Catholic and Secondary Securities: The Last Piece of the Relief Puzzle?

Creditors with postponed securities are protected by the doctrine of catholic and secondary securities. This doctrine shields a postponed creditor from prejudice caused by the decisions of a prior-ranking creditor who has a choice of properties from which to seek payment when exercising his security. Despite this apparently clear purpose, the doctrinal basis of catholic securities is obscure. This article addresses uncertainty regarding catholic securities in Scots law by examining its origins and doctrinal foundation. By grounding the doctrine in its historical context, and building on recent scholarship on a cautioner’s right of relief, this article argues that catholic securities is an indirect right of relief which shares the same doctrinal basis as all other indirect rights of relief, such as a cautioner’s right under the beneficium cedendarum actionum. Through this unified theory of indirect rights of relief, the doctrine underlying catholic securities is illuminated.