ISLAMABAD, July 26: Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has taken suo motu notice of the vacant post of the Chairman Federal Services Tribunal.

The Chief Justice has directed that notices be issued to Secretary, Cabinet Division and Attorney General to appear before the Court on August 1, 2007 and the case be treated as petition under Article 184(3) of the constitution.

The suo motu notice has been issued on a complaint that the post of Chairman Federal Services Tribunal was lying vacant April 15, 2007.

Federal Service Tribunal was established in 1974 under article 212 of the 1973 constitution.

Like other Higher Courts in the country, the Federal Service Tribunal is also responsible to ensure inexpensive and expeditious justice to the civil servants, in accordance with article 37 (d) of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973.

No fee is charged from the Civil servants for filing appeal or other documents, etc. The civil servants are required to deposit only a meagre amount of Rs100 post-admission of their cases as security charges, and this amount, too, is refundable to them after the final disposal of the appeals. Judgments are also provided to the appellants free of cost at their residential or official addresses by registered post at the government expense.

The appellants are entitled to plead their cases themselves without spending any amount on hiring of any advocate.

In fact the appellants are not supposed to spend any amount in filing appeals before the Tribunal and get their decisions.