Throughout the years, it has become almost commonplace among Italian as well as foreign commentators, that the Italian system of civil procedure introduced by the code (CPC) of 1940, effective since 1942, amended in 1950,1 is at best inefficient. In fact, although delay seems to characterize, to a greater or lesser extent, most contemporary legal systems, the level of delay reached in Italy has become intolerable,2 so as to amount to a real denial of justice, and to give rise to many complaints to the European Court of Human Rights for vio-