Once a person was acquitted he was free to leave the court "an innocent man and with no stain on his character", and this was a long tradition, Mr Justice Nial Fennelly said yesterday.
The Supreme Court judge was launching a consultation paper from the Law Reform Commission on "Prosecution Appeals Brought in Cases on Indictment" yesterday.
Mr Justice Fennelly said he was not aware of any public clamour to change that at the moment. However, when he was a criminal lawyer it was possible to question rape victims about their sexual history and it was not possible to draw any inferences from a person's failing to give account of his movements.
He said that in England and Wales there was a proposal to extend the prosecution's right of appeal. One of the issues raised there was whether "accuracy of outcome" of a trial was an appropriate test as to whether it should be appealed.
He described the lengthy tradition behind not allowing prosecution appeals but added that there was also a need to ensure public confidence in the criminal justice system. "A balance will have to be struck" he said.
Earlier, the chairman of the Law Reform Commission, Mr Justice Declan Budd, said the commission would favour a move towards appeals on more substantial grounds than existed at the moment.
He said this consultation paper would go to all interested parties and he appealed for both written and oral submissions.
He said the commission would have a seminar on the matter in the autumn.