According to the explanatory notes, published by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, the Act "is intended to provide a comprehensive statutory framework for inquiries set up by Ministers to look into matters of public concern".

[6] The act has been criticised by a number of groups and individuals, generally concerned with the power ministers have over the remit of the inquiry and the publication of its final report.

[7][8] The Parliament of the United Kingdom's Joint Committee on Human Rights has voiced concerns about certain aspects of the Act,[9] as have the Law Society of England and Wales.

"[7] The family of Pat Finucane, a solicitor killed by loyalist paramilitaries in Belfast in suspicious circumstances, have announced they will not be co-operating with a forthcoming inquiry into the events surrounding his death if it is held under the terms of the Act.

[11] The Canadian Judge Peter Cory, who was commissioned by the British and Irish governments to investigate the possibility of state collusion in six high-profile murders, is also a critic.