Court of Roma, judgment of 9 September 2026, No. 12699

A clause referring to arbitration disputes relating to the construction, performance and termination of the contract must, in the absence of an express contrary intention, be construed as assigning to the arbitral competence all disputes concerning claims whose causa petendi lies in the contract to which the clause is annexed.
In contracts concluded between undertakings the oppressive character of an arbitration clause is not presumed but is to be assessed under art. 1341 cod. civ., the presumption laid down in favour of consumers being inapplicable.
A declaration by the parties that the content of the contract has been specifically negotiated and that artt. 1341 and 1342 cod. civ. are consequently inapplicable excludes that the contract was unilaterally drawn up and evidences their common intention to refer disputes to an arbitral tribunal in substitution for the ordinary courts.
The presence of an arbitration clause does not prevent a party from applying for and obtaining from the ordinary court an order for payment (decreto ingiuntivo) in respect of the debt arising out of the contract, without prejudice to the right of the party against whom it is issued to plead the arbitral competence in the opposition proceedings, with the consequent obligation, for the court hearing that opposition, to set aside the order for payment and refer the parties to the sole arbitrator or to the arbitral tribunal.