[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 121, 110th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

121 STAT. 2578

 
MURDER OF PATRICK FINUCANE--CONDOLENCES AND SUPPORT FOR
PUBLIC [NOTE: Mar. 15, 2007 -  [H.Con.Res.20]  JUDICIAL INQUIRY

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 recommended 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 Committee 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 of Mr.
Finucane established under procedures of the Inquiries Act of 2005
and have called for the repeal of the Act;

Whereas the Dail Eireann (Parliament of Ireland) adopted a resolution on
March 8, 2006, calling for the establishment of a full, independent,
and public judicial inquiry into the murder of Patrick Finucane;

Whereas the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003
(Public Law 107-228) and House Resolution 128 (April 20, 1999)

[[Page 2579]]
121 STAT. 2579

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 overwhelmingly
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 concurring),
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 immediately
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 Northern
Ireland, and the international community as recommended by Judge
Cory.

Agreed to March 15, 2007.