The challenge of an arbitral award is a limited challenge, admitted only for specific errores in procedendo and for violations of rules of law within the limits of Article 829(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure. The iudicium rescindens does not allow a re-examination of the merits; only after a finding of nullity may the court proceed to the iudicium rescissorium.
In the field of corporate arbitration, Article 36 of Legislative Decree No. 5/2003 constitutes the ‘law’ which permits a challenge for violations of rules of law, even against the parties’ original will, where the dispute concerns non-arbitrable matters or the validity of shareholders’ resolutions.
The defect of reasoning in the award is to be treated as equivalent to the absolute absence of reasoning, and arises only in the presence of a total absence of any recognisable rationale.