International War Crimes Tribunals Act, 1998

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Orders respecting property.

31.—(1) The Minister shall transmit to the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána any order received by the Minister from an international tribunal—

(a) for provisional measures for the preservation and protection of property, or

(b) for the restitution of property unlawfully taken by a person convicted of an international tribunal crime.

(2) Where, on application by a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of Chief Superintendent, the High Court is satisfied that—

(a) an international tribunal order referred to in subsection (1)(a) has been received by the Minister, and

(b) at the time of making the interim order under this subsection the international tribunal order is in force and is not subject to appeal,

the Court, for the purposes of the preservation and protection of the property to which the international tribunal order relates, may, regardless of the value of the property but subject to subsection (5), make an interim order containing any terms that, under section 2 (1) and (2) of the Proceeds of Crime Act, 1996 , could be included in an interim order made under that Act if the value of the property were not less than £10,000.

(3) For the purposes mentioned in subsection (2) of this section, sections 2 (3) to (6), 3 (1) to (6), 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 and 10 to 16 of the Proceeds of Crime Act, 1996 , shall apply with the following modifications and any other necessary modifications, as if an application made under this section had been made under that Act:

(a) a reference in any of those sections to the applicant shall be construed as referring to the member of the Garda Síochána who has applied to the court for an interim order under this section or for an interlocutory order under section 3 of that Act as applied by this section;

(b) a reference in any of those sections to proceeds of crime shall be construed as referring to property that is the subject of the international tribunal order;

(c) a reference in any of those sections to a disposal order shall be construed as referring to a restitution order under this section;

(d) a reference in any of those sections to the Minister shall be construed as referring to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform;

(e) a reference in section 2 (5) or 3 (5) of that Act to subsections (3) and (4) of the section in which the reference occurs shall be construed as including a reference to subsection (6) of this section;

(f) sections 2 (3)(b), 3 (1)(b) and 3 (1)(II) of that Act shall not apply;

(g) section 8 (1) of that Act shall be construed as if it did not contain the words after subparagraph (ii) and before “then”.

(4) Where, on application by a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of Chief Superintendent, the High Court is satisfied that—

(a) an international tribunal order referred to in subsection (1)(b) has been received by the Minister,

(b) at the time of making of the order under this subsection the international tribunal order is in force and is not subject to appeal,

(c) the international tribunal order has not been complied with in whole or in part, and

(d) notice of the application for an order under this subsection has been given to the person in respect of whom that application has been made and to any other person the Court may direct,

the Court may, subject to subsection (5), make an order (“a restitution order”) that the property be transferred to the person specified in the international tribunal order.

(5) Where it is shown that on the date on which an international tribunal order referred to in subsection (1)(a) or (b) was received by the Minister it had been partly complied with, the High Court shall make an order under this section only in so far as the international tribunal order had not been complied with by that date.

(6) Where, after the date on which a court order is made under this section or under the Proceeds of Crime Act, 1996 , as applied by this Act, it is shown that the international tribunal order to which the court order relates had been partly or wholly complied with by that date, the High Court may vary or discharge the court order accordingly with effect from that date.

(7) On receiving from the Minister an order of an international tribunal suspending the enforcement of an international tribunal order for the restitution of property, the High Court shall, by order, suspend, for the same period and under the same conditions that are stated in the suspending order of that tribunal, the execution of any court order made under subsection (4) in relation to the international tribunal order.

(8) While a suspending order made under subsection (7) remains in force, no steps shall be taken to enforce the order suspended by the High Court.

(9) On receiving a request from an international tribunal to determine the ownership of property, the Minister may make an application to the High Court for a decision as to the ownership of the property.