This followed an unprecedented judicial summit that included Chanchai Likhitjittha, the president of the Supreme Court, Akaratorn Chularat, the president of the Supreme Administrative Court, and Phan Chantarapan, the acting president of the Constitution Court.

They met for two hours between 10am and noon at the Office of the Court of Justice to chart the course of judicial action each court would pursue in order to resolve the current political deadlock.

Following the summit, Charan Phakdithanakul, secretary-general of the Supreme Court, said the judges had agreed on three broad points regarding how they would approach the cases filed over the April 2 snap election.

First, the courts will accelerate deliberation of the cases within their own jurisdiction.

Second, the courts will take the same approach in deliberating the cases within the spirit and intent of the law and Constitution to prevent any conflict in their verdicts.

Third, the courts will strictly guard their independence and perform their duties with honesty and justice, in accordance with their own jurisdiction and the law and the Constitution.

Charan did not spell out how each court would arrive at a verdict on the cases filed over the April 2 election, but it is an open secret that the highest courts in the land have explored judicial means to nullify the election.

The move to restore legitimacy to Thai democracy comes after His Majesty the King signalled to the judges of the Supreme Court and Supreme Administrative Court on Tuesday that the April 2 election, marred by several legal and constitutional violations, would not produce a democratic Parliament. The King entrusted the judges with performing their duty so as to save the nation and Thai democracy.

After the King's rare speech it was apparent that the April 2 election would be nullified, paving the way for a fresh election to restore democracy.

Yesterday the top judges consulted with each other and compared notes on two broad legal and constitutional problems: whether the April 2 snap election had been held in accordance with the law and the Constitution and whether the new Parliament could convene.

A number of actions have been launched in the Court of Justice, the Central Administrative Court and the Constitution Court over the legitimacy of the April 2 election that have raised questions of legal and constitutional violation. In one instance a case was filed with the Central Administrative Court over the Election Commission's alleged mishandling of voting booths which resulted in bystanders being able to judge how a voter marked the ballot paper.

Any verdicts from these courts will eventually be combined and lead to a nullification of the election.

Charan was cautious in disclosing the details of the judicial summit, saying it discussed all the problems of the country without any binding agreements on judicial action by each court.

Asked whether the top judges of each court would meet again, Charan said: "Certainly, there should be more meetings, but we will only consult with each other on academic questions and will not go into details or try to arrive at a final verdict for each court. We have not set an appointment for the next meeting yet."

The judicial summit was held just one day before the Election Commission holds the third round of voting for 14 constituencies in nine provinces which failed to produce clear-cut winners.

After the summit, the Central Administrative Court issued an injunction against today's by-election pending deliberation of a case filed by a group of activists who have called for nullification of the April 2 election. The case involves the EC's alleged illegal design of voting booths.

Kesinee Taengkhieo

The Nation