The widow of the murdered solicitor, Mr Pat Finucane, lodged papers in court yesterday challenging the British government's refusal to publish the Cory report on his death.
Mrs Geraldine Finucane is seeking a judicial review of the NI Secretary of State's decision and is hoping for an early hearing in the High Court in Belfast.
Her lawyers have asked that an initial leave hearing be dispensed with as they claim the papers clearly disclose an arguable case for a court challenge.
Judge Peter Cory has put the British government under intense pressure to publish his report after it was revealed that he told victims' relatives he had recommended public inquiries into four murders where security forces collusion has been alleged.
The retired Canadian judge's report concerned the killings of Mr Finucane and another Catholic solicitor, Ms Rosemary Nelson, Mr Robert Hamill, in Portadown, and the LVF leader, Mr Billy Wright.
Mrs Finucane is seeking an order compelling the Secretary of State to publish "the Cory collusion inquiry report and to indicate publicly the recommendation of the report".
She is also seeking a declaration that she is entitled to a copy of the report or access to it.
The grounds for her application include the government's commitment to publish the report and claim that failure to do so is a breach of her rights under the European Convention.
The papers state: "The applicant had a legitimate expectation that once the report was delivered to the government it would be published without any or undue delay."
Mrs Finucane's lawyers have submitted that the Secretary of State's decision to withhold publication of the report and its recommendations is unfair, unreasonable and unlawful.
The papers state that Judge Cory has said in his report on the murders of Chief Supt Breen and Supt Buchanan: "This case, like that of Finucane, Hamill, Wright, Nelson and the Gibsons was specifically selected as one of those to be reviewed to determine if there was collusion and, if so, to direct a public inquiry.
"In light of this provision in the original agreement, failure to hold such an inquiry as quickly as possible might be thought to be a denial of the original agreement, which appears to have been an important and integral part of the peace process.
"The failure to do so could be seen as a cynical breach of faith which could have unfortunate consequences for the peace accord." The papers have now been passed to a judge to decide whether to hold a leave hearing or to proceed with the substantive application for judicial review.