Belfast City Council is going to the House of Lords in a bid to uphold its right to refuse to licence sex shops in the city.
The council confirmed it had been given leave to appeal to the Lords against a decision of the Northern Ireland Appeal Court late last year that quashed an earlier ruling upholding the council's refusal to grant a licence for a sex shop.
The case centres around the Miss Behavin' shop in the Smithfield area of central Belfast that the council has refused to licence since announcing a total ban on sex shops in the Gresham Street area in 2003.
The council said the decision to go to the House of Lords was not so much about the single shop but was more concerned with the operation of public administration and the way in which the councils took took their decisions.
Cllr Peter O'Reilly, chairman of the council Health and Environment Committee, said: "The principle reason for the council's decision to challenge the judgement is that, if it stands, it will set a precedent that will place public authorities in an almost impossible position when it comes to making decisions in the context of the Human Rights Act."
PA