The United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships, also known as the Beijing Convention, entered into force today. This is the culmination of a process that started in 2007 when the Comité Maritime International (CMI) drew the shipping community’s attention to problems arising around the world from the failure in recognising the free and unencumbered title given to purchasers of vessels in judicial sales. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) picked up the gauntlet and turned the CMI’s Beijing draft aimed at solving cross-border recognition of judicial sale of ships into an international convention, which was adopted by a resolution of the United Nations on December 7 2022. The convention paves the way towards greater harmonisation and commercial certainty for purchasers where the judicial sale occurs in one jurisdiction and registration of that vessel is sought in another jurisdiction. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); });