The Lockerbie bomber could be freed from jail on bail in a week, it emerged.
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi has applied for interim liberation pending the outcome of an appeal.
Arguments over the application will be heard at court in Edinburgh next Thursday November 6.
It emerged last week that the former Libyan intelligence agent, 56, had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and the disease has spread to other parts of his body.
Al Megrahi is serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 27 years for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 which led to the deaths of 270 people.
He was taken from his prison cell in HMP Greenock under tight security to undergo tests at Inverclyde Royal Hospital in Greenock last month.
Al Megrahi was convicted of the Lockerbie bombing in 2001. He lost an appeal in 2002, but was given a fresh chance to clear his name in June last year when the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) referred his case back to appeal judges for a second time.
His appeal is due to be heard next year.
The Crown Office would not comment on next week's hearing.
A spokeswoman said: "The Crown will have the opportunity to address the court during the hearing and it would not be appropriate for the Crown to make its position now outwith the court."
