Fiji's deposed prime minister has accused the country's top judges of political bias and encouraging future coups after they gave legal backing to the 2006 military coup.
The High Court ruling on Thursday would encourage the overthrow of future governments, ousted prime minister Laisenia Qarase said.
"I think most people in Fiji are stunned, including myself," said Mr Qarase, who along with his SDL party had asked the court to rule on the legality of the coup.
"It will encourage future coups. I think the impartiality of our judiciary is completely gone."
Mr Qarase and his party argued that President Ratu Josefa Iloilo's decision to back the coup, dismiss the elected government, and appoint the military-led regime was unlawful.
But the court found Mr Iloilo had acted lawfully in supporting military commander Frank Bainimarama's power grab.
Mr Iloilo had reason to use his reserve powers because of the constant state of strife in Fiji leading up to the coup, the court ruled.
"The president's actions at the time were valid and are held to be lawful," acting Chief Justice Anthony Gates said. "It is certainly open to conclude his intentions were to unify the people of Fiji."
Justice Gates, who was appointed by Commodore Bainimarama following the coup, interrupted the reading of the judgement for half an hour and the Suva court was cleared after an apparent bomb threat.
The military-led government praised the ruling, with Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum saying it was time for Fijians to unite to work towards restoring democracy.
"I think the message to everybody, both inside and outside Fiji, is that we need to move ahead with the government that is in place," he said.
But Mr Qarase said the ruling was not the final word, and he would consult with his lawyers about the possibility of further action.
2005 coup condemned
Commodore Bainimarama toppled Mr Qarase's elected nationalist government on December 5, 2006, accusing it of corruption and of unfairly favouring the indigenous Fijian majority over the minority ethnic Indian population.
After the coup, he briefly installed himself as president, but quickly reappointed Mr Iloilo, who was then aged 85 and suffering frequent health problems.
Mr Iloilo, who is widely perceived as an ally of Commodore Bainimarama, in turn appointed Commodore Bainimarama as interim prime minister.
The coup - the fourth in two decades - was condemned by the international community with Australia, the United States, the European Union and New Zealand introducing targeted sanctions against the regime.
Commodore Bainimarama this year withdrew an earlier promise to hold elections to restore democracy by the end of March 2009.
He said he would not hold elections until the replacement of the current voting system, which he says aggravates racial divisions in the country of 900,000 people.
