Restructuring & Insolvency Law

(Basic) electronic signatures

See Article 25(1) of Retained Regulation (EU) 910/2014, the UK eIDAS Regulation The UK eIDAS Regulation does not expressly state what the legal effect of a basic electronic signature will be, other than providing that it cannot be denied legal effectiveness and admissibility in evidence solely because it is in electronic form or does not meet the requirements of qualified electronic signatures. However, UK courts will apply their existing approach to basic electronic signatures. This is the same as the EU eIDAS Regulation save that Article 25(3) of the EU eIDAS Regulation is not retained in the UK eIDAS Regulation because the UK is a third country and there is no recognition of qualified electronic signatures in the EU where they are certified by a UK qualified trust service provider. Basic/simple/standard electronic signatures are commonly used in transactions.

Action for recovery of possession of heritable property

Floating charge (or Bond and Floating Charge)

Scotland uses a stand-alone floating charge, rather than including a floating charge in a debenture. The Bond refers to the debt obligation for which the security is given, and if not provided for in the floating charge document there needs to be a separate personal bond document. Often, however, the floating charge is drafted to include a bond, and so referred to as a bond and floating charge. Unlike England, it is possible to have a floating charge over the same assets at the same time as a fixed charge (eg Standard Security). This means that where a borrower provides an English debenture but has assets in Scotland, the wording of an English debenture floating charge needs to be checked to make sure it is compliant with Scots law floating charges