The Judicial Council told the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) that judges ought to be able to keep their training materials private and confidential as part of respect for judicial independence.

However, senior investigator Stephen Rafferty said: “While I accept that that judicial training is supportive of judicial independence, it does not follow, in my view, that the disclosure of judicial training materials would necessarily undermine judicial independence.

“It seems to me that the disclosure of judicial training materials could undermine judicial independence only if the particular disclosure involved or resulted in actual, potential or perceived external influence on the judiciary in the carrying out of their judicial functions.”

The OIC was asked to review a decision by the Judicial Council in October 2021 to refuse a request for access to a copy of the slides used for ethics training for new judges as part of their induction programme.

Although the watchdog rejected the Judicial Council’s arguments about judicial independence, the decision was upheld on other grounds, namely that it was provided to the Judicial Council “in confidence” and there was not a sufficient public interest argument to outweigh this.

The presentation in question had been prepared by Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty of the High Court in her capacity as director of judicial studies.

In a decision published this week, Mr Rafferty said: “It seems to me that there is a significant public interest in ensuring that members of the judiciary receive appropriate training in matters such as ethics and judicial conduct.

“In order to do this, I accept that judicial trainers such as Judge Gearty must be able to undertake such training in a manner which safeguards the confidentiality of the process and ensures that trainers can conduct courses effectively without any outside interference.

“It is not apparent to me, having carefully considered the content of the record, that there is any sufficiently specific, cogent and fact-based reason to tip the balance in favour of disclosure of the information in this case.

“Accordingly, I consider that the public interest would, on balance, be better served by refusing to release the record at issue.”