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In a sharp setback for the Bush White House, the US supreme Court ruled that prisoners detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have the right to appear before U.S. federal judges in civilian courts. President George W. Bush reacted to the ruling while on a visit to Italy. SOUNDBITE: President George W. Bush, saying (English): "We'll abide by the court's decision. That doesn't mean I have to agree with it." Constitutional expert Bruce Fein, who served in the Reagan Justice Department, welcomed the ruling. SOUNDBITE: Constitutional expert Bruce Fein, who served in the Reagan Justice Department, saying (English): "This goes back to restoring the rule of law -- in some sense helping the United States in its fight against international terrorism because it will make foreign countries more willing to cooperate knowing that detainees that are captured wont be railroaded in a military justice system." The ruling concerns a 2006 law backed by President Bush and approved by Congress, then controlled by Republicans. That law denied to terror-related detainees what are known as habeas corpus rights, the right of individuals to challenge their imprisonment. By a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court's action restored that right for Guantanamo detainees by overturning an earlier ruling. It was the fourth major ruling by the nation's high court rejecting provisions of the Bush administration's "war on terrorism." There now are about 270 prisoners at Guantanamo. Most have been held for years without being charged and many have complained of abuse. Both the Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, have pledged to close the prison. Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters