KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday said that a new unit awarding policy for judges of subordinate judiciary of Sindh, which has been devised to evaluate their performance, came into effect on Oct 1 and the priority and efficiency of dispensation of justice was guided by such policy. The policy is related to awarding units to the judges of lower judiciary for deciding cases and administrative work of judicial officers. According to a statement issued by the SHC, Chief Justice SHC Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui’s foremost initiative upon assumption of office was the evaluation of the policy to cater for the needs of today. “Timely adjudication of disputes is the primary expectation from the judiciary, but it is imperative that disposal be substantive and in order to achieve such goal, the chief justice had held a meeting with all the district & sessions judges of Sindh and deliberations were made on the timely disposal, reduction of pendency and observance of punctuality,” it added. The statement said that effective adjudication must also employ avenues of alternate dispute resolution, including mediation, and the consensus was also developed with the administrative committee in this regard and thereafter, a new unit award policy was devised. The salient features of the new policy include award of a unit for referral to mediation and award of five units if the matter is resolved through mediation, extra units are available for timely disposal of cases, it added. “However, deduction of units is envisaged if matters remain pending beyond the prescribed time; adjudication of contested matters on merit leads to higher award, however, the earlier apportionment for withdrawals and dismissals in default has been withdrawn; priority of criminal / civil appeals, domestic violence prevention, family matters, cybercrime, gas theft, land acquisition, inheritance, commercial and consumer matters has been recognized”, it concluded.