A federal judge on Monday issued a ruling calling for changes to be made to a landmark settlement that would strengthen surveillance protections for U.S. Muslims in New York. The ruling, issued after more than a year of negotiations, would allow the long-awaited settlement to be approved.

The proposed settlement, announced in January in response to two separate lawsuits—Raza v. City of New York and Handschu v. Special Services Division—would implement rules to ensure that the New York Police Department (NYPD) cannot conduct investigations where race, religion, or ethnicity is a “substantial or motivating factor,” among other safeguards, and install a civilian representative within the department to reinforce those protections.

As the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which brought the Raza lawsuit, explained in a press release Monday, Judge Charles S. Haight, Jr.’s order called for alterations to the settlement that would:

• Clarify the authority of an individual outside the NYPD (a civilian representative) to ensure the NYPD’s compliance with the “Handschu Guidelines”—which govern NYPD surveillance of political and religious activity—even beyond the terms of the reforms proposed by the settlement;
• Require that the civilian representative established by the settlement report periodically to the court on the NYPD’s compliance;
• Require the mayor to seek court approval before abolishing the position of civilian representative.