The validity of an arbitration clause for international arbitration must be verified by the court seised as a preliminary matter on the basis of the New York Convention of 1958, applying the law chosen by the parties or, failing that, the law of the country where the award should be rendered, without application of the Italian rules on double signature of onerous clauses under Articles 1341 and 1342 of the Civil Code.
The order deciding on the admissibility of a class action in the preliminary phase of proceedings under Article 840-ter of the Code of Civil Procedure may be appealed before the court of appeal pursuant to Article 840-ter, paragraph 7, of the Code of Civil Procedure, even when it contains a ruling of lack of jurisdiction due to the presence of an arbitration clause.
The written form requirement for international arbitration clauses under Article II of the New York Convention is satisfied by signature through "point and click" electronic procedure, which is equivalent to the signature of the parties required by the Convention for recognition of arbitral clauses.
Articles 1341 and 1342 of the Civil Code do not constitute mandatory application rules under Article 17 of Law 218/1995 nor do they express principles of international public policy, so that their non-observance does not result in nullity of an arbitration clause for foreign arbitration when this is governed by foreign law that does not provide for analogous formal requirements.