A court action by Mr Freddie Scappaticci - the Belfastman alleged to be the army spy "Stakeknife" - is likely to be heard next week.
Mr Scappaticci (59) is taking legal action in the High Court in Belfast against the North's security minister, Ms Jane Kennedy, in an attempt to clear his name.
He is applying for a judicial review of the minister's refusal to confirm that he was not a British agent. But first he must obtain leave to proceed with the application and Mr Justice Kerr is expected to hear legal arguments next week.
In papers lodged in the High Court Mr Scappaticci is seeking an order to compel the minister to comment on his denial of the allegations made against him.
He is also seeking a declaration that the refusal to comment is in breach of the right to life and respect for private and family life, as enshrined in Articles 2 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
It is expected that Mr Scappaticci's lawyers will argue that the policy of refusing to comment on intelligence matters is "too rigid and fails to give adequate weight to the unique facts of his case".
Lawyers will also submit that the minister's refusal amounted to a failure to protect Mr Scappaticci's life and that she failed to give adequate weight to a threat to his life that would result from a rigid adherence to government policy.
It was following widespread media claims earlier this month about the identity of "Stakeknife" that Mr Scappaticci appeared in public to deny the allegations.
The republican movement has also weighed in behind him and has accused "faceless securocrats" of attempting to destabilise the peace process.