TAOISEACH BERTIE Ahern's High Court challenge against the Mahon tribunal is scheduled to open tomorrow and is expected to last three days.
A three-judge divisional court of the High Court is to hear the case in which Mr Ahern is challenging the conduct by the Mahon tribunal of its inquiries into certain banking transactions conducted through Mr Ahern's accounts in 1993 and 1994.
The case is being heard by three judges as it raises matters to do with constitutional privilege.
The tribunal has put a stay on an order requiring Mr Ahern to produce documents relating to financial advice given to him by Paddy Stronge, a financial consultant and former chief operating officer of Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking, pending the outcome of the hearing. Mr Ahern claims the 150 documents in question are legally privileged.
The High Court will have to determine three issues in the judicial review proceedings.
A crucial issue is the claim by Mr Ahern that, under Article 15.13 of the Constitution relating to privilege attaching to statements made in the Dáil, the tribunal is not entitled to cross-examine him about statements made by him in the Dáil about his financial affairs.
Mr Ahern made statements in the Dáil in September and October 2006 following publication of an Irish Times article of September 21st, 2006, about payments made to him when he was minister for finance.
He claims such statements are covered by Dáil privilege and the fact they were repeated outside the chamber does not remove that privilege.
The second aspect of the challenge relates to the advice received by him from Mr Stronge, an expert retained by him to assist him in preparing for the tribunal's examination of him about his financial affairs.
Mr Ahern claims a report prepared by Mr Stronge has already been given to the tribunal but that discussions between Mr Ahern's lawyers and Mr Stronge and advice from Mr Stronge constitute litigation privilege or privileged legal advice and that the tribunal is not entitled to such material.
The third issue concerns Mr Ahern's claim he is entitled to all material and calculations relied upon by the tribunal when putting hypotheses to him, which he is denying, concerning certain payments into his accounts when he was minister for finance.
Mr Ahern is seeking material relating to what he has described as the "dollar hypothesis" - a claim by the tribunal that a sum lodged to the account of Celia Larkin, Mr Ahern's then partner, of £28,772.90 at the AIB branch at O'Connell Street, Dublin, on December 5th, 1994, was equivalent to an exchange of $45,000.
The second hypothesis was described as the "sterling hypothesis" - a claim that an amount lodged into Mr Ahern's account on October 11th, 1994, was equivalent to £25,000 sterling.
Mr Ahern had said the lodgement was for £16,500 plus £8,000 sterling given to him by friends following a dinner in Manchester and was adamant it was not £25,000 sterling.
Mr Ahern is expected to be questioned in the Dáil on Wednesday concerning more recent evidence heard by the tribunal concerning lodgements to his account with the Irish Permanent Building Society, Drumcondra, in 1994.
