A legal move by ex-RUC officers who want anonymity when giving evidence at an inquiry into a Portadown man's death has been referred to the High Court.
The House of Lords ruled on Tuesday that a Belfast court must decide on the matter.
Robert Hamill, a 25-year-old Catholic, died in hospital after being attacked by a loyalist mob in Portadown in 1997.
Police denied eye witness allegations that four RUC officers in a Land Rover saw what happened and didn't intervene.
No-one has been convicted over Mr Hamill's death.
The Robert Hamill Inquiry had appealed to the House of Lords against a decision to grant a judicial review of its refusal to offer the police officers anonymity.
Twenty ex-Royal Ulster Constabulary officers have been called as witnesses to the inquiry.
The retired officers claimed they would be in fear for their lives if identified and have fought a decision by inquiry chairman Sir Edwin Jowitt's team that they appear unscreened.
The independent inquiry was recommended by Canadian ex-judge Peter Cory, tasked to probe alleged security force collusion north and south of the Border.
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