Sûretés

Sûretés is the plural form of the French noun sûreté, used to refer to security or safety in general, and in legal contexts to describe guarantees that secure the performance of an obligation. In civil law, sûretés are instruments that give a creditor a remedy if a debtor fails to fulfill a commitment. They can limit risk in loans, leases, or other contracts by creating a promise of payment or an enforceable claim.

The term has two broad senses. In everyday language, sûreté denotes safety, protection, or public security, and appears in expressions such as police or security services in francophone regions. In legal doctrine, sûretés designates specific security interests or guarantees. French-speaking legal systems classify them mainly as sûretés personnelles (personal guarantees provided by a third party, such as a caution) and sûretés réelles (real guarantees attached to property, such as a mortgage—hypothèque, a pledge—gage, or a nantissement on movable assets). These mechanisms allow creditors to proceed against the guarantor or against the secured asset if the debtor defaults, and they influence priorities among creditors.

Etymology traces sûreté to the French word for safety, itself from Latin securitas. The concept is widespread in Francophone legal literature and remains central to contract law, banking, and commercial finance, where the appropriate sûreté chosen affects risk, enforcement procedures, and recourse for non-payment.