An objection relating to contractual arbitration (arbitrato irrituale) does not raise a question of jurisdiction of the judicial authority but contests the admissibility of the claim on the ground that the contracting parties have chosen the contractual resolution of the dispute by renouncing jurisdictional protection, thereby introducing a preliminary question of merit of a substantive nature.
An arbitration clause contained in the articles of association of a company which attributes to the parties the power to nominate the arbitrators is null and void pursuant to Article 34, paragraph 2, of Legislative Decree 5/2003, which establishes under penalty of nullity that the power to nominate all the arbitrators must be conferred upon a person extraneous to the company.
The possibility of conversion of a null arbitration clause from a clause for endo-corporate arbitration into a common law arbitral clause is excluded, since the provision on corporate arbitration aims to ensure the impartiality of the decision through the independence of the appointing authority, responding to a principle of public policy.