By judgment filed on 11 June 2025, the Court of Appeal of Rome reaffirmed a well-established principle: namely, that a challenge for nullity of an arbitral award differs substantially from an ordinary appeal against a civil judgment, as the former is subject to specific and limited grounds and conditions.

In the case at hand, our client had prevailed in an arbitration concerning a procurement contract and the counterparty’s breach of contractual obligations.

Dissatisfied with the outcome, the opposing party brought an action before the Court of Appeal, structuring its challenge as if it were an ordinary appeal and alleging contradictions within the award—beyond the strict boundaries set forth under Article 829, paragraph 1, no. 11 of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure.

Upholding our specific objections, the Court of Appeal held that the arbitral award did not contain any contradiction between the various components of the dispositive part, nor between the reasoning and the operative provisions themselves.

Indeed, in arbitral annulment proceedings, internal inconsistencies within the reasoning do not constitute valid grounds for setting aside the award (see, inter alia, Supreme Court, 12 January 2021, no. 291; Supreme Court, order, 9 June 2021, no. 16077; Supreme Court, order, 5 February 2021, no. 2747; Supreme Court, 28 May 2014, no. 11895).

As a result, the opposing party’s claim was rejected, with full recognition of our client’s position.

(Court of Appeal of Rome, Judgment No. 4286/2025, published on 07/07/2025)