Work on the proposed cause list for the Supreme Court for the first working week after the summer vacation has started and it is to be posted in a day or two. The apex court is to re-assemble here on September 12.
The proposed list is prepared nearly two to three weeks before the hearing is intended and is circulated among the parties to alert them about the schedule and determine the availability of their counsel.
The Supreme Court had risen on June 13 for three months traditional summer vacation but the judges continued to work in turn at different registries to dispose of the pending case. The majority, however, went on leave during the current month leaving behind single judges to attend to urgent petitions for bail, admissibility or stay injunction or any other judicial interventions that may become necessary.
In the current vacations, and probably for the first time in its judicial history, a change of command took place when Chief Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui completed his tenure on June 29 and handed over the reigns to his successor Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary.
A reference was also held for the retiring Chief Justice besides several farewell functions. Within the first week of taking over, the new incumbent convened a full-court session and brought about major administrative and procedural changes in the court that included a reshuffle of registrar and his deputies and also held a meeting with the staff to hear their problems. He also sounded them a note of warning against corruption, laxity and disregard to discipline.