In the presence of a statutory arbitration clause, the ordinary court retains jurisdiction to issue a payment order for debts arising from corporate relationships; however, where the debtor against whom the order is made files an opposition challenging the court’s jurisdiction in favour of arbitration, ordinary proceedings on the merits are instituted in which, having verified the applicability of the arbitration clause, the court hearing the opposition must revoke the payment order and refer the parties to arbitration.
Jurisdiction to decide a dispute in corporate matters is determined by the subject matter of the dispute and not by the procedural form chosen to initiate it; consequently, a statutory arbitration clause which refers disputes concerning corporate relationships to arbitrators operates regardless of the circumstance that the claim was initially brought by way of summary proceedings for a payment order rather than by writ of summons.
An arbitration clause contained in the articles of association which confers the power to appoint arbitrators on a body external to the company, such as an Arbitration Chamber, satisfies the validity requirement laid down in Article 34(2) of Legislative Decree No. 5/2003, even where the rules of the designated body expressly provide that, in disputes governed by the same provision, the appointment of all arbitrators shall be vested in the Arbitration Council.