Two-day weekend: SC to work five days a week

The judges express satisfaction over court’s performance regarding disposal of cases in apex court.

ISLAMABAD:

The Supreme Court has decided not to opt for the two-day weekend, since Saturdays are reserved for writing judgments.

The decision was taken in a full-court meeting headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The decision to continue to work on Saturdays, for which the presence of staff was necessary, was unanimous according to a press note. The judges expressed satisfaction over the court’s performance regarding the disposal of cases in the apex court. Justice Jawwad S Khawaja suggested hiring law clerks as apprentices for the Supreme Court for a period of one or two years, which was approved in the meeting.

On October 14, the Lahore High Court had decided courts in Punjab would not adopt the five-day week in view of the high number of cases still to be processed. The federal cabinet had approved two days holiday a week on October 12 to cope with the power crisis. Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa rejected the federal cabinet’s decision.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2011.