In Brief
A construction contract dispute was referred to arbitration. After pleadings were completed in October 2019, a 12-month period commenced for the arbitral award, extendable by 6 months by mutual consent. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted proceedings. An extension application was filed in August 2023, over two years after the mandate technically expired in April 2021. The High Court rejected it as time-barred. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that extension applications can be filed even after mandate expiry if sufficient cause exists. Applying the Court's pandemic-relief order, the effective deadline was recalculated to March 2023, leaving only a 5-month gap. With hearings complete, parties' mutual agreement, and pandemic disruption, sufficient cause existed to extend the award deadline to December 2024.
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