In this article, Alisdair MacPherson draws on his research of archival records to examine the correspondence between two great legal scholars of the twentieth century, Professor Max Rheinstein of the University of Chicago and Professor Sir T B Smith of the University of Edinburgh. MacPherson explores how Smith used a contact such as Rheinstein to develop a network of international scholars with whom he could collaborate, to whom he could promote the virtues of Scots law as a mixed legal system, and to whom he could extend invitations to visit Scotland.

This chapter examines the position(s) on floating security under Scots law prior to the introduction of the statutory floating charge; what may be referred to as the ‘pre-history’ of floating charges. After briefly considering the Roman law position, the chapter spans a period from early Scots law up to the mid-twentieth century. It explores the rejection of general express hypothecs, including floating security, at common law in Scotland as well as the emergence of the English floating charge and Scottish reactions to that development.

In recent decades, personal debt and insolvency law in Scotland have witnessed significant changes. The focus has often been on providing individual debtors with a greater degree of protection. This desire is likely to be even more apparent as we venture further into a period of inflationary pressures, rising living costs and increasing personal debt. It is therefore a suitable context in which to evaluate and reconsider aspects of the law of diligence and statutory debt solutions (including moratorium protection, sequestration, the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) and Protected Trust Deeds (PTDs)). 1 On 12 August 2022, the Scottish Government published a consultation paper containing a policy review response (the "Response") regarding these areas, 2 and on 6 September 2022 the First Minister announced the intention to introduce a Bankruptcy and Diligence Bill in the present parliamentary year, the aim of which "is to help and improve the lives of people who are struggling with debt". 3 This article considers the proposals and provides further suggestions. 4 * Lecturer in Commercial Law, University of Aberdeen. 1 For statistics regarding these debt solutions for 2021-2022, see Accountant in Bankruptcy, "About AiB", available at https://www.aib.gov.uk/about-aib/statistics-data/scottish-statutorydebt-solutions-statistics-annual-edition.

The law of registration of company charges is of considerable importance for corporate finance transactions throughout the UK. This article analyses the current regime that came into force on 6 April 2013. It examines various aspects of the regime, principally from a Scots law perspective, including what is meant by a “charge”, when charges are created, the extent to which unregistered charges are effective, and the rules regarding registration of charges over acquired property. The article demonstrates that, although the new regime is a general improvement on the previous one, there are a number of new and familiar problems concerning its applicability and operation in relation to Scots law. There are also some implications involving the uniformity of Scots law and English law in the area that arise from the fact that the regime is now UK-wide.

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