Two human rights organisations have said an independent public judicial inquiry must be set up into the murder of the Belfast solicitor, Mr Pat Finucane, and into other controversial killings.
The Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) and British-Irish Rights Watch said that the British government's appointment of an international judge to examine the cases was inadequate.
The appointment on Monday followed the collapse of a case against the man charged with Mr Finucane's murder.
Mr William Stobie was found not guilty of aiding and abetting the murder in north Belfast 12 years ago.
He has also called for a public inquiry into the Finucane assassination.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police's deputy assistant commissioner, Mr Hugh Orde, who is in charge of the Stevens inquiry into the Finucane murder, believes it is unlikely they will find the person who killed him.
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster yesterday, Mr Orde said he hoped the findings of the report would be completed early in the New Year. In the meantime, the investigation would continue.
"We are here to investigate this crime to the best of our professional ability."
The CAJ and British-Irish Rights Watch said there must be independent public judicial inquiries into the murder and the killings of the Lurgan solicitor, Ms Rosemary Nelson; Loyalist Volunteer Force leader, Mr Billy Wright; and Catholic man, Mr Robert Hamill.
There were "serious deficiencies" in the terms of reference for the judge, who will be appointed to look into the cases, and both organisations doubted they met international human rights standards as laid down by the European Court of Human Rights.
The director of British-Irish Watch, Ms Jane Winter, said yesterday: "These families have waited too long for justice. An effective mechanism needs to be put in place immediately for ensuring that the full truth emerges about these very troubling cases."
The SDLP has dismissed Sinn FΘin's call for the party to raise the Finucane case at the Policing Board.
The SDLP justice spokesman, Mr Alex Attwood, said his party fully supported demands for an international public inquiry into the killing, but the Policing Board was not the appropriate arena in which to raise the case.