Arbitration and tort claims

by Roberto Olivaart. 808/bis It. code civ. proc., art. 808/quater It. code civ. proc.Posted on One Comment

Italian Arbitration Law, as amended in 2006, expressly provides for the parties to enter into an arbitration clause concerning their possible tort disputes.  Indeed, Article 808(b) of Italian Code of Civil Procedure, as enacted by 2006 reform, sets forth that “The parties may establish, in a specific agreement, that future disputes relating to one or more specific non-contractual relations be decided by arbitrators (…).“

There are only a few reported cases concerning Article 808(b) of Italian Code of Civil Procedure, and therefore it appears that that tool is rarely used.  Nonetheless, it could be very helpful: for instance, in the case of related actions, it could prevent the doctrine of “parallel paths” from applying.

A recent decision of the Italian Supreme Court (Supreme Court, VI Civil Chamber, decision no. 20673 of 13 October 2016, Italian text available here) deals with that matter. As far as I know, it is the first decision issued by the Italian Supreme Court concerning the construction of Article 808(b) of Italian Code of Civil Procedure.

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Arbitration and interim relief

by Roberto Olivaart. 35 decree no. 5/2003Posted on One Comment

It is the first time I comment on a non-Italian decision: it is a decision delivered by the High Court of England and Wales (Gerald Metals SA v. The Trustees of the Timis Trust & others [2016] EWHC 2327 (Ch), available here).  The decision concerns the relationship between interim jurisdiction of State Courts and Arbitral Tribunals and it remembered me of the doctrine of Italian State Courts in the few cases Italian Arbitral Tribunals have such a jurisdiction (that is, in the case of corporate arbitration).

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Arbitrability of corporate disputes

by Roberto Olivaart. 806 It. code civ. proc., art. 34 decree no. 5/2003, art. 35 decree no. 5/2003Posted on No Comments

A recent decision of the Court of Appeal of Catanzaro (no. 1478 of 22 September 2016, Italian text available here) sums up the current doctrine of arbitrability of corporate disputes.

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