ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Marco Torsello, Federica Serrantoni, Lucia Pontremoli and Gregorio Baldoli, ArbLit
pursuant to Articles 34 and 35 of the Lugano Cnven - tion. The appeal is to be lodged with the competent Italian court of appeal and the appeal will be dealt with in accordance with Italian rules of civil procedure. The decision on the appeal can be appealed before the Italian Corte di Cassazione . Challenge of Non-EU Countries’ Judgments Under Italian Private International Law Act As mentioned in 3.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Foreign Judgments , pursuant to Article 67 of the Italian Private International Law Act, in the event of non-voluntary compliance with a judg - ment or opposition thereto, any interested party may apply to the judicial authority to obtain a decision to ascertain whether the requirements for recognition are met. That decision may be appealed by any interested party pursuant to Italian procedural rules. 4. Arbitral Awards 4.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Arbitral Awards As described in greater detail in 4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards , the legal framework for the enforcement of arbitral awards – including the relevant procedure – varies depending on whether the award to be enforced is domestic or foreign. Jurisdiction for enforcement is not based on the location of the award debtor’s assets. With regard to domestic awards, the competent court for exequatur proceedings is the court of first instance ( tribunale ) at the seat of arbitration. As regards foreign awards, the competent court for recognition and enforcement is the court of appeal ( corte d’appello ) of the place of the defendant’s domicile. If a defendant is not domiciled in Italy, the Rome Court of Appeal will have jurisdiction. It should be noted that, once an award has obtained the exequatur, the enforcement proceedings on the debtor’s assets are subject to a different set of rules governing enforcement in general (Articles 474 et seq of the CCP). Under this framework, the jurisdiction to oversee enforcement and to decide on oppositions
thereto – if any – is vested, as a rule, in the court of the place where the assets are located. 4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards As anticipated, different sets of rules apply to the enforcement of domestic and foreign awards. Domestic Awards The enforcement of domestic awards is governed by the CCP. Article 824-bis of the CCP provides that, as of the date of the last signature, a domestic award displays the same effects of a court judgment. Under Article 825 of the CCP, enforcement on the award debtor’s assets requires the prior filing by the winning party of an exequatur request with the court at the seat of arbitration. Foreign Awards The recognition and enforcement of foreign awards is governed by the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 10 June 1958 (the “New York Convention”) – which Italy ratified on 19 January 1968 – and supple - mented by the Geneva Convention on the Execution of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1927 and, with regard to procedural aspects, Articles 839 and 840 of the CCP. Since Italy did not make any of the reservations allowed by Article I(3) thereof, the New York Conven - tion also governs the recognition of awards dealing with non-commercial matters and awards made in the territory of a non-contracting state. As the New York Convention was directly incorporated in the Italian legal system by means of an execution order ( ordine esecutivo ), it applies directly in lieu of Articles 839 and 840 of the CCP, which remain appli - cable only for matters falling outside the scope of the New York Convention or when providing rules that are “more favourable” to the recognition and enforcement of a foreign award within the meaning of Article VII of the New York Convention. 4.3 Categories of Arbitral Awards Not Enforced Recognition of Foreign Awards An award that settles a dispute may be recognised and enforced regardless of whether it is partial (ie, it
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