The existence of a compromissory clause for contractual arbitration (arbitrato irrituale) does not give rise to a question of jurisdiction or competence in the technical sense, but rather a question of admissibility of the claim, given that the contracting parties have chosen contractual resolution of the dispute by waiving judicial protection.
The compromissory clause for contractual arbitration (arbitrato irrituale) does not exclude the competence of the ordinary court to issue a decree for payment, but requires the court seized, in case of subsequent opposition based on the existence of the clause, to declare the nullity of the opposed decree, as the arbitrators do not have the power to render decisions ex parte.
The question of the validity or interpretation of the compromissory clause is to be considered as pertaining to the merits of the dispute and the related decision is characterised as a ruling on a preliminary question of merit.
The arbitration clause must be interpreted with reference to the literal text, the common intention of the parties and their overall conduct.