Article 1 COURT OF ARBITRATION AND ACTIVITY OF THE A.I.A. IN THE CARRYING OUT OF ARBITRAL PROCEEDINGS

　　1. A Court of Arbitration is established within the Italian Association for Arbitration (Associazione Italiana per l'Arbitrato - “A.I.A.”)。

　　The court does not settle disputes： it administers arbitration proceedings in conformity with these Rules.

　　Moreover, at the request of the parties, the Court, using these Rules as a model in establishing the regulations for the proceedings or using regulations established expressly for the purpose, shall administer arbitraggi, contractual expertises, attempts at conciliation and other proceedings having similar purposes, and shall carry out the other functions specified in these Rules.

　　2. At the request of the parties, the Court shall perform the functions of appointing authority for the application of the Rules of arbitration of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)。

　　When requested to do so, the Court may assist the parties and the arbitrator in commencing and conducting the proceedings in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules on the terms it shall establish in each case.

　　3. Where there exist strong reasons of expediency, the Court may decide to abstain from providing its assistance for the purposes mentioned above, without the need of giving its reasons therefor and without said action's affecting the validity of the agreements between the parties.

　　4. The court is made up of no fewer than three and no more than twelve members appointed by the A.I.A. Council which also appoints, among the Court's members, the Chairman and, where it considers it useful, one or more Vice-Chairmen. The members of the Court shall hold office for three years and may be reappointed. At the expiry of the term, each member shall remain in office for so long as it shall be necessary to complete the tasks assigned to the member on the basis of paragraph 5 below.

　　5. The tasks assigned to the Court in the Rules shall be carried out by the Chairman or by whoever acts in his stead or, upon decision of the Chairman, by the Court in plenary session with the participation of at least half of the members of the Court, or by one or several members of the Court.

　　6. The Court, in plenary session, shall decide by a vote of the majority of the members present. In the case of a draw vote, the vote of the Chairman or of whoever acts in his stead shall prevail.

　　7. Upon decision of the Chairman, the Court may decide by mail vote of the majority of its members. If the voting results in a draw, the Chairman's vote shall prevail.

　　8. Where outside the context of the A.I.A. Rules for Arbitration, the A.I.A. is requested to appoint an arbitrator or an expert or to carry out an activity complementary to arbitral proceedings, the Secretariat of the Court shall determine the fees taking into account the Schedule of arbitration costs.

　　Article 2 PERMANENT COMMITTEE FOR URGENT MEASURES

　　1. A Permanent Committee for urgent measures is established within the A.I.A. with the task of issuing orders in accordance with Article 19 hereof in the period before the setting up of [the] arbitral tribunal.

　　2. The Committee is made up of three members appointed by the A.I.A. Council which shall also appoint a Chairman from among the members.

　　The members of the Committee shall remain in office for three years and may be reappointed. At the expiry of the term, each member shall remain in office for so long as it shall be necessary to complete his tasks relative to the questions pending before the Committee.

　　3. The functions of the Committee can be carried out by its Chairman or by the person acting in his stead or, upon decision of the Chairman, by the Committee in plenary session or by one of its members. The Committee, in plenary session, shall decide by majority vote.

　　Article 3 SECRETARIAT OF THE COURT

　　The Secretariat, established at the headquarters of the A.I.A., shall be managed by a Secretary General. It shall assist the Court and the Permanent Committee in performing their functions and shall carry out the other tasks required in the application of these Rules.

　　Article 4 EFFECTS OF THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT

　　1. The Court shall provide its services for the carrying out of arbitration proceedings which have been requested on the basis of an arbitration agreement (arbitration clause or submission to arbitration) which refers to an A.I.A. arbitration or when the parties make a joint written request for an A.I.A. arbitration.

　　2. In agreeing to submit to an A.I.A. arbitration, the parties undertake to execute the decisions of the arbitrator and not to institute proceedings before the ordinary courts.

　　3. Where an arbitration agreement is clearly absent or invalid or where the A.I.A. lacks authority in respect thereof, the Court shall inform the parties that the arbitration in accordance with these Rules cannot take place.

　　4. Once the file has been transmitted to him, it is up to the arbitrator to decide whether he has jurisdiction or not.

　　Article 5 ABSENCE OF AN A.I.A. ARBITRATION AGREEMENT

　　If an agreement for arbitration does not exist between the parties or if the agreement does not refer to the A.I.A., the party with an interest in initiating an A.I.A. arbitration may make a request therefor in the request for arbitration, in accordance with the provisions of Article 6. If the acceptance of such a request together with the answer to the request for arbitration shall not reach the Secretariat within 60 days from the date on which the Secretariat shall have received the request, the Secretariat shall inform the parties that the A.I.A. arbitration cannot take place.

　　Article 6 REQUEST FOR ARBITRATION

　　1. Whoever wishes to have recourse to an A.I.A. arbitration shall submit to the Secretariat and to the other party its request together with the documents indicated below, according to the instructions and in the number of copies established in Article 9 and shall proceed, in accordance with the provisions of Article 11, to the payment of the registration fees established in the Schedule of arbitration costs.

　　2. The request shall contain：

　　(a) the names and addresses of the parties (in the case of a company or other organization： its name, type, registered office and legal representative);

　　(b) the text of the arbitration agreement, if it exists, or the invitation to the other party to accept an A.I.A. arbitration;

　　(c) the relevant particulars on the seat of the arbitration and on the number of arbitrators as well as the necessary information concerning the appointment of a single arbitrator or an arbitral tribunal in accordance with Article 12;

　　(d) the relevant information on the language of the arbitration, on the provisions applicable to the merits or the eventual request for a decision ex aequo et bono and on the modalities for the deliberation of the award;

　　(e) a statement of the facts and of the claims together with all documents useful to that end;

　　(f) an indication of the evidence requested;

　　(g) a list of the documents annexed;

　　(h) the indication of the details of the transmission of the request to the other party;

　　(i) an indication of the details of the payment of the registration fees indicated in Article 11;

　　(l) the name and address of the representative in the arbitral proceedings with an indication of his powers and the name and address of counsel, if appointed;

　　(m) the choice of domicile for the purpose of the arbitral proceedings.

　　Article 7 ANSWER TO THE REQUEST; COUNTERCLAIM AND REPLY

　　1. Except for the case at Article 5 above, the defendant has 30 days from the receipt of the request to communicate to the Secretariat and to the other party its answer, together with the documents attached in accordance with the instructions and in the number of copies provided for at Article 9.

　　2. The answer shall contain：

　　(a) the name and address of the defendant (in the case of a company or other organization： its name, type, registered office and legal representative);

　　(b) the relevant particulars on the seat of the arbitration and on the number of arbitrators as well as the necessary information concerning the appointment of a single arbitrator or of an arbitral tribunal in accordance with Article 12;

　　(c) the relevant information on the language of the arbitration, on the provisions applicable to the merits or the eventual request for a decision ex aequo et bono and on the modalities for the deliberation of the award;

　　(d) the statement of the defence together with all documents useful to that end;

　　(e) the possible counterclaim together with a statement of the facts and particulars of the remedies sought, together with any document useful to that end;

　　(f) an indication of the evidence requested;

　　(g) a list of the documents annexed;

　　(h) the indication of the details of the transmission of the answer to the other party;