The case was brought by Shaun Rusling, a former medic in the Parachute Regiment, who has struggled for nine years to get the Ministry of Defence to recognise Gulf war syndrome.
The ruling could open the way to pensions being awarded to hundreds of other veterans who say their illnesses are directly related to their service in the conflict.
Gulf war veterans say that a range of symptoms including rashes, kidney infections, eczema, fatigue, nausea and chest problems amount to an identifiable syndrome which might be linked to the injections they were given before the war to protect them from the effects of chemical weapons.
The claim was supported last year by the war pensions appeal tribunal which referred to a "Gulf war syndrome" attributable to military service.
The MoD accepted Mr Rusling suffered from the symptoms he complained about, but it described them as "symptoms and signs of ill- defined conditions". It accepted evidence that Gulf war veterans suffered more illnesses than other comparable groups but insisted that no one knew the causes.
The judge, Mr Justice Newman, said he had no evidence the syndrome existed as a "single disease entity". He ruled against the MoD on the grounds that it could not ignore the pensions tribunal by giving its own label to the symptoms.
He said the MoD admitted that Mr Rusling was disabled and that was attributed to military service, whatever the diagnosis.
After the judgment Mr Rusling said it was a vindication of all veterans suffering from Gulf war syndrome. Criticising the MoD, he said: "How many times do you have to go before a court to prove the problems you have got from service for your country?"
Mark McGee, Mr Rusling's lawyer, said: "All other Gulf veterans who say they are suffering from this condition will now be able to bring their claims to an appeals tribunal."
A MoD spokesman played down the decision and said the case was about whether evidence was admissible or not, not whether it was correct.
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