Emergency Arbitration
Urgent situations often arise before a tribunal is constituted. A party may need immediate measures to preserve property, protect assets, prevent imminent harm, or maintain the status quo while the arbitration is still getting underway.
Rule 28 of the CORD Rules is designed for that gap.
A party that requires urgent interim relief before the Tribunal is constituted may apply for the appointment of an Emergency Arbitrator. The Registrar decides whether to accept the application within 24 hours and, where it is accepted, endeavour to appoint the Emergency Arbitrator in the next 24 hours.
Urgent relief on an urgent timetable
Once appointed, the Emergency Arbitrator establishes a schedule within 2 days, and ordinarily decides the application through a reasoned order within 14 days.
Where the urgency requires it, the Emergency Arbitrator may also grant ad interim relief pending final determination of the application, after giving the other parties notice and an appropriately abridged opportunity to respond.
The process therefore does not simply create a right to seek emergency relief. It places that relief on a timetable designed for situations in which delay itself may cause harm.
Designed to keep the arbitration moving
The Emergency Arbitrator can proceed even if another party does not participate, provided that party was properly served and had a reasonable opportunity to be heard. The decision is binding on the parties, but may later be confirmed, varied, suspended or vacated by the Tribunal once it is constituted.
Rule 28 also preserves a party's right to seek urgent relief from a court where necessary.
Why it matters
Urgent relief is useful only if it comes in time.
Rule 28 allows parties to seek quick protection before the Tribunal is constituted, while still giving the other side an opportunity to be heard, and allowing the Tribunal to revisit the decision once it is in place.