Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister David Ford will appeal against parts of last year’s landmark human rights ruling on abortion because of concerns that it “does not fully clarify the law”.

His appeal focuses on certain parts of the ruling, unlike the full appeal by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland.

Attorney General James Larkin QC has confirmed he will appeal in full against the ruling, which found that preventing access to abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities (FFA) and pregnancies as a consequence of sexual crimes is unlawful.

A judicial review was brought against the Attorney General and the Department of Justice by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) last year.

In an “historic” ruling, Mr Justice Horner of the High Court ruled that article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights is breached by the general prohibition of abortions in cases of FFA and pregnancies as a consequence of sexual crimes.

He subsequently declared that the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 was incompatible with the ruling.

Mr Ford said: “The judgment from the High Court does not fully clarify the law and potentially leaves open the possibility there could be abortion on demand in Northern Ireland on an even wider basis than is the case in the rest of the United Kingdom.”

His appeal will focus on a section of the ruling that said an unborn child which could not survive outside the womb does not enjoy a full “right to life” under article 2 of the European Convention.

Mr Ford added: “This potentially means we could have no rights for a foetus before its point of viability, and therefore the potential that could lead to women seeking an abortion on demand.”

The NIHRC has said it will challenge all appeals to the ruling.

Chief Commissioner Les Allamby said: “The Commission will now cross appeal both the Department of Justice and the Attorney General. We will re-introduce all of the original grounds brought before the court.

“The choice of accessing a termination of pregnancy in circumstances of serious malformation of foetus (including fatal foetal abnormality), rape or incest, without being criminalised for doing so, should be made available in Northern Ireland.

“The Commission continues to seek a change the law so that the human rights of women and girls are protected when facing these difficult decisions.”

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland programme director, added: “It is clear that Northern Ireland’s legal framework on abortion is in breach of international human rights standards. Accordingly, Amnesty International will resist any attempt to overturn the High Court decision.

“We note that the Minister remains committed to limited reform to the law on abortion in Northern Ireland, and that his appeal is based on the need for ‘clarity’ on some aspects of the High Court’s judgment. What is very clear is that the legislation in force in Northern Ireland rides roughshod over the rights of women and girls.

“Rather than endless litigation, we now need legislation from the Northern Ireland Assembly to bring our law into line with international standards.”