The British and Irish governments are expected to make an announcement on the formation of an International Monitoring Commission (IMC) tomorrow or Friday that could assist Mr David Trimble in his Ulster Unionist Council showdown with Mr Jeffrey Donaldson on Saturday.
The Irish representative on the four-member international body will be retired civil servant Mr Joe Brosnan, while the Northern Ireland member appointed by the British government will be Lord Alderdice, reliable sources say.
Mr Brosnan is the former secretary of the Department of Justice and a former chef de cabinet to former EU Commissioner Mr Pádraig Flynn. Lord Alderdice was the speaker in the Assembly and a former leader of the Alliance Party.
The British and US administrations will nominate the two remaining members of the IMC, whose function is to adjudicate on the state of the paramilitary ceasefires; to determine whether the British government is proceeding with its demilitarisation programme; and to determine whether Executive ministers are honouring their pledges of office.
The anti-Belfast Agreement MP Mr Donaldson, with the support of Lord Kilclooney (the former MP John Taylor), argued that Dublin was being accorded an unacceptable involvement in Northern Ireland affairs.
They complained that Dublin could have a function in penalising unionist members of the Executive. But as part of the announcement about the IMC the British government is expected to clarify that the Government will not have a role in "strand one" issues that solely relate to Northern Ireland.
Dublin and London sources said there were still matters to be finalised on the IMC, and while all details might not be completed this week, an announcement is expected in the next two days.
This should provide Ulster Unionist leader Mr Trimble with some useful ammunition as he again faces the anti-agreement wing of his party, led by Mr Donaldson, at another Ulster Unionist Council in the Ulster Hall on Saturday.
The UUC is discussing a motion calling for the lifting of the threat of disciplinary action against MPs Mr Donaldson, the Rev Martin Smyth and Mr David Burnside, whom Mr Trimble wants to censure for resigning the party whip at Westminster.
