The Lockerbie appeal continued yesterday despite the Libyan Government's request to transfer the man convicted of the bombing back to Tripoli.
Legal experts warned that the deal has not yet been agreed and that, although the Libyan Government has made the application, it cannot go ahead without the agreement of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi.
Maggie Scott, QC, told the court that Megrahi, who is suffering from terminal prostate cancer, would be undergoing tests today and next week and that he will not be able to watch but "he wants the matter to proceed".
In order for the transfer to take place, there can be no proceedings active, so Megrahi would have to drop the appeal.
The Crown Office appeal against the length of the 27-year sentence imposed on the Libyan would also have to be dropped. It, too, is currently still live.
Professor Robert Black, one of the architects of the original trial at Camp Zeist, said: "The application is a government-to-government application. The only indication of what Mr Megrahi's attitude towards it is from the mouths of other people. For the transfer to go through, it is Megrahi who would have to agree to drop the appeal."
Megrahi, 57, whose condition is said to have deteriorated considerably, could also re-apply for bail on the basis of his health.
Last year, when three appeal court judges turned down his request for interim liberation, they left it open for him to apply again.
"He is in considerable discomfort," Ms Scott told the court yesterday. "It is anticipated he will be undergoing tests tomorrow and in the course of next week, so it is not anticipated he will be able to witness proceedings over the next series of days. He does, however, want matters to proceed. It is appropriate I point that out to the court."
Dumfries Labour MSP Elaine Murray yesterday expressed concerns that past and current comments made by First Minister Alex Salmond may be considered by the Libyan Government as Scottish ministers having predetermined their application for the transfer of Megrahi to a Libyan jail. She also provided the Libyans with grounds for judicial review should the application be rejected by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill.
Speaking after First Minister's Questions yesterday, where she pressed this point with Mr Salmond, Ms Murray said: "On February 2, 2008, the First Minister told BBC News that it would be appropriate that anyone connected with the Lockerbie atrocity was excluded specifically from any prisoner transfer agreement'.
"His view on this issue would appear to be clear. In answer to a question today from Christine Grahame MSP, he agreed with her that he wished Mr Megrahi's appeal to be concluded; as I understand this process, the appeal could not progress if the application for transfer was granted, as ministers only have 90 days to respond to the request. Mr Salmond has therefore inferred that he thinks the application should be rejected.
"Unfortunately, these statements could be interpreted as a predetermination of the application and may give the Libyan Government grounds to seek judicial review should their application be rejected.
"The First Minister's proclivity for careless bluster could have untoward consequences in this delicate situation."
Ms Grahame is today due to visit Megrahi in prison. She believes his conviction is unsafe and has been working with relatives of victims to overturn the verdict.
A similar visit planned for last Sunday was cancelled by the prison's duty governor at short notice for what Ms Grahame described as "unspecified reasons".
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