The British government has set out the framework for inquiries into the murders of Rosemary Nelson, Billy Wright and Robert Hamill. Each case is alleged to have involved security force collusion with paramilitaries.
Inquiries into the three cases were announced last April following the eventual publication of the Cory reports into the murders. The Northern Ireland Office also said it has "undertaken to set out the way ahead in relation to the case of Patrick Finucane at the conclusion of prosecutions in that case".
Mr Paul Murphy, the Northern Ireland Secretary, told the Commons in a written statement yesterday the inquiries would be guided by general principles, including independence, transparency, fairness, the power to seek to establish facts, and access to necessary resources.
Steps would also be taken to avoid unnecessary expenditure.
Senior or retired judges from outside Northern Ireland would be sought to chair each of the inquiries. They will each be assisted by a legal specialist and a lay member, also from outside Northern Ireland.
Mr Murphy said he has approached the Lord Chancellor, Britain's most senior legal figure, with a view to seeking names to fill the nine vacancies.
He said he did not know if the format set out would satisfy the families of the three murder victims, but expressed his confidence that it was "the right format".
He stressed each inquiry would have the same powers as the Bloody Sunday inquiry and would be "cost-effective".
Mr Murphy's written statement said: "It is the government's intention that these inquiries should be fully equipped to establish the facts as quickly as possible, but that they should avoid unnecessary expenditure."
Mr Wright, head of the Loyalist Volunteer Force, was shot dead inside the Maze Prison by republicans; Ms Nelson, a solicitor, was blown up by a loyalist bomb outside her home in Lurgan, Co Armagh; and Mr Hamill was kicked to death by loyalists in Portadown, with the police accused of failing to intervene.
None of the victims' families was available for comment.
Sinn Féin said the Commons statement left too many issues outstanding. Mr Gerry Kelly said: "The British government has been in possession of the Cory reports since last October. In early April they published a censored version of Judge Cory's findings. Since then they have refused to hold an inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane and today they announced the commencement of the process to set up inquiries into the three other cases." He said Mr Murphy's statement lacked "detail and clarity".
Mr Murphy said: "These inquiries are being established because it is essential that all people in Northern Ireland can have confidence in the integrity of the [British] state and its institutions."