Court of Isernia, judgment of 26 August 2026, No. 453

The reference of a dispute to arbitration does not raise a question of jurisdiction in the sense of giurisdizione, but constitutes a question of jurisdiction (competenza) pursuant to art. 819 ter cod. proc. civ.
A reference in the contractual clause to the appointment of a tribunal of three members, one designated by each party and the third by the first two or, failing that, by the President of the Court, unequivocally manifests the parties' intention to refer the decision of contractual disputes to arbitrators.
A clause making the bringing of contentious proceedings subject to a prior attempt at amicable settlement and referring to the arbitral tribunal disputes not settled by agreement must be construed as a whole together with the entire contractual arrangement and does not absolutely preclude a party from bringing proceedings.
The presence, in the same contract, of a clause identifying the competent forum does not entail the implied exclusion of the arbitration clause, since the designation of the State forum may retain effect for disputes not covered by the arbitration agreement or not capable of being referred to arbitration.
A claim, including a counterclaim, for payment of the consideration for works carried out within the same contractual relationship falls within the objective scope of the arbitration clause, with the consequent declaration that the ordinary court lacks jurisdiction and the setting aside of the order for payment.