Court of Cuneo, judgment of 27 July 2026, No. 403

Pursuant to art. 808 cod. proc. civ., in the absence of a contrary and unequivocal intention of the parties to provide for a contractual settlement of the dispute, an arbitration clause must be taken to refer to arbitration; the express reference to the rules of an arbitral institution confirms that nature, since it is directed to the making of an award intended to produce the same effects as a judgment.
Disputes concerning termination of the contract and compensation for damage relate to rights of which the parties may dispose and are therefore capable of being referred to arbitration, falling outside the limits laid down in art. 806 cod. proc. civ.
The arbitrators' competence is not excluded by the pendency of the action before the ordinary court; the latter, having ascertained that the arbitration agreement is operative, must decline cognizance, declare its own lack of competence and set the time limit for the resumption of the action before the arbitrators pursuant to artt. 819-ter and 819-quater cod. proc. civ.