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MOHAMMED Al Fayed, the owner of the Harrods department store, asked a Scottish court today to review a decision turning down his request for a public inquiry into the death of his son in a car crash in France that also killed Princess Diana.

Lawyers acting for Al Fayed submitted a petition to the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Scotland, an official said.

Lord Drummond Young, a judge at the court, granted permission for the Egyptian-born tycoon to pursue the case, the British news agency Press Association reported.

Al Fayed's spokesman, Chester Stern, said the petition called for a judicial review of an earlier decision in Scotland not to hold a public inquiry there.

In February, Al Fayed, who owns an estate in Scotland, had written to the region's justice minister, Jim Wallace, calling for an inquiry but was told that such a hearing was beyond Scottish jurisdiction.

Al Fayed's son, Dodi, and Diana were killed in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997. In the past, the owner of the Harrods department store in London has suggested the deaths were a murder conspiracy plotted by people who disapproved of Diana's relationship with his son.

The senior Al Fayed also has alleged a cover-up in the circumstances of the crash. The driver of the car, Henri Paul, who died at the wheel, was found to have been drunk at the time.

There has never been an inquest into the deaths of Diana and Dodi in Britain, although one was held in France.

Stern said Al Fayed believed the French inquiry was "inadequate" and thought that Scottish courts would be fairer.

"All he wants to achieve is to have all the evidence and circumstances thoroughly investigated and aired in open court," Stern said.

"He wants a forum whereby witnesses can be cross-examined and the proper judicial processes observed."

Last year, France's highest court upheld the dismissal of manslaughter charges against nine photographers and a press motorcyclist in the car crash, ending court battles over who was responsible for Diana's death.

A judge ruled that drugs and alcohol taken by Paul and excessive speed, caused the deaths.