A Supreme Court of Canada ruling gives people with the HIV virus who take the proper medication and dutifully wear condoms the legal right to refrain from telling their sexual partners if they have HIV.

The ruling was 9-0 in the highest court in Canada and it was based on medical advances in treating HIV since the first ruling in 1988. However, charges still can be laid if the person carrying HIV acts in a reckless manner.

Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin noted in a letter on behalf of the Court: “On the evidence before us, a realistic possibility of transmission is negated by evidence that the accused’s viral load was low at the time of intercourse and that condom protection was used.”

Chief Justice McLachlin continued: “However, the general proposition that a low viral load combined with condom use negates a realistic possibility of transmission of HIV does not preclude the common law from adapting to future advances in treatment and to circumstances where risk factors other than those considered in the present case are at play.”

Some groups have long argued that making non-disclosure illegal is not fair including the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network which stated that doing this: “contributes to a climate of anxiety, fear, stigma and misinformation that undermines HIV counseling, education and prevention efforts – and puts all Canadians at greater risk.”