One of the legal steps British foxhunters had hoped would be decisive in their effort to repeal their country\’s anti-hunting law has gone against them. A committee of the House of Lords called the Law Lords, which serves as Britain\’s highest court, ruled late on Thursday, Oct. 13, that the 1949 Parliament Act, the vehicle through which the Hunting Act became law, was legal.

The Countryside Alliance and other pro-hunting groups had asked the Lords to review the Parliament Act, which previously had been used only to enact emergency laws. The Parliament Act allows for certain bills to become law if passed by the House of Commons but not by the House of Lords. And that\’s exactly how the Hunting Act became law last November, over the House of Lords\’ objection. The Countryside Alliance argued that the Parliament Act had been passed illegally 56 years ago.

But nine of the 12 Law Lords heard the case (only five hear most cases) because of its constitutional significance, and all nine voted in favor of the Parliament Act\’s legality.

“It was important we went down this route,” Simon Hart, the Countryside Alliance\’s chief executive officer, told the Daily Telegraph. “The Law Lords, for technical reasons, found themselves unable to agree with our case.”