,000 Exceeding €13,000 but not exceeding €26,000 Exceeding €26,000 but not exceeding €65,000 Exceeding €65,000 but not exceeding €130,000 Exceeding €130,000 but not exceeding €325,000 Exceeding €325,000 but not exceeding €1,300,000 Exceeding €1,300,000 45 days 3 months 4 months 6 months 9 months 12 months 18 months 2 years 3 years 5 years 10 years Realisation of property subject to confiscation co-operation order. 53.—

(1)Where— (

a)a confiscation co-operation order for the payment of a sum of money has not been satisfied, or (
b)such an order is for the confiscation of property other than such a sum, the High Court may, on application by the Director of Public Prosecutions, appoint a person to be a receiver in respect of realisable property.

(2)The Court may empower the receiver to take possession of any realisable property subject to such conditions or exceptions as may be specified by the Court.

(3)The Court may order any person having possession or control of any realisable property to give possession of it to the receiver.

(4)The Court may empower the receiver to realise any realisable property in such manner as the Court may direct.

(5)The Court may order any person holding an interest in realisable property to make such payment to the receiver as the Court may direct in respect of any beneficial interest held by the defendant or the recipient of any gift caught by this Act and the Court may, on the payment being made, by order transfer, grant or extinguish any interest in the property.

(6)The Court shall not, in respect of any property, exercise the powers conferred by this section unless a reasonable opportunity has been given to persons holding any interest in the property to make representations to it. Interest on sums unpaid under confiscation co-operation orders. 54.—

(1)Subject to subsection

(2), if any sum required to be paid by a person under a confiscation co-operation order is not paid when it is required to be paid (whether on the making of the order or at a later time specified by the Court), the person shall be liable to pay interest on the sum for the period for which it remains unpaid and the amount of the interest shall for the purposes of enforcement be treated as part of the amount to be recovered from the person under the order.

(2)The amount of interest payable under subsection

(1)shall be disregarded when calculating the term of imprisonment to be imposed under section 52 .

(3)The rate of interest payable under subsection

(1)is that for the time being applying in relation to a High Court civil judgment debt. Payments under confiscation co-operation orders to be expressed in euro. 55.—

(1)Where a sum of money payable or remaining to be paid under an external confiscation order is expressed in a currency other than the euro, the confiscation co-operation order shall require payment of an equivalent euro amount, calculated at the baseline rate of exchange prevailing between that currency and the euro on the date of the making of the confiscation co-operation order.

(2)For the purposes of subsection

(1), a certificate— (

a)purporting to be signed by an officer of a financial institution (within the meaning of Part 2 ) in the State, and (
b)stating the baseline rate of exchange prevailing on a specified date between a specified currency and the euro, is admissible, without further proof, as evidence of the exchange rate so prevailing on that date. Exercise of powers under this Chapter by High Court or receiver. 56.—

(1)The powers of the High Court under section 53 or of a receiver appointed under that section shall be exercised, subject to this section, with a view to recovering property which is liable to be recovered under the confiscation co-operation order concerned.

(2)The powers shall be exercised with a view to allowing any person, other than the defendant or the recipient of a gift, to retain or recover the value of any property held by the person.

(4)In exercising the powers no account shall be taken of any obligations of the defendant or the recipient of any gift that conflict with the obligation to satisfy the confiscation co-operation order. Application to confiscation co-operation orders of certain provisions relating to freezing co-operation orders. 57.— Sections 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 and 43 apply in relation to confiscation co-operation orders as they apply in relation to freezing co-operation orders, and accordingly— (

a)references to section 36 in sections 39 , 40 and 43 shall be construed as references to section 53 , and (
b)references in sections 40 , 41 , 42 and 43 to a freezing co-operation order shall be construed as references to a confiscation co-operation order. Chapter 4 Forfeiture of Property Transmission of external forfeiture order to designated state for enforcement. 58.—

(1)If an order of a court relates to the forfeiture of property in a designated state, the registrar or clerk of the court concerned shall, on request and subject to any conditions that may be specified by rules of court, give to the Director of Public Prosecutions— (

a)a duly authenticated copy of the order, and (
b)a certificate signed by the registrar or clerk and stating that the prescribed time for lodging an appeal has expired or, as the case may be, will expire on a specified date.

(2)The Director of Public Prosecutions may send to the Central Authority, for transmission to the appropriate authority in the designated state concerned— (a) the documents mentioned in subsection

(1), (

b)a document signed by or on behalf of the Director stating— (
i)that the order is in force and has not been satisfied, and (
ii)that the defendant appeared or was represented at the proceedings in which the order was made or, if not, the date on which the court proceedings began and the date on which the defendant received notice of them, (
c)a brief description of the conduct which resulted in the making of the order, (
d)any other information required by the relevant international instrument, and (
e)a request for forfeiture of the property concerned and its disposal. Transmission of external forfeiture order to State for enforcement. 59.—

(1)An external forfeiture order may be transmitted by or on behalf of the court that made it to the Central Authority with a request for its enforcement.

(2)The external forfeiture order shall be accompanied by— (

a)a duly certified copy of the order, (
b)a statement by or on behalf of the court that made the order— (
i)that it is in force and not subject to appeal, and (
ii)that, if the person against whom it was made did not appear in the proceedings concerned, notice thereof was received by the person in good time to defend the proceedings, (
c)a brief description of the conduct constituting the offence which resulted in the making of the order, and (
d)any required translations, and shall include any further information required by the relevant international instrument. Forfeiture co-operation order. 60.—

(1)The Central Authority, on receipt of an external forfeiture order and accompanying documents, may cause an application to be made to the High Court for an order (a “forfeiture co-operation order”) for the forfeiture of realisable property in the State to which the external forfeiture order relates.

(2)The application shall be accompanied by the request, the accompanying documents and any other related documents or by copies thereof.

(3)On the application the Court may, subject to subsection

(4), make a forfeiture co-operation order.

(4)The Court may not make a forfeiture co-operation order unless— (

a)it is satisfied— (
i)that the application is made with the consent of the Minister, (
ii)as to the matters mentioned in section 59

(2)(b), (iii) that the conduct which resulted in the making of the external forfeiture order constitutes criminal conduct, and (

iv)that the making of the order is otherwise in accordance with the relevant international instrument, and (
b)an opportunity has been given to any person claiming to own, or have an interest in, the property subject to the external forfeiture order to show cause why the order should not be made.

(5)A forfeiture co-operation order operates to deprive the defendant in the proceedings in which the external forfeiture order was made of any right or interest in the property and to vest the property in the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána.

(6)The forfeited property or the proceeds of any sale of the property shall be disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Finance, unless, on request by or on behalf of the designated state concerned and in accordance with the relevant international instrument, the Court provides otherwise.

(7)The Court— (a) may vary or discharge a forfeiture co-operation order on the application of any person claiming to own or have an interest in the property concerned or to be otherwise affected by the order and may in that

AI explanation based on the official legal text. Indicative, not a substitute for legal advice.