The family of convicted drug dealer John Gilligan claims it is entitled to a new hearing of High Court proceedings which found Mr Gilligan's assets were the proceeds of crime.
The Gilligans, in an appeal to the Supreme Court, say the original orders declaring properties they own to be funded by crime were not final and did not entitle the Criminal Assets Bureau to seek to have those properties forfeited to the State.
The High Court has already found that properties bought by the Gilligans are the proceeds of crime.
If the Supreme Court rejects the appeal, the CAB will be entitled to proceed to sell the properties.
The Gilligans claim they were not afforded a proper hearing when the proceeds of crime application was first made in December 1996 and subsequently in July 1997.
They want the Supreme Court to order that a hearing take place at which witnesses could be called and other information presented.
The affected properties include Jessbrook House- where Mrs Geraldine Gilligan lives, and its attached equestrian centre at Enfield in Co Meath, the former Gilligan family home in Corduff Avenue, Blanchardstown; and two houses in Lucan which were bought by John Gilligan for his son Darren and daughter Tracey.
After the High Court decided that the properties represented the proceeds of crime, a freezing order was placed on them and the CAB's legal officer Frank Cassidy was appointed receiver over them.
He has since made arrangements for insuring and renting out a number of the properties with the consent of the High Court.
Caretaker agreement
The CAB has also put in place a caretaker agreement which Geraldine Gilligan signed as a condition of her remaining in the house attached to Jessbrook.
The Supreme Court appeal opened with submissions from lawyers for Geraldine, Tracey and Darren Gilligan.
John Gilligan, who was in court amid tight security and is representing himself, will address the court tomorrow.
Opening the case yesterday, Mrs Gilligan's counsel, Roderick O'Hanlon SC, said the main thrust of her appeal was that she wants a full and ‘substantial hearing’ of the original court orders that the property she had was the proceeds of crime.
There was no allegation that Mrs Gilligan was involved in crime and it was her case that she did not know that the property involved was the proceeds of crime. Her husband, from whom she is now legally separated, had gone to ‘considerable lengths’ to disguise how the property involved was purchased, counsel said.
If the Supreme Court found that she was entitled to a fair hearing, other issues did not arise, Mr O'Hanlon added.
Counsel for Tracey Gilligan, Dr Micheal Forde SC, said it had been generally assumed that the original order declaring the assets to be the proceeds of crime was not a final order.
Dr Forde said the reason this could not be clarified was because of the two judges who originally heard the proceeds of crime applications, one (Mr Justice Declan Costello) had retired soon afterwards and the other (Mr Justice Michael Moriarty) had since appointed to the Tribunal of Inquiry into Payments to Politicians.
As a result, counsel said, it was not possible to go back to these judges and ask them to clarify whether the orders they had made were temporary or final, counsel said.
John Peart SC, for Darren Gilligan, said in judgments by Mr Justice Costello and Mr Justice Moriarty they had indicated that their orders were to be in place pending further orders of the court or further proceedings.
Mr Peart also said that his client was not represented at the 1996 and 1997 hearings and had not obtained legal aid to defend himself until July 1998.
The court also heard the Gilligans were seeking an extension of time to appeal the original orders. There was a 21-day period in which those orders could be appealed but, the court heard, the Gilligans did not do so because of the belief that the orders were temporary.
The hearing continues before the five-judge court of Chief Justice John Murray, Mr Justice Hugh Geoghegan, Mr Justice Nial Fennelly, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns and Ms Justice Fidelma Macken.
