Judgment was reserved in the Court of Appeal in London yesterday concerning the long-standing claim by journalists that they have a right not to reveal their sources.
The chairman of the Bloody Sunday tribunal, Lord Saville, wants the former Ireland correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, Toby Harnden, jailed for contempt after he refused to identify a former paratrooper who was on duty in Derry in 1972 when 13 civilians were shot dead.
Mr Harden refused to name the soldier because he had given an undertaking that he would not say or do anything which might reveal his identity and told the inquiry all his records were destroyed within days of the story appearing.
He said the normal journalistic practice would be to preserve such records.
However, he had decided to destroy them to prevent subsequent disclosure which would breach the trust between a journalist and his sources as well as his assurance of confidentiality.
Mr Harden's stance was bolstered by Mr Justice Coghlin's ruling in the High Court last May that the contempt proceedings initiated by Lord Saville were criminal in character rather than civil, a judgment which would afford the journalist additional legal rights at his trial.
Lord Saville took the case to the Court of Appeal and the three judges reserved their decision without calling on Mr Harden's lawyer, Mr John Creaney QC, to address them.
Earlier the judges - Lord Chief Justice Sir Robert Carswell and Lord Justices Nicholson and Campbell - ruled they had jurisdiction to hear the appeal after a point arose as to whether the original hearing should have taken place before a Divisional Court consisting of two judges.
If the appeal judges decide to dismiss the appeal, it is expected that the the contempt proceedings will be dealt with by a Divisional Court. Any appeal from that court would bypass the Court of Appeal and go directly to the House of Lords.