No summer holidays for Abu Dhabi judiciary

There will be no judicial holiday in Abu Dhabi during summer with effect from this year, according to judicial authorities.
The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department has announced the scrapping of the judicial holidays and the continuation of judicial work throughout the year after customer satisfaction surveys had underlined the necessity for judicial staff to be available during the summer vacation.
There has been judicial holidays in the months of July and August, and many judicial officials, including judges and clerks have been going on long holidays, leaving the department only partially operational.
Most of the Abu Dhabi courts have also been not operating during the summer holidays. 
During the media forum held at the department on Wednesday to present the department's annual file of achievements for 2018, Abdullah Saif Zahran, director of the strategic planning division of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, said during the monthly media meeting: "Studies have shown that during the period of the judicial holidays during summer, there has been a significant decline in the rate of completion of court cases because of the decrease in the number of judges and other administrative staff, which has been affecting the legal services.
"We decided to scrap the judicial holiday during summer and continue working normally so as to make services available for the people at all the time and to improve customer satisfaction."
The move was also based on the instructions of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department.
According to Zahran, the cancellation of the judicial holiday in Abu Dhabi is the first of its kind imitative in the Middle East.
Dr Jaber Al Hosani, director of the Centre for Judicial Research and Studies, said the rate of completion of cases and issuing verdicts in Abu Dhabi courts last year was 95.3 per cent.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi