Originally from American Review of International Arbitration - ARIA

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I. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF COMPANY ARBITRATION

In Italy there has recently been an important reform of corporate law. One of the major innovations of this reform has been the introduction of special rules concerning civil litigation involving companies: Legislative Decree No. 5/2003.1 Disputes involving companies are normally tried before a judge. However, the reform also allows company litigation to be decided by arbitrators, and a form of arbitration proceedings specifically for companies has been established by Legislative Decree No. 5/2003.2 Before this reform there had been no specific regulation in Italy for company arbitration (arbitrato societario), and the express regulation has reduced legal uncertainty. The opportunity to choose between court proceedigs and arbitration creates a conflict between the two methods of resolving controversies. Standard litigation tends to last many years in Italy, and this inefficiency may have the effect of driving companies towards arbitration.