The jury in the defamation case taken by former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams is expected to begin deliberating tomorrow after a case lasting four weeks.
Mr Adams claims he was defamed in a 2016 Spotlight programme and a subsequent online article, which he said falsely claimed that he sanctioned the killing of former senior Sinn Féin official Denis Donaldson.
Mr Donaldson was shot dead in Donegal in 2006, months after admitting being an informer for the police and MI5 over two decades.
The jury must decide if the words used in the programme and the article mean that Mr Adams had sanctioned the killing of Mr Donaldson or were presented only as an allegation as argued by the BBC in its defence.
If it decides the words used meant he had sanctioned the killing, it must then decide if the BBC acted in good faith and if the broadcaster can rely on the defence of fair and reasonable publication on a matter of public interest as provided for in Section 26 of the Defamation Act.
If the jury decides the programme was not fair and reasonable it may then go on to assess damages.
In doing so, the jury has been told it must assess what Mr Adam's reputation was in this jurisdiction in 2016, when the programme was broadcast.
The jury has also been given guidelines on the level of damages awarded in defamation cases and was told by the judge they can be anything from "a derisory amount of a few cent to hundreds of thousands".
The judge told the jury that the BBC has argued that if the jury did decide to award damages, they should be nominal because Mr Adams has no reputation.
Lawyers for Mr Adams have said he should be awarded significant damages for what they say was serious defamation.
