An arbitration clause referring to disputes arising from the interpretation and performance of the contract must be given a broad construction, encompassing every dispute whose causa petendi lies in the contractual relationship, including those relating to the payment of the consideration and to the verification of the proper performance of the obligations.
Contractual arbitration (arbitrato irrituale), notwithstanding its contractual nature, constitutes an expression of the parties’ intention to remove the dispute from the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts, with the consequence that the judicial claim becomes inadmissible where the plea of arbitration is duly raised.
The existence of an arbitration clause does not preclude the filing of an application for an order for payment, but once opposition proceedings have been commenced, a timely plea of arbitration entails the referral of the dispute to arbitral jurisdiction and the revocation of the contested order for payment.