KluwerArbitration ITA Arbitration Report, Volume No. XXIV, Issue No. 8 (August 2026)
August 22, 2026
The Institute of Transnational Arbitration (ITA), in collaboration with the ITA Board of Reporters, is happy to inform you that the latest ITA Arbitration Report was published: a free email subscription service available at KluwerArbitration.com delivering timely reports on awards, cases, legislation and current developments from over 60 countries and 12 institutions. To get your free subscription to the ITA Arbitration Report, click here.
The ITA Board of Reporters have reported on the following court decisions:
Alia O. Algazzar and Mohamed S. Abdel Wahab, Zulficar & Partners, ITA Reporters for Egypt
This landmark decision from the Court of Cassation draws a sharp boundary line between a tribunal's disregard of party autonomy (which is a ground for annulment) and a tribunal's misapplication of the law (which is insulated from judicial review).
Alia O. Algazzar and Mohamed S. Abdel Wahab, Zulficar & Partners, ITA Reporters for Egypt
This decision reinforces the negative effect of the arbitration agreement under the Egyptian Arbitration Law No. 27 of 1994 (the ‘Egyptian Arbitration Law’), emphasizing the mandatory obligation of state courts to decline jurisdiction when a valid arbitration clause is timely and properly invoked.
Alia O. Algazzar and Mohamed S. Abdel Wahab, Zulficar & Partners, ITA Reporters for Egypt
This decision highlights the strict approach maintained by the Egyptian Court of Cassation regarding the protection of a party’s right to challenge an arbitral award. By establishing that the attendance of a party-appointed arbitrator does not start the 90-day statutory limitation period, the Court emphasizes the strict separation between the arbitral tribunal's members and the parties to the dispute. It firmly protects the formal service requirements of Article 54(1) of the Egyptian Arbitration Law No. 27 of 1994 (the ‘Egyptian Arbitration Law’), as mandatory rules that cannot be circumvented by arguments of constructive knowledge or procedural convenience, which are applicable under the general rules of the Civil and Commercial Procedure Code.
Alia O. Algazzar and Mohamed S. Abdel Wahab, Zulficar & Partners, ITA Reporters for Egypt
This judgment emphasizes the robust boundaries of judicial intervention ((juge d'appui) within Egyptian arbitration practice, specifically regarding the mandate of state courts to assist - but not disrupt - the arbitral process.
Alia O. Algazzar and Mohamed S. Abdel Wahab, Zulficar & Partners, ITA Reporters for Egypt
This decision underscores the principles of good faith and implied waiver enshrined in Article 8 of the Egyptian Arbitration Law. It establishes that Egyptian courts will not permit litigants to tactically withhold objections regarding legal capacity merely to deploy them in the event of an unfavorable outcome in the arbitral proceeding. Moreover, by harmonizing the Egyptian Civil Code with the Companies Law, the Court of Cassation shields bona fide third parties, by enforcing a presumption that corporate executives (i.e. board of directors or managing directors/chairman) possess the ostensible authority to enter into binding arbitration agreements, thereby ensuring the security and predictability of commercial transactions involving Egyptian corporations.
Claimant v. Respondent, Court of Appeal of Florence, No. 238, 15 January 2026
Maria Beatrice Deli, DeliSasson, ITA Reporter for Italy
In international contracts concluded between commercial operators, an arbitration clause referring disputes to international arbitration is effective under the rules chosen by the parties and does not require the double signature provided for by Article 1341, second paragraph, of the Italian Civil Code, where such a formality is not prescribed by the applicable law. Where a valid arbitration agreement exists, the Italian court must decline jurisdiction.
Claimant v. Respondent, Court of Appeal of Rome, No. 259, 13 January 2026
Maria Beatrice Deli, DeliSasson, ITA Reporter for Italy
In opposition proceedings concerning the recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award under Articles 839 and 840 of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure, the Italian court's review is confined to ascertaining the grounds for refusal exhaustively laid down by law, to the exclusion of any review of the merits. Accordingly, the foreign arbitral tribunal's choice of procedural rules and its failure to apply mandatory provisions of the law of the seat, where such provisions do not express international public policy, do not preclude recognition of the award.
Maria Beatrice Deli, DeliSasson, ITA Reporter for Italy
The objection of irritual arbitration, like the objection of ritual arbitration, lies within the exclusive disposal of the party, who alone may decide whether to rely on it within the time-bar prescribed for strict-sense exceptions.
Maria Beatrice Deli, DeliSasson, ITA Reporter for Italy
An agreement to submit to irritual arbitration entails a waiver by the contracting parties of judicial protection. Such waiver precludes the application of the rules on procedural joinder under Article 40 of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure and, consequently, renders inadmissible the claim by which a party has sought, before the courts, the determination of that same dispute, even where connected with another claim falling within the jurisdiction of the court seized.
Maria Beatrice Deli, DeliSasson, ITA Reporter for Italy
In matters of corporate arbitration, an arbitration clause contained in the bylaws of a company incorporated under Italian law may locate the seat of the arbitration abroad, provided that the entire arbitral panel is appointed by a third party external to the company.
Maria Beatrice Deli, DeliSasson, ITA Reporter for Italy
A ‘contractual expert assessment’ clause - by which the parties refer to a third party, chosen for specific technical expertise, the ascertainment or evaluation of relevant facts or technical elements - constitutes an atypical contractual arrangement of merely obligatory nature, not irritual arbitration, unless its content is expressly referable to Article 808-ter of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure and contains a clear and unequivocal waiver of the parties' right to sue before the ordinary courts. Absent such waiver, the assessment does not derogate from state jurisdiction, but merely binds the parties to give weight to the expert's determination, if rendered.
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