Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act, 1985
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Payment of moneys of unlawful organisations into High Court. |
2.—(1) (a) On production to any bank of a document purporting to be signed by the Minister and bearing the seal of the Minister and stating— | |
(i) that, in the opinion of the Minister, moneys described in the document and held by the bank would, but for the operation of section 22 of the Principal Act, be the property of an unlawful organisation and that those moneys stand forfeited to and vested in the Minister by virtue of the said section 22, and | ||
(ii) that the Minister requires the bank to pay those moneys, or so much of them as are held by the bank at the time of the production to it of the document, into the High Court on a specified day or not later than a specified day and, in the meantime, to refrain from doing any act or making any omission inconsistent with that requirement and to notify as soon as may be thereafter the person or persons in whose name or names the moneys are held by the bank of their payment into that Court, | ||
the bank shall comply with the requirement. | ||
(b) Production of a document specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection to the chief officer or other person, by whatever name called, having charge of the management of a bank or to the manager, or an official of the bank acting as manager, of the branch of a bank into which the moneys concerned were, or are believed by the Minister to have been, paid shall be deemed for the purposes of that paragraph to be production of the document to the bank. | ||
(c) (i) Subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, paragraph (a) of this subsection shall remain in operation for the period of 3 months beginning on its commencement and shall then cease to be in operation. | ||
(ii) The Government may, from time to time by order at any time when paragraph (a) of this subsection is in operation, continue that paragraph in operation for such further period not exceeding 3 months as may be specified in the order. | ||
(iii) The Government may from time to time by order, at any time when paragraph (a) of this subsection is not in operation, provide that that paragraph shall come into operation on such day as may be specified in the order and shall remain in operation for such period not exceeding 3 months as may be specified in the order, and that paragraph shall come into and remain in operation in accordance with the provisions of any such order. | ||
(iv) Every order under this paragraph shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder. | ||
(2) (a) If proceedings are not brought, under section 3 of this Act or otherwise, in relation to moneys paid into the High Court under this section or in respect of or arising out of any such payment within 6 months of the day on which the moneys were paid into that Court or if all such proceedings brought are dismissed— | ||
(i) the moneys shall not be paid out of the High Court otherwise than in accordance with subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, and | ||
(ii) the Minister may, after the expiration of the period aforesaid of 6 months, apply ex parte to the High Court for an order directing that the moneys be paid to the Minister or into such account at such bank as the Minister may specify, and, | ||
without prejudice to the rights of any person under section 4 of this Act, the High Court shall make the order and the Minister shall cause a copy of the order to be sent to the bank by whom the moneys were paid into that Court. | ||
(b) The reference in paragraph (a) of this subsection to the dismissal of proceedings includes a reference to the case where, following the decision of the Supreme Court in a case where there is an appeal in any such proceedings to that Court, the proceedings stand dismissed. | ||
(c) Moneys paid pursuant to an order of the High Court under section 2 of this Act shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Finance. |