Unfortunately this basically allows them an exception:
Interestingly according to web.archive.org this omission didn't exist as of June of this year. So that has been changed at least between then and now. There is a line at the very bottom that states it was last updated 22nd October, so if that date is accurate it could have happened then. Once again it is BIS's contest, so they are free to change it, but that doesn't mean we have to be happy about it.
If the Jury was aware that this was a significant enough problem it should have been handled within the days immediately following the deadline and not left until the finalist announcements were imminent. Anyone who was serious enough about this competition should have double checked to make sure their project made it in.
If this is a case of the jury bending the rules to ensure that mods they would prefer are finalists make it in (but are currently excluded), then the integrity of the overall competition certainly comes into question. Although that is good PR spin when it's in the interests of innovation and the modding community, right? :confused: