Former deputy prime minister Wissanu Krea-ngam called on judges to take part in solving the crisis facing Thailand.

"Upholding justice is more than issuing verdicts. Judges should help solve the problems of the country, be they poverty, undemocratic rule or human-rights violations,'' he told a seminar.

Their important political roles are to select election commissioners and members of the National Counter Corruption Commission, as well as to review unjust laws, he said.

Wissanu, who quit the government in June, said judges had successfully exercised their authority to find a way out of the political impasse at the suggestion of His Majesty the King.

Professor Emeritus Dr Pra-wase Wasi, another guest speaker, said the country was pinning its hopes on judges to uphold righteousness.

"We have only the judicial branch to check and maintain the balance of righteousness,'' he said.