Judicial Control of Arbitral Awards in Italy

Abstract

Since antiquity, arbitration is well known in the Italian peninsula. Despite the fact that current Italian rules on arbitration are largely in line with those of other jurisdictions, as well as with international legal standards, Italy is generally perceived as a non-friendly arbitration country. This chapter will therefore delve into the historical and current general features of Italian arbitration law, to investigate the factors underlying the Italian way to arbitration, and in particular the attitude by Italian courts towards arbitral proceedings and awards. As this survey will make clear, Italy’s bad reputation in the field is most likely a remnant of the most recent past, and is nowadays in great part undeserved.

Keywords: Italian law, arbitration law, judicial control of arbitral awards

JEL Classification: K