A contractual arbitration award (arbitrato irrituale), having a contractual nature insofar as it derives from the will of the parties as expressed through the conferral of a mandate to the arbitrators, may be challenged exclusively on the grounds of nullity or voidability of contracts provided for by the Civil Code, and notably for breach of mandatory rules pursuant to Article 1418 of the Civil Code or for defects of consent pursuant to Articles 1427 et seq. of the Civil Code, whilst any challenge based on errors of law or judgment committed by the arbitrators in the assessment of the matters submitted to their examination is precluded.
The error relevant for the purposes of annulment of a contractual arbitration award (arbitrato irrituale) is exclusively an error of fact, which arises when the will of the arbitrators has been formed on the basis of a distorted perception or a false representation of the reality and the factual elements submitted to their examination, whereas an error of judgment, which concerns the assessment of a reality whose elements have been accurately perceived, is not relevant.
The jurisdiction of the Specialised Sections for Business Matters does not exist merely because the dispute is formally attributable to corporate relationships, but is determined in relation to the subject matter of the dispute according to the criterion of the substantive relief sought (petitum sostanziale), identifiable by reference to the cause of action (causa petendi). It follows that a challenge to a contractual arbitration award (arbitrato irrituale) rendered in corporate matters does not fall within the jurisdiction of the aforementioned Specialised Sections where the cause of action is identifiable in defects of the contract of mandate and not in the corporate relationship.
The regulation of Article 808-ter of the Code of Civil Procedure, introduced by Legislative Decree No. 40/2006, does not apply to contractual arbitration awards (arbitrato irrituale) rendered pursuant to arbitration clauses stipulated prior to the entry into force of the said statutory provision.
In corporate arbitration governed by Legislative Decree No. 5/2003, the reference made by the statutory arbitration clause to the regulation of the same legislative decree entails the application of Article 36, according to which the arbitrators must decide in accordance with law, with the award being challengeable also pursuant to Article 829, paragraph 2, of the Code of Civil Procedure, when the subject matter of the proceedings consists of the validity of shareholders’ resolutions, regardless of any different provision in the arbitration clause concerning decision according to equity.