The presence of an arbitration clause precludes recourse to preliminary technical assessment for the purposes of dispute resolution pursuant to Article 696-bis of the Code of Civil Procedure before the ordinary court, since Article 669-*quaterdecies* of the Code of Civil Procedure excludes the application of the provisions on general interim proceedings to preliminary investigation measures aimed at conciliation, unlike what is provided for preliminary technical assessment under Article 696 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
The procedure for preliminary technical assessment for conciliation purposes pursuant to Article 696-bis of the Code of Civil Procedure is not interim in nature but pursues objectives of reducing litigation similar to Alternative Dispute Resolution remedies, distinguishing it from the procedure under Article 696 of the Code of Civil Procedure which is instead directed at avoiding prejudice arising from the duration of proceedings, and therefore the regime established by Constitutional Court judgment n. 26/2010 for interim proceedings in the presence of arbitration does not apply.
The impossibility of bringing preliminary technical assessment for conciliation purposes pursuant to Article 696-bis of the Code of Civil Procedure where a dispute has been submitted to arbitrators does not violate Articles 3 and 24 of the Constitution, as there is no unreasonable disparity of treatment nor violation of the right of defence for those who have contractually chosen arbitration as an instrument for reducing litigation alternative to that governed by Article 696-bis of the Code of Civil Procedure.