The most impactful change in the 2026 Rules is also the least glamorous. Late filings and serially extended timetables usually attract little financial consequence, tribunals are often reluctant to impose costs mid-stream, and the party that kept to the schedule absorbs the disruption or spends more money applying for relief.
The 2026 Rules reverse that default through a mechanism called ‘Delay Default Costs’. A party that fails to meet a time limit incurs a daily cost payable to CORD for as long as the default continues. Nothing needs to be applied for, and the missed deadline itself triggers this mechanism. The Tribunal (or the Registrar, before the Tribunal is constituted) may grant an exemption, but must give written reasons for doing so.
The costs accrue until the default is cured, and do not displace the Tribunal’s other powers, including requiring the defaulting party to meet tribunal expenses or the legal fees its conduct has caused. Where the accrued amount goes unpaid, the Registrar may seek suspension of the proceedings or withhold release of the award, though the defaulting party retains its right to defend a claim or counterclaim.
Shifting the burden of inertia is the intent behind this change. Under most rules, discipline requires the innocent party to ask for adherence with timelines. Under the 2026 Rules, on the other hand, indiscipline requires the defaulting party to justify itself. The safeguard against unfairness is, however, intact in form of the reasoned exemption.
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