A split appellate panel decision Thursday highlighted the long-running debate over government restrictions on foreign aid, providing a win for groups combating HIV and AIDS abroad but inviting a vigorous dissent that accused the majority of overturning the circuit’s own long-held precedent.

On its face, the majority’s decision in Alliance for Open Society International v. U.S. Agency for International Development was a victory for U.S.-based organizations focused on fighting HIV and AIDS abroad through foreign affiliates. The majority, composed of U.S. Circuit Judges Barrington Parker and Rosemary Pooler, noted that the specific issue had been before them on its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.