For information only – not an official document
UNIS/L/397
22 June 2026
VIENNA, 22 June (UN Information Service) – The European Union has approved the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships, also known as the “Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships”. The approval was effected on 18 June 2026 and, in doing so, the European Union reiterated the declaration pursuant to article 18(2) of the Convention that it made when signing the Convention. The Convention will enter into force for the European Union on 15 December 2026.
The Convention was prepared by UNCITRAL and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 7 December 2022. It establishes a harmonized regime for giving international effect to judicial sales, while preserving domestic law governing the procedure of judicial sales and the circumstances in which judicial sales confer clean title. By ensuring legal certainty as to the title that the purchaser acquires in the ship as it navigates internationally, the Convention is designed to maximize the price that the ship is able to attract in the market and the proceeds available for distribution among creditors, and to promote international trade.
The Convention is open for signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession by States and regional economic integration organizations. Information on the Convention and its status is available on the UNCITRAL website.
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The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law. Its mandate is to remove legal obstacles to international trade by progressively modernizing and harmonizing trade law. It prepares legal texts in a number of key areas such as international commercial dispute settlement, electronic commerce, insolvency, international payments, sale of goods, transport law, procurement and infrastructure development.
UNCITRAL also provides technical assistance to law reform activities, including assisting Member States to review and assess their law reform needs and to draft the legislation required to implement UNCITRAL texts. The UNCITRAL secretariat is located in Vienna, Austria. For more information, visit: uncitral.un.org.
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For information, please contact:
Neale Bergman
Senior Legal Officer
UNCITRAL secretariat
Email: neale.bergman[at]un.org
The European Union has approved the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships, also known as the “Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships”
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