The United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships, known as the Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships, which enters into force on 17 February 2026, creates a harmonized and simplified system for recognizing judicial sales of ships across borders, helping ensure smoother international trade.
The Beijing Convention was developed by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2022 to address the problem of bona fide new owners and those financing the purchase of vessels who, for instance, find themselves dealing with previous creditors laying claim to the ship as security for a loan.
Under the Convention, a judicial sale conducted in one State Party is recognized by all other Parties. This grants the purchaser a “clean title,” free from prior debts or maritime claims, and gives new owners confidence that their ship will not be arrested later in a foreign port. To ensure transparency, each State where a sale occurs must issue a notice of judicial sale and, as appropriate, a certificate of judicial sale.
IMO plays a key role in implementation by serving as the repository for these instruments. They will be made publicly available through a dedicated module on the IMO’s Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS) platform, allowing all stakeholders to easily access harmonized information on notices and certificates of judicial sales.
Previously, judicial sales of ships were governed by domestic laws, which varied widely between States. This treaty therefore represents a significant modernization that will reduce risk and friction in vessel transactions. By reducing legal risks and removing uncertainty, it helps strengthen the ship market, supports maximum pricing in the market and facilitates smoother international trade.
The Convention applies when a judicial sale occurs in a State Party and the ship is physically within that State’s territory at the time of the sale. It will enter into force on 17 February for Barbados, El Salvador and Spain, which ratified it.
It has been signed by 33 States including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Gabon, Ghana, Grenada, Honduras, Italy, Kiribati, Liberia, Libya, Luxembourg, Malta, Panama, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the Syrian Arab Republic, the United Republic of Tanzania and the European Union.
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