Registration
Adjudication is a two-stage process.
A creditor already holding a decree for payment or relevant document of debt may raise an action for adjudication in the Court of Session.
After the expiry of one year and a day, adjudication gives the adjudging creditor a preference over other creditors, apart from those holding prior or equal ranking securities.
As mentioned above, a decree or a document of debt does not authorise adjudication in itself. To use this diligence creditors must then apply to the Court of Session for a ’decree of adjudication’.
At the commencement of the Court of Session action, the creditor also usually registers a ’notice of summons of adjudication’ in the personal registers which serves as an inhibition against the debtor in respect of the property that the creditor wishes to pursue.
Once the decree of adjudication has been granted and extracted, it is registered in the property registers to complete the diligence.1 Abolition of Adjudication for Debt and the introduction of Land Attachment