An arbitration clause contained in a public works contract, which provides either party with the option to decline arbitral jurisdiction within a specified period from receipt of the request for arbitration, does not preclude the commencement of ordinary court proceedings, given that such option to waive arbitral jurisdiction allows the parties to refer the dispute to the jurisdiction of the state court.
The inapplicability of the amicable settlement procedure provided for by Article 240 of Legislative Decree No. 163/2006 to contracts awarded to general contractors, pursuant to the same legislative provision which expressly excludes contracts falling under Part II, Title III, Chapter IV of the Public Contracts Code, renders judicial claims admissible without the requirement of prior recourse to such conciliation procedure.