An action to set aside an arbitral award on grounds of nullity is subject to restricted review: such an action cannot be used to challenge the assessment of the facts pleaded and the evidence gathered in the course of the arbitral proceedings, since that assessment is contractually entrusted to the institutional competence of the arbitrators. A Court of Appeal that, in proceedings to set aside an award on grounds of nullity, exceeds the limits of the review permitted by art. 829 of the Code of Civil Procedure — examining the merits of the arbitrators’ assessments instead of the specific grounds of nullity invoked — commits an error of law amenable to review on a point of law.
In proceedings to set aside an arbitral award, the arbitral process is governed by the principle of freedom of forms; it follows that the procedural rules applicable to ordinary litigation are not automatically transposed into arbitral proceedings, and non-compliance with them does not automatically give rise to a ground of nullity under art. 829 of the Code of Civil Procedure (in the version in force prior to Legislative Decree No. 40/2006).