Human rights judges are due to rule on ex-Formula One boss Max Mosley's attempt to force newspapers to warn people before exposing their private lives.

The verdict in the European court of human rights in Strasbourg will mark the last stage in Mosley's campaign for tighter privacy laws following revelations of his sex life in the News of the World.

In 2008 the UK high court awarded him £60,000 damages after ruling that there was no justification for a front-page article and pictures about his meeting with five prostitutes in a London flat.

But Mosley pursued the case to the human rights court, challenging UK privacy laws that allow publication without giving their targets advanced warning.

His lawyer told a hearing in January that the failure of UK law to oblige newspapers to notify their "victims" before exposing their private lives violated the European human rights convention, to which Britain is a signatory.

The high court damages award did not restore Mosley's privacy, said Lord Pannick QC - but "prior notification" would have give him the chance to seek an injunction preventing publication.

If the Strasbourg judges support his case the UK government might have to reinforce privacy laws, obliging editors to inform celebrities about stories concerning them before they appear.

The move would not only fuel the row over the use of superinjunctions to protect celebrities and public figures from the media spotlight, but also add to calls for Strasbourg judges to stop interfering in UK interpretation of human rights rules.