An arbitration clause contained in a company’s articles of association, which provides for the submission to arbitrators of disputes connected to the corporate contract, also encompasses disputes concerning parties who no longer hold the position of shareholder at the time of the proceedings, provided that such disputes relate to proprietary claims arising from facts that occurred during the previous corporate relationship and concern rights relating to participation in the company’s economic results or pertaining to the management thereof.
In proceedings for the challenge of an institutional arbitration award, an arbitrator may proceed to assess damages on an equitable basis both in cases where there is lack of proof of the precise amount due to a party’s inability to provide adequate evidence, and in cases where there is considerable difficulty in making a precise quantification, the same jurisprudential principles applicable to ordinary judges being applied.
A challenge to an award for defects in reasoning is inadmissible when it amounts to mere criticism on the merits of the arbitrator’s assessments, as the judge hearing the challenge cannot review questions of substantive law already decided in the award.
The assessment of arbitrators’ fees made directly by the arbitrators in the award, pursuant to Article 814, paragraph 2, of the Code of Civil Procedure, constitutes a mere contractual proposal that binds the parties only in case of acceptance, whereas in case of dispute regarding the assessment criteria the obligation is non-existent and consequently there is no interest in challenging the award in that respect.