§ 5. Courts not to sit on Sunday except in special cases nor on
Saturday in certain cases. A court shall not be opened, or transact any
business on Sunday, nor shall a court transact any business on a
Saturday in any case where such day is kept as a holy day by any party
to the case, except to receive a verdict or discharge a jury and for the
receipt by the criminal court of the city of New York or a court of
special sessions of a plea of guilty and the pronouncement of sentence
thereon in any case in which such court has jurisdiction. An adjournment
of a court on Saturday, unless made after a cause has been committed to
a jury, must be to some other day than Sunday. But this section does not
prevent the exercise of the jurisdiction of a magistrate, where it is
necessary to preserve the peace, or, in a criminal case, to arrest,
commit or discharge a person charged with an offense, or the granting of
an injunction order by a justice of the supreme court when in his
judgment it is necessary to prevent irremediable injury or the service
of a summons with or without a complaint if accompanied by an injunction
order and an order of such justice permitting service on that day.
Furthermore, no provision of this section shall be deemed to prohibit or
prevent the conducting on Saturday and/or Sunday of any arbitration or
mediation proceeding, provided all parties and the tribunal consent to
such proceeding in writing. A writing purporting to provide consent of
any party that is not prepared by the party shall only be sufficient to
establish consent upon a finding by the tribunal by clear and convincing
evidence, that such party has affirmatively consented to such
proceedings on a Saturday or Sunday as the case may be; such finding to
be made part of the record of any further proceedings.