Ms Rosemary Nelson (40), a married mother of three and practicing solicitor, died as a result of injuries she received when a bomb attached to her car exploded on March 15th 1999.
Among her clients were Garvaghy Road residents trying to stop Orange Order parades pass through their community. She also successfully defended a man charged with the murder of two RUC officers, and the family of Mr Robert Hamill, whose murder was also the subject of the Cory inquiry.
Judge Cory's report was critical of "the failure of the RUC and Northern Ireland Office to furnish protection to Rosemary Nelson prior to her murder".
She had received numerous death threats and after the murder of Pat Finucane, ten years previously, "it would be reasonable to expect that government agencies would take a very serious view of threats to lawyers, particularly those that were defending people charged with terrorist offences," Judge Cory found.
He made reference to allegations that demeaning remarks about her had been made by RUC officers dealing with her clients. If these were proved, "they could strong evidence of collusion ... [and] be interpreted as an incitement or encouragement to others to kill or harm her and an indication that the RUC would turn a blind eye to that conduct," Judge Cory said.
He said: "there can be little doubt that it was the work of Rosemary Nelson as a solicitor which led to her murder ... there appears to be evidence capable of constituting collusion".