The law lords' ruling which stripped the former Chilean dictator, Gen Pinochet, of diplomatic immunity, but then declared that only those crimes allegedly committed after 1988 were extraditable, was greeted with total calm by citizens in Santiago de Chile.
It was greeted with silence, and probably relief, by Chilean President Eduardo Frei.
"We appreciate the mature, calm response to the vote by all sectors," a government minister and spokesman, Mr Jorge Arrate, said. "The government has nothing else to say until we have completed a rigorous analysis of the judgment," he added.
The impromptu press conference ended abruptly at the gate of the government palace, la Moneda, where the democratically-elected president of Chile died during an assault by Gen Pinochet's troops in the 1973 coup.
Later, however, the ruling coalition of Christian Democrats, Socialists and Social Democrats issued a joint statement declaring the lords' judgment a "victory for all Chileans".
"Chile cannot remain divided forever by Pinochet, we cannot remain anchored in the past," the government message stated. The coalition pledged to undertake as yet unspecified "institutional changes" in order to advance democratic goals.
"We are satisfied that Pinochet remains under arrest and the extradition process can continue," said Ms Mireya Garcia, general secretary of the Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared Organisation, "but we are disappointed that immunity was acknowledged during his period as head of state."
Gen Pinochet supporters were pleased at the judgment, considering it a decisive step toward his release.
"The judgment took the carpet out from under Garzon's [a Spanish judge] feet," a smiling Mr Rodrigo Perez de Castro, director of the Pinochet Foundation, said, shortly after the ruling was made public. "It's time to put an end to the arbitrary detention of Pinochet. He must be returned home now," he added. He was optimistic that Gen Pinochet will be sent home within a fortnight.
A thousand Pinochet supporters began marching toward the Moneda Palace late yesterday afternoon, despite the prohibition on public demonstrations by city authorities, while the Spanish and British embassies were blocked off and guarded by hundreds of carabinero police.
Earlier, as the hour of the lords' judgment approached, people in cars, buses, shops and homes tuned in to live radio and TV broadcasts. The city's central food market, normally packed with shoppers, was deserted.
"No one knows what may happen," an elderly stall-holder said. "I think it's a good thing," she said, when news was announced that Gen Pinochet would remain under arrest.
Everyone had a story to tell about the Pinochet years. Mr Rafael Rodriguez (30) pushes a coffee cart through the food market. He recalled how he used to accompany his mother as a small child, standing in endless bread queues after the 1973 coup.
Mr Martin Guemes, a taxi-driver, said his family were "completely unaffected" by military rule, but he still trembles at the memory of army trucks depositing piles of corpses at the city cemetery, just 50 yards from his home.
Mr Guemes still thinks Gen Pinochet should be returned home, as the alternative is "permanent unrest".
By mid-afternoon, the soap operas had reclaimed TV airtime, Santiago's busy streets were choked with traffic, and a well-known sports commentator had summed up the day's result. "It was a 6-1 defeat for Pinochet which ended in a scoreless draw."