The Law Commission has raised the possibility of establishing a national register of suppression orders so that accurate information about what they cover is easily available.

It says in a discussion paper released today that media organisations have pointed out problems journalists have in finding out whether there is a suppression order in place in a particular case, or what the precise terms of the order are.

"In some cases the endorsements describing the suppression order at the top of the judgment, which are not always drafted by the judges themselves, are at odds with the content of the orders set out in the body of the judgment," the paper says.

"The Ministry of Justice is currently exploring ways of improving the available of accurate information ... one possibility is the establishment of a national register of suppression orders."

The discussion paper also considers the effect of the internet on suppression orders, an issue it says is of increasing significance.