After decades of long waiting, draft laws, and government commissions on January 16, 2006, it was finally completed, with the publication in Official Gazette, the reform of bankruptcy law, first begun with Law No. 80 of 2005, limited to the institutes of bankruptcy revocatory action and composition with creditors, and completed with Legislative Decree No. 5 of January 9, 2006, bearing the "Organic reform of the discipline of bankruptcy proceedings," by which the delegation contained in Art. 1, paragraph 5 of the same Law No. 80 of May 14, 2005, which entrusted the government with the delicate task of proceeding with the revision of all bankruptcy procedures under Royal Decree No. 267 of 1942, with a view to rationalizing, modernizing and streamlining them, in order to protect the preservation of the enterprise. The legislative decree most recently approved by the government stipulates that the changes introduced will come into effect six months after publication in the Official Gazette and precisely July 16, 2006 except for some provisions, which came into effect immediately, from the day of publication. These are Articles 45, 46, 47, 151 and 152 of Legislative Decree No. 5 of January 9, 2006 on, respectively, correspondence of the bankrupt (Article 48 of Royal Decree No. 267 of March 16, 1942); residence and domicile (Article 49 of Royal Decree No. 267); public register (Art. 50 of Royal Decree No. 267 of March 16, 1942); tax transaction (Art. 3, Paragraph 3 of Decree Law 138/02, converted, with amendments, by Law 178/02); and voting rights (Art. 2, Paragraph 1, lett. a), of the Consolidated Text of Laws for the Regulation of Active Voting and for the Maintenance and Revision of Electoral Lists, referred to in Presidential Decree No. 223 of March 20, 1967; and Art. 3, Paragraph 1, lett. e), of Act No. 264 of August 8, 1991). In addition, Article 72-bis (Seller's bankruptcy and contracts for real estate to be built) of Royal Decree 267/1942, introduced by Article 11 of Legislative Decree No. 122 of June 20, 2005, is replaced.                 : Some headings of chapters and titles of Royal Decree 267/1942 were also changed. These changes are shown below and not in the comparison table for the sake of clarity of content in the changes introduced in the articles.

• - The heading of Title II, Chapter VI, of D. 267/ 1942 is replaced by the following: "Of the provisional exercise and liquidation. Of the active ".
• - The heading of Title II, Chapter IX, of D. 267/ 1942 is replaced by the following: "Of exoneration" .
• - The heading of Title II, Chapter XI, of D. 267/1942 is replaced by the following: "Of the assets intended for a specific affare“.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight, in a schematic and immediate manner, the most significant changes introduced in the old bankruptcy law, comparing the original text of each article with the one amended by Legislative Decree No. 5 of Jan. 9, 2006, and briefly illustrating the scope of the relevant reform, with the intention of providing a valid and useful and immediate tool for all those who in the very short span of six months will have to apply the new regulations.