Dependent right

Dependent rights are rights in rem that follow the law to which they are attached. This means that the right cannot exist independently (unlike, for example, ownership, right of superficies or usufruct), but they are dependent on another right – usually a right of claim. This also means that the right cannot be transferred without that principal right, and it is nullified when the principal right is nullified.

Collateral security (pledge and mortgage) are dependent (recourse) rights: they exist only as long as the assignment of a debt by way of security for which the right is created exists. If the mortgage debt secured by a mortgage on a house is fully repaid, the right to collateral security no longer exists. A mortgagee (or a pledgee) cannot therefore transfer his right of recourse without the underlying claim been transferred.