A challenge for breach of the rules of law relating to the merits of the dispute against an arbitral award rendered pursuant to an arbitration clause entered into before the entry into force of Legislative Decree No. 40/2006 is admissible irrespective of any breach of public policy as required by Article 829(3) of the Code of Civil Procedure as amended.
Article 36 of Legislative Decree No. 5 of 17 January 2003 requires arbitrators to decide according to law, with the award being also subject to challenge under Article 829(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure, where the subject of the proceedings is the validity of shareholders' resolutions, regardless of whether the reference to Article 829 of the Code of Civil Procedure is to be understood in a substantive or formal sense.
The appointment of a board of directors with the conferral of the chairmanship and legal representation on a third party external to the corporate structure causes the conflict of interest that had justified the appointment of a special curator (curatore speciale) for the company in the arbitral proceedings to cease to exist.
The arbitrator's assessment of the admissibility, relevance, and superfluity of the evidence adduced by the parties cannot be reviewed in proceedings for the annulment of the award, such assessment being an institutional competence contractually conferred upon the arbitrator.
A challenge for annulment of the award under Article 829(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure for failure to observe rules of law in iudicando is admissible only within the same limits as those applicable to a complaint of breach of law on an appeal to the Court of Cassation pursuant to Article 360(1)(3) of the Code of Civil Procedure.