The presence of an arbitration clause providing for international arbitration in the contract which is the subject matter of the proceedings raises a question of jurisdiction which may be raised by the court of its own motion at any stage of the proceedings pursuant to Article 37 of the Code of Civil Procedure, given that international arbitration does not constitute a mere alternative procedure, but rather a function substituting for the ordinary jurisdiction.
By virtue of the principle of Kompetenz-Kompetenz, it is for the arbitrators to decide on their own jurisdiction, so that any question relating to the validity of the arbitration clause or to the failure to comply with preliminary procedures must be raised and decided within the arbitration proceedings and not before the State court.
The ordinary court seised in the presence of an arbitration clause providing for international arbitration must declare its lack of jurisdiction in favour of the arbitral tribunal designated by the parties, and cannot proceed to adjudicate on the merits unless it appears that the claimant has previously commenced arbitration proceedings or has obtained an award excluding the jurisdiction of the arbitrators.