A US appeals court has ruled that controversial military trials for detainees at Guantanamo Bay are legal.
Lawyers for some of the 520 detainees at the detention camp in Cuba have sought to force US authorities to try inmates in regular military or civilian courts rather than in military commissions.
The court also said that the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war did not apply to al-Qaeda members.
The Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, welcomed the ruling saying it recognised the difference between terrorists and those who legitimately wage war.
