The validity of an arbitration clause is subject to the specific written approval required by Article 1341 of the Civil Code solely when it is incorporated into contracts containing general terms and conditions prepared by one of the parties, or concluded by means of standard forms or formularies pursuant to Article 1342 of the Civil Code; conversely, it is not subject to such requirement when the contract results from individual negotiation between the parties.
The question concerning the attribution of jurisdiction over the dispute to the arbitral tribunal or to the ordinary courts pertains to competence and not to jurisdiction ratione materiae (Gerichtsbarkeit).
Article 808-quater of the Code of Civil Procedure has introduced the principle of *favor arbitrati* in the interpretation of arbitration agreements, establishing that in case of doubt the competence of the arbitral tribunal extends to all disputes arising from or connected with the contract or relationship to which the arbitration agreement refers, thereby reversing the previous line of judicial authority that favoured a restrictive interpretation of arbitration clauses.
The existence of an arbitration clause does not preclude the competence of the ordinary court to issue an order for payment (*decreto ingiuntivo*), given that the procedural rules governing arbitration do not provide for the issuance of orders *ex parte*, but require the judge, in the event of a subsequent objection based on the existence of the arbitration clause, to declare the order null and void and contemporaneously remit the dispute to arbitration.