ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Luciano Castelli, Gian Paolo Coppola, Claudia Bosco and Matteo Creuso, LCA Studio Legale
• verdict of the arbitral tribunal; and • signatures of the arbitrators and award date. The majority of arbitrators must sign the award, explicitly stating if any other arbitrators were unable or unwilling to do so. The award becomes effective upon the final signature and must be delivered to both parties within ten days. In the absence of a specific timeframe established by the parties, the arbitrators have 240 days to issue the award, starting from the constitution of the arbitral tribunal. This period may be automatically extended by another 180 days under certain circumstances, including: • collection of testimony; • appointment of an expert by the tribunal; • issuance of a partial or provisional award; and • replacement of an arbitrator. The time limit may also be extended by order of the court, at the request of the arbitrator or one or all par - ties, or by agreement. 10.2 Types of Remedies If the matter is arbitrable, the arbitrators may grant any remedy provided by law. Although arbitral tribunals in Italy generally have broad discretion in determining the appropriate remedy under the applicable law, there are some limitations. In this regard, all awards must conform to Italian pub - lic policy. This means that the award cannot contain elements that substantially contradict Italian legal principles. Awards that violate public policy risk being set aside by the competent Court of Appeal. Punitive damages, for instance, may be considered compatible with Italian public policy on the basis of past rulings of the Italian Supreme Court ( Corte di cas- sazione civile , Sezioni Unite , judgment No 16601 of 5 July 2017). 10.3 Recovering Interest and Legal Costs As long as the matter is arbitrable, arbitrators may award interest in accordance with the applicable law.
The allocation of legal costs, as a procedural matter, is governed by the arbitration agreement. The agree - ment may refer to specific institutional rules govern - ing the allocation of legal fees and the costs of the arbitration. If the arbitration agreement is silent on the subject and both parties seek reimbursement of legal fees, it is generally considered that they have implicitly agreed on the allocation of costs. However, if neither party seeks an award for legal fees, the court cannot award them because they have not been requested. In most cases, arbitral tribunals follow a proportional approach. The allocation of costs reflects the rela - tive success of the parties on the merits of the case. Sometimes other factors, such as the conduct of the parties during the proceedings, may also be consid - ered when determining the final allocation of costs. In Italy, challenging an arbitration award on the merits is uncommon. The parties generally have to opt in to appeal on the merits, but this is rare. Instead, challenges are mainly limited to the formal grounds specified in Article 829 of the CCP, known as “grounds for nullity”. These grounds include: • invalid arbitration agreement – the agreement out - lining the arbitration process is not legally valid; • improper appointment of arbitrators – the arbitra - tors were not appointed according to established procedures; • lack of capacity of arbitrators – the arbitrators did not have the necessary legal qualifications to hold the position; • overstepping the scope – the award addressed issues beyond the scope of the originally agreed arbitration; • lack of components of the award – the award lacks essential elements such as the grounds, rulings, or signatures of the arbitrators; • violation of timeframe – the award was issued after the deadline had expired; 11. Review of an Award 11.1 Grounds for Appeal
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