In ordinary proceedings commenced prior to the entry into force of Article 819-ter of the Code of Civil Procedure, a decision whereby the appellate court - reversing the first instance judgment - finds that the dispute before it falls within the jurisdiction of an arbitral tribunal does not constitute a ruling on jurisdiction but on the admissibility of the judicial action, and is therefore challengeable by appeal to the Court of Cassation and not by jurisdictional regulation proceedings.
The rules on challenging by jurisdictional regulation proceedings those judgments of the trial court affirming or denying their own jurisdiction over arbitration agreements, set forth in Article 819-ter of the Code of Civil Procedure, apply only in relation to judgments rendered with reference to arbitral proceedings commenced after 2 March 2006.
A decision whereby the first instance court, after having invited the parties to discuss specifically the question of validity and effectiveness of the arbitration clause and having acknowledged the parties' waiver of the evidentiary terms, affirms its own jurisdiction in terms of absolute and objective unambiguity by declaring the arbitration clause ineffective and proceeds with the examination of the merits, constitutes a final decision on jurisdiction susceptible to challenge by optional jurisdictional regulation proceedings or appeal, the failure to exercise which within the statutory time limits results in the ruling on jurisdiction becoming res judicata.