Retired High Court Judge Sir Anthony Hart is to chair Northern Ireland's official inquiry into the abuse of children living in residential care dating back to 1945.
Organisations that ran the institutions will face pressure to explain the treatment of young people over the course of five decades.
They could include Catholic religious orders, state and voluntary groups.
There will be an acknowledgement forum for victims to tell their stories and an inquisitorial investigation of evidence and questioning of witnesses.
Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson said: "We are very pleased that Sir Anthony Hart has agreed to lead this inquiry and we know that he will be unflinching in his pursuit of the truth and scrupulous in his analysis of the evidence."
The inquiry is expected to begin its work in the autumn and will report in approximately three years' time.
Its findings and recommendations will then be considered by Stormont's ministerial Executive, which will decide the way forward.
