ABC news reports that Prime Minister O'Neill has initiated legal challenges after initially welcoming the tribunal as a chance to clear his name. He continues to deny any wrong doing.
Justice David Cannings upheld a move on Tuesday by O'Neill's legal team to have the three tribunal judges made party to a national court case. This case forms part of a sider campaign that questions public prosecutor Pondros Kaluwin's power to refer O'Neill to the leadership tribunal.
Lawyers for the public prosecutor say that the legal challenge is an attempt to frustrate the tribunal's work.
O'Neill is scheduled to speak with the tribunal on January 26.
