A contractual expert determination is to be distinguished from contractual arbitration (arbitrato irrituale) in that in the former the parties refer to the third party, chosen for his particular technical expertise, not the resolution of a legal dispute but the formulation of a technical assessment that they undertake in advance to accept as an expression of their own determination, whereas in the latter the parties entrust the arbitrator with the task of settling disputes arising in relation to specified legal relationships by way of a contractual arrangement.
What characterises a contractual expert determination as contractual arbitration (arbitrato irrituale), rather than a fully atypical contractual arrangement, is the existence of a definitive waiver by the parties, by means of an express written provision under art. 808 ter, para. 1, of the Code of Civil Procedure, of the right to bring proceedings before the ordinary courts.