A Paris appeals court is reopening the case against three photographersacquitted ofinvasion of privacy for taking pictures at the scene of the car crash that killed Princess Diana nearly seven years ago.

Both the prosecutor's office and Mohammed al Fayed, the father of Diana's boyfriend Dodi Fayed, appealed the November acquittal of the three men who pursued the car carrying Diana and her beau on Aug. 31, 1997. The appeals court takes up the case on June 22.

Jacques Langevin, Christian Martinez, and Fabrice Chassery took photographs after the car slammed into a pillar inside a Paris traffic tunnel. The photographs were confiscated. They were acquitted Nov. 28 of invading the privacy of Dodi Fayed. Less than a month later, the prosecutor's office appealed the verdict.

In acquitting the three photographers, the courtbrushed asidethe notion that the inside of a car is a private space. It said such an argument does nottake into account"the case of a person in a vehicle on a public road who can be seen by passers-by and motorists."

The ruling established a legal precedent.

The court also said the couple knew they would be photographed when leaving the Ritz Hotel, where they were staying.

The trialstemmed froma criminal complaint by Dodi Fayed's father for the invasion of his son's privacy. Diana's relatives and the British royal family were notplaintiffsin the case, meaning that Diana's privacy was not an issue.

A French court has ruled that the crash was an accident caused by drunk and speeding driver Henri Paul, who also died.

However, another investigation has been opened to determine whether the deadly crash could have been the result of a plot.

London Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens visited Paris in April to retrace Diana's final moments to determine if she may have been the victim of a criminal conspiracy.

Stevens' investigation is being carried out at the direction of royal coroner Michael Burgess, who opened an inquest into Diana's death in January.

The inquest came after persistent accusations from Mohammed al Fayed that Britain's Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, masterminded a conspiracy to kill Diana and Dodi Fayed because he disapproved of their relationship.

Al Fayed has also claimed the circumstances surrounding the crash were covered up.

(Agencies)