In a landmark ruling Wednesday, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the Civil Code clause that denies full inheritance rights to heirs born out of wedlock.

The decision will lead to a long-overdue revision of the provision, the first time it will have been changed since it took effect in 1898.

Under the current law, such heirs are entitled to inherit only half the worth of an estate handed down to their "legitimate" siblings. The Supreme Court's decision represents a hard-fought victory for "illegitimate" children who have for years called for the eradication of the discriminatory inheritance law.