H. Con. Res. 20
Agreed to March 15, 2007
One Hundred Tenth Congress
of the
United States of America 
AT THE FIRST SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday, 
the fourth day of January, two thousand and seven 
Concurrent Resolution
Whereas human rights defense attorney and solicitor Patrick 
Finucane was brutally murdered in front of his wife and children 
at his home in Belfast on February 12, 1989;
Whereas many international bodies and nongovernmental human 
rights organizations, including Amnesty International, British 
Irish Rights Watch, the Committee for the Administration of 
Justice, and Human Rights First, have called attention to serious 
allegations of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and British 
security forces in the murder of Mr. Finucane;
Whereas in July 2001 the Governments of Ireland and the United 
Kingdom under terms of the Weston Park Agreement appointed 
retired Canadian Judge Peter Cory to investigate the allegations 
of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and British security 
forces in the murder of Mr. Finucane and other individuals;
Whereas Judge Cory reported to the Governments of Ireland and 
the United Kingdom in April 2004 that sufficient evidence of 
collusion existed to warrant a full, independent, and public 
judicial inquiry into the murder of Mr. Finucane and rec-
ommended that a public inquiry take place without delay;
Whereas the Government of the United Kingdom in April 2005 
adopted the Inquiries Act 2005 which empowers the Government 
to block scrutiny of state actions and limits independent action 
by the judiciary in inquiries held under its terms, and, after 
the enactment of this legislation establishing new limited inquiry 
procedures, the Government announced that an inquiry into the 
murder of Mr. Finucane would be established which would 
operate under terms of the new legislation;
Whereas Judge Cory, in a written statement presented to the Com-
mittee on International Relations of the House of Representatives 
in 2005, stated that his 2004 recommendation for a public inquiry 
into the murder of Mr. Finucane had ‘‘contemplated a true public 
inquiry constituted and acting pursuant to the provisions of the 
1921 Act’’ (the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921), and 
also stated that ‘‘it seems to me that the proposed new Act 
would make a meaningful inquiry impossible’’;
Whereas the family of Mr. Finucane has rejected the limited 
authority of an inquiry conducted under terms of the Inquiries 
Act of 2005;
Whereas Amnesty International, British Irish Rights Watch, the 
Committee for the Administration of Justice, and Human Rights 
First have likewise rejected any proposed inquiry into the murder
H. Con. Res. 20—2
of Mr. Finucane established under procedures of the Inquiries 
Act of 2005 and have called for the repeal of the Act;
Whereas the Da´il E´ ireann (Parliament of Ireland) adopted a resolu-
tion on March 8, 2006, calling for the establishment of a full, 
independent, and public judicial inquiry into the murder of Pat-
rick Finucane;
Whereas the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 
(Public Law 107–228) and House Resolution 128 (April 20, 1999) 
support the establishment of a full, independent, and public 
judicial inquiry into the murder of Patrick Finucane;
Whereas on May 18, 2006, the House of Representatives overwhelm-
ingly agreed to House Resolution 740, which declared in part 
that the House of Representatives ‘‘urges the Government of 
the United Kingdom immediately to establish a full, independent, 
and public judicial inquiry into the murder of Patrick Finucane’’; 
and
Whereas on January 22, 2007, the Police Ombudsman for Northern 
Ireland released a comprehensive report which confirms that 
police in Northern Ireland have colluded with members of a 
loyalist paramilitary organization in specific murders that took 
place over the last dozen years that the Ombudsman investigated 
and that such collusion could not have occurred ‘‘without the 
knowledge and support of the highest level’’ of the Northern 
Ireland police: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concur-
ring), That Congress—
(1) expresses to the family of Patrick Finucane deepest 
condolences on his death, commends their steadfast pursuit 
of justice in his brutal murder, and thanks his wife Geraldine 
and son Michael for their willingness to testify on this matter 
before committees of the House of Representatives on numerous 
occasions; 
(2) supports the efforts of the Administration in seeking 
the full implementation of the Weston Park Agreement and 
the establishment of a full, independent, and public judicial 
inquiry into the murder of Patrick Finucane; 
(3) calls on the Government of the United Kingdom to 
reconsider its position on the matter of an inquiry into the 
murder of Mr. Finucane, to amend the Inquiries Act of 2005, 
and to take fully into account the objections of Judge Cory, 
objections raised by officials of the United States Government, 
other governments, and international bodies, and the objections 
raised by Mr. Finucane’s family; and 
(4) urges the Government of the United Kingdom imme-
diately to establish a full, independent, and public judicial 
inquiry into the murder of Patrick Finucane which would enjoy 
the full cooperation and support of his family, the people of
H. Con. Res. 20—3
Northern Ireland, and the international community as rec-
ommended by Judge Cory. 
Attest:
Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Attest:
Secretary of the Senate.