HYDERABAD, Dec 29: Indequate court staff, shortage of vans for bringing under-trial prisoners to courts and lack of communication between the district judiciary and the Sindh High Court are main reasons for delay in disposal of cases.

This was observed by senior high court judges at a one-day workshop on "Delay reduction and judicial ethics" held for judicial officers at a hotel here on Wednesday. The workshop was organized by the Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute, Halifax, Canada, and the Federal Judicial Academy.

The judges attached great importance to self-accountability and self-education for judicial officers. They urged them to adopt court and time management techniques.

In his speech, Justice Sabihuddin Ahmad deplored lack of coordination between the district judiciary and the high court and said if judiciary sent their requirements regarding staff to the high court it would be looked into.

He said judges through mutual coordination could obtain services of those stenographers working in the same building who did not have much work. Quoting a Hadith, he said judges were protected against mistakes made in good faith butnegligence must be avoided.

He said judges were entrusted with people's lives and property and, therefore, they should discharge this duty with responsibility. "Without reading, one cannot enforce his writ as it is not enough that one does not take bribe", he observed.

About judicial ethics, he said a person, apart from other things, should ask himself whether he was prepared to acquire maximum information about law he might be applying in every case. Even degrees and training courses might not completely resolve the problem.

A judge must use informal methods of equipping himself properly by reading law and discussing principles, Justice Ahmed added. He maintained that there was still a great deal of public confidence in judiciary which was evident from the huge number of pending cases.

"Bottlenecks are, however, there as judicial allowance of Rs5,000 has been granted in other provinces but not in Sindh", he said. He said judicial officers should be provided access to law books given to sessions judge.