LONDON — Belfast's High Court has ruled that in some cases, Northern Ireland's strict anti-abortion laws breach the human rights of pregnant women.

Judge Mark Horner said Monday that women's rights, in cases in which a foetus has fatal abnormalities or a woman becomes pregnant as a result of sexual crimes, are violated by the ban.

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"In the circumstances, given this issue is unlikely to be grasped by the legislature in the foreseeable future, and the entitlement of citizens of Northern Ireland to have their Convention rights protected by the courts, I conclude that the Article Eight rights of women in Northern Ireland who are pregnant with fatal foetal abnormalities or who are pregnant as a result of sexual crime are breached by the impugned provisions," Judge Horner told the court.

Abortion is only legal in Northern Ireland when a woman's life is at risk or if there is a risk to her mental or physical well-being; anyone who performs an illegal termination can be jailed for life. In the rest of the UK, abortion is legal and can be carried out in a hospital or clinic within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Monday's landmark verdict came as a result of a legal challenge taken by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, which said it was delighted with the result.

"Today's result is historic, and will be welcomed by many of the vulnerable women and girls who have been faced with these situations," Chief Commissioner Les Allamby said.

The Commission had argued in court that women have been forced to travel to other parts of the UK to get abortions; more than 800 women reportedly did so in 2013, according to the Belfast Telegraph.

Our Review of Termination of Pregnancy Laws successful. Access should be available in cases of sexual crime & fatal foetal abnormalities. — NIHRC (@NIHRC) November 30, 2015

Amnesty International welcomed the the decision, saying that it's shameful that the courts had to step in where politicians had failed.

“Northern Ireland’s laws on abortion date back to the nineteenth century and carry the harshest criminal penalties in Europe," Amnesty International's Grainne Teggart said in a statement.

It's still unclear whether new legislation will be required to implement the court's ruling.

Additional information from The Associated Press