Chief Justice Richard Ground will rule today on whether fresh charges can be considered against suspects in the Rebecca Middleton murder case.

Rebecca, 17, from Canada, was stabbed to death while on vacation in Bermuda in 1996. No-one has ever been convicted of the killing.

Last month, top British human rights lawyer Cherie Booth QC represented Rebecca's family in pressing the Chief Justice for the case to be re-opened.

She argued that suspects Kirk Mundy, 31, and Justis Smith, 28, should be charged with sexual assault, abduction and torture since earlier attempts to try them for murder were bungled.

"We say the issue at the heart of this case is whether the court can put right a grave wrong in this case and ensure that finally justice is done, not just for Rebecca and her family but also for the integrity of the judicial process here in Bermuda," she said at the time.

Ms Booth asked Mr. Justice Ground to overturn a previous ruling of Director of Public Prosecutions Vinette Graham-Allen that the case should not be re-opened.

Mrs. Graham-Allen maintained that her decision was correct, but during the judicial review her lawyer James Guthrie QC said she regretted that the Middleton family had "suffered great injustice" due to a catalogue of errors before she was in her post.

* The Royal Gazette will publish a story on our website when the judgment is known.