The Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling allowing a constitutional challenge to the country’s abortion laws to proceed, rejecting the Attorney General’s attempt to dismiss the case.

Three appellate judges found no grounds to overturn the High Court’s decision, which denied striking out the challenge to the 163-year-old Offences Against the Person Act.

Abortion rights advocates filed the case last year, contesting penalties of up to 10 years for women and two years for those assisting in abortions, except when a mother’s life is at risk.

The Attorney General argued that the 1995 Sexual Offences Act rendered the contested provisions obsolete, but the High Court ruled that this required further judicial review. With the appeal dismissed, the case will now proceed to trial.