Court of Appeal of Salerno, judgment of 29 June 2026, No. 885

A broadly worded arbitration clause referring to arbitrators every dispute relating to the contract, including disputes concerning its validity, interpretation, performance and termination, covers a claim for payment of the consideration based on that contract.
In arbitration, the objection based on the arbitration agreement is procedural in nature and raises a question of jurisdiction; it must therefore be raised, on pain of forfeiture, in the first defensive pleading and may not be raised by the court of its own motion.
The existence of an arbitration clause does not prevent a party from applying for and obtaining from the ordinary court a payment order for a debt arising from the contract, without prejudice to the debtor's right to raise the arbitrators' jurisdiction in opposition proceedings, in which case the order must be revoked and the parties referred to the arbitrators.