This article
reassesses the reach of the 2022 Cartabia Reform on Italian arbitration. It
focuses on three levers: (1) arbitrators’ interim measures when conferred by
the parties (Article 818 c.p.c.) and their enforcement through state courts;
(2) corporate arbitration; and (3) jurisdictional objections and the codified
competence-competence rule (Article 817 c.p.c.). Using comparative sources and
recent case law, the article argues that what affects outcomes is not an
inherent ‘structural asymmetry’ but coordination frictions – namely: the need
for judicial intervention to give effect to non-pecuniary orders; heterogeneous
procedural pathways across fora and rules; and contact points with EU law
(public-policy review, intra-EU enforcement constraints, and state immunity).
The reform does not create a self-contained regime; it yields a court-supported
model whose performance turns on how legislators, courts, and arbitral
institutions implement the new powers (e.g., by drafting clauses that grant
interim powers, streamlining enforcement protocols, and clarifying court –
arbitration interfaces). The conclusion sets out targeted proposals to foster a
more coherent and predictably enforceable arbitral order.