To establish the admissibility of challenge of an award for violation of rules of law on the merits of the dispute pursuant to Article 829, paragraph 3, of the Code of Civil Procedure, the applicable law must be identified as that in force at the moment of stipulation of the arbitration agreement, so that in case of arbitration proceedings activated after the entry into force of Legislative Decree 40/2006 but by virtue of an agreement stipulated previously, in the silence of the parties Article 829, paragraph 2, of the Code of Civil Procedure in the text previously in force is applicable.
The allegation of nullity of an arbitration award for non-observance of rules of law in iudicando is admissible only if circumscribed within the same bounds of violation of law opposable by recourse to the Court of Cassation pursuant to Article 360, paragraph 1, number 3, of the Code of Civil Procedure, with the consequence that the ground which contests evaluation of the facts and evidence acquired during the arbitration proceedings is inadmissible.
The discretionary power to determine the amount of damage by way of equity pursuant to Article 1226 of the Civil Code, not being censurable at the stage of cassation except for defects of reasoning, cannot constitute a ground of challenge of an arbitration award for nullity deriving from non-observance of rules of law pursuant to Article 829, paragraph 2, of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Arbitration proceedings are not subject to the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure relating to ordinary cognition proceedings with relative time limits and preclusions, it being in the power of the tribunal to regulate the process before it, save for respect of the right to adversarial proceedings and equality of the parties.