Italian civil proceedings are characterised by an excessive duration. In fact, the lack of qualified personnel and adequate facilities may cause problems and severe delays to the administration of Italian justice.          

Under this renowned circumstance, the Italian Legislator has regulated the civil process over the years. Italian Legislator has decided to strengthen ADRs (Alternative Dispute Resolution) schemes so that individuals may decide to use substantial justice instruments.

In order to encourage individuals to use “new” substantial instruments, the Legislator has firstly opted for the strengthening of the most popular and common ADRs instrument: the arbitration.

In the context of the Arbitration, litigators are able to address the dispute to one or three selected judges – arbiters – affirming to respect their final decision; whatever it will be. Therefore, the Arbitration outcome (lodo arbitrale) will be legally binding for all litigators and, when in compliance with all requirements provided by the law, it will be also enforceable. 

Arbitration provides several advantages. First of all, arbitration is faster than civil proceedings. Furthermore, litigators may choose their arbiters hiring professionals who are specialized on the subject-matter of the dispute; the outcome (lodo arbitrale) is private, confidential and, generally speaking, there are less legal remedies against it. Then, it appears harder to change a wrong decision released by the arbiters. However, especially in the context of business, a fast and reliable decision is what everyone is aiming for. Finally, the parties may decide the language and the seat of the proceeding. 

Italian arbitration scheme may have two different forms: ritual and non-ritual arbitration.

While the ritual arbitration is regulated by Civil Law, the non-ritual arbitration will be regulated by a set of rules and clauses decided between the parties. (In this last case, rules and clauses of the arbitration will usually be provided by the arbitrate association)

Within the context of arbitration, professional assistance is strongly recommended. In fact, one the biggest problem related to the arbitration is the interpretation of the arbitration clause; which is paramount to understand which form – ritual and non-ritual – the parties have chosen.

As a matter of fact, ritual and non-ritual arbitration are different.

Another Alternative Dispute Resolution scheme is the mediation, managed by a neutral third party with the purpose to facilitate the negotiation between the parties.
The mediator will set up a number of private meetings, in order to establish a proper dialogue between the parties and to reach tailored-made solutions.

We strongly recommend to seek legal assistance and set a tailored agreement according to your needs.

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