The supreme court is expected to shortly announce whether it will hear the privacy injunction case banning identification of a celebrity involved in an extramarital relationship.
Justices at the UK’s highest court have signalled that they are examining the legal issues to see if there is a general point of law that needs clarification.
The case has raised the issue of whether injunctions restricting reporting can be enforced in the era of the internet. If the supreme court declines to hear the case, the interim injunction will expire on Wednesday lunchtime.
In a brief statement on Tuesday, the supreme court said that it had received an application from PJS, the initials by which the unidentified celebrity is known, for permission to appeal to the court.
It added: “The court is considering the application. A decision whether to grant, or refuse, permission is expected to be made by the end of [Tuesday].”
Lawyers for News Group Newspapers, on behalf of the Sun On Sunday, have argued that the celebrity – who reportedly had an encounter with a couple – had already been named so widely online and in publications in the US and Scotland that the injunction was in effect redundant and unenforceable.
Lawyers for PJS maintain that the story has not been reported in any mainstream media and that the injunction has been largely effective within the jurisdiction of England and Wales.
The court of appeal ruled on Monday that it should be lifted because of leaks overseas and online.
The judges said they had considered the balance of the rights of the press against the right to privacy in their original injunction, but that the widespread leaks over the past fortnight had “reduced the likelihood of the claimant obtaining a permanent injunction when the case comes to trial”.
