TORONTO — A Superior Court judge has quashed an Ontario law that allowed the opening of past adoption records.

The legislation, which took effect Monday, allowed birth parents and adoptees to access information about each other, but today's ruling struck down the law.

Noted Toronto civil-rights lawyer Clayton Ruby launched a constitutional challenge to the Adoption Information Disclosure Act last year.

He filed the challenge on behalf of four Ontario residents -- three adoptees and one who gave up a child for adoption.

The province's information commissioner says the ruling confirms the importance of an individual's right to privacy.

Ruby is holding a news conference this afternoon to discuss the implications of the court's decision.