Floating charges in Scotland: lessons from a mixed legal system

The floating charge is a complicated form of security interest that is most associated with English law. However, in 1961 a statutory floating charge was introduced in Scotland, as a modified version of the English floating charge. Despite their popularity in practice, there have been considerable difficulties integrating floating charges into wider Scots law in subsequent decades. Scotland has a mixed legal system and its property law is principally Civilian. As such, it can be a useful system to study regarding the transmission of floating security from one type of system to another. The Scottish experience can provide some valuable lessons for others considering similar reforms. To help identify these lessons, this article examines various facets of floating charges in Scotland: concepts and terminology, creation of floating charges, “crystallisation”, the relationship with property law, ranking and enforcement