A judge in Malawi has today ruled that a coalition of human rights groups may proceed with a legal challenge to Madonna’s adoption of an African baby boy.

The coalition first lodged a petition before the court last month, after the pop star was granted an 18-month interim custody of one-year-old David Banda, sparking a heated debate about adoption laws in a country where the number of orphans is surging as a result of poverty and Aids.

The groups claimed that existing legislation did not allow for intra-country adoptions and asked for the right to bring a full-fledged appeal at a later hearing.

Judge Andrew Nyirenda ruled that the coalition of 67 rights groups could be regarded as "friends of the court" along with the state-sponsored Malawi human rights commission, and could therefore pursue their application for a full review of the interim custody order. He did not set a date for the review.

"I believe the applicants mean well and this court will certainly benefit from the applicants researched opinions," the judgement read.

The judgement made clear that Madonna’s lawyer in Malawi, Allan Chinula, had not raised any objection to the applications. "Counsel for the petitioners has no objection to the application. Likewise I see no reason to refuse the applications," said the judge.

Baby David is now living in London with Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie, the British film director. The star has denied using her vast wealth to fast-track the adoption process, which typically sees would-be parents subjected to a monitoring period by social workers in Malawi.

David’s father, Yohane Banda, has called on the coalition to drop their action for fear that the singer will be forced to return his son to a life of poverty back home.

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