Court declares Fijian government illegal

An international court of appeal sitting in Fiji has ruled that the country's military-backed interim government is illegal.

The government was appointed by the army last year after a coup by indigenous Fijians forced the country's first ethnic Indian prime minister out of office.

The judges -- from Australia, New Zealand, Tonga and Papua New Guinea -- said the government had not proved it had popular support.

They said military commanders had acted illegally by abandoning the multiracial constitution.

The judges have instructed President Ratu Josefa Iloilo to reconvene parliament which has not sat since the coup. New Zealand and Australia have welcomed the ruling and the prime minister who was driven from office, Mahendra Chaudhry, said the ruling validated his position that he is still prime minister.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service