The construction of the arbitration agreement and the consequent delimitation of the scope of the arbitrators’ jurisdiction are matters for the court of first instance, which must ascertain the common intention of the parties according to the statutory canons of construction; that finding, if properly reasoned, is not open to review on points of law.
Art. 808 quater cod. proc. civ., although expressing a favor arbitratus by extending the arbitration agreement, in case of doubt, to all disputes arising out of the contract or the relationship to which it refers, does not entail the exclusion of the jurisdiction of the State courts where it is doubtful whether the parties intended to choose arbitration as the exclusive route.
An arbitration clause which confines the reference to arbitrators to matters concerning the construction and performance of the contract does not express an unequivocal and exclusive intention to remove from the State court every dispute arising out of that same contract, and therefore does not operate in respect of claims founded on the dissolution of the contractual bond.