STORMONT civil servants have been accused of a "pick and mix" approach to publishing government reports in the absence of an executive.
At least 19 reports are being withheld from publication because departmental officials say they need ministers to sign off their release.
However, at least 10 documents have been released even though staff admit they would normally require ministerial approval to publish them.
When asked for a copy of their policy on how these decisions are made, Stormont departments confirmed that no such policy exists.
The unpublished reports include a high-profile paper on the north's abortion laws, completed more than a year ago.
It recommends legislative change in cases of fatal foetal abnormality (FFA) – when medics believe the unborn will die in the womb or shortly after birth.
Other shelved papers include an annual report on ministers' special advisers, an Attorney General annual report and the government response to a consultation on reviewing regulations for private rental sector housing.
The details have been revealed in freedom of information responses to The Irish News.
The health department did not respond, while the environment department refused to answer the request for information.
Last month the nine executive departments' press offices would not provide the information, each issuing the same statement and declining to answer further requests to respond.
Grainne Teggart of Amnesty International said permanent secretaries should ensure transparency in the absence of ministers.
"One of the most obvious ways to do this is through consistency in the publication of reports which are of significant public interest, such as the FFA report," she said.
"The absence of ministers is no justification for allowing a culture of secrecy to cloak government.
"The head of the civil service should give clear direction to move away from the current 'pick and mix' approach across the departments."
Civil servants have come under pressure from abortion campaigners to publish the FFA report after other government documents were disclosed without ministerial sign-off.
In September, the Department of Education published a report on the experiences of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) pupils at school that had remained under wraps for almost 17 months.
The department said officials originally felt its release "should be cleared by a minister", but it later decided to publish "in light of the increasing volume of enquiries".
Stormont officials have previously said the FFA report should not be released "until it has been considered by the executive".
Steven Agnew, leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland, said: "It is unacceptable that there should be a grey area on this issue and the departments cannot hide behind the political stalemate to avoid making key decisions.
"There needs to be a very good reason for reports to be withheld. The presumption should be to publish if at all possible."
An Executive Office spokesman said decisions on publishing reports in the absence of ministers "are taken on a case-by-case basis".
"This will be informed by any statutory requirement for ministerial approval, and the convention that the publication of reports which have been commissioned by, or prepared to inform policy advice to, ministers is normally subject to ministerial approval," he said.
