Sir John Gillen, who is just six weeks into his nine-month review, told a BBC Radio 4 programme that the “hammer of the law should come down on those who indulge in misconduct”.

The review was commissioned by the Criminal Justice Board, which provides oversight of the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland, in the wake of a controversial nine-week rape trial in Belfast which ended with the acquittal of two high-profile rugby players.

Speaking to Radio 4’s Law In Action, Sir Gillen said there was a strong case for excluding members of the public from rape trials.

He said: “The concept of open justice is fundamental to our legal system, but in small, local jurisdictions, we do have to look at that possibility of excluding the public from these trials, at least to try to make some effort to control social media.”

He warned that the anonymity of complainants “has disappeared in a number of high-profile trials where the name of the complainant is bandied about on social media”.

Sir Gillen added: “In a small place like Belfast or Newry or Derry or Strabane, it means the law becomes a farce in terms of protection of the anonymity of complainant.

“It can be even worse than that: photographs are circulated, past alleged history can be circulated - completely untrue in most instances, but it has a very detrimental effect on the administration of justice.”

He also suggested that Northern Ireland could follow its southern neighbour in providing anonymity for the accused.

Sir Gillen said: “I have had the privilege during the six weeks I’ve been conducting this inquiry of not only interviewing a number of complainants, but also a number of people who have been accused and acquitted.

“In several instances their lives have been, as they describe, ruined by the advent of social media and the spreading of rumours and untruths.”