European Commission on behalf of the European Union signed the UN Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships (the "Beijing Convention“) at the UN Headquarters in New York on 14 March 2024. This convention, prepared by UNCITRAL aims to create a uniform legal regime for recognizing judicial sales of ships worldwide, enhancing legal predictability and certainty, while upholding local laws that regulate the process and conditions under which such sales grant clean title.

The EU's signing is in accordance with Article 18(1) of the Beijing Convention and in line with the Council Decision (EU) 2024/414 of 21 December 2023 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 7 December 2022 (OJ L 29.1.2024.). Thus, all EU Member States are now able to sign the Convention in their own right.

On this occasion, Belgium which currently holds the Presidency of the EU Council also signed the Convention.

The Convention is open for signature, ratification, accession or approval. It will enter into force 180 days after the date of deposit of the third instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. For the latest information on signatories and States parties, UNCITRAL's website offers up-to-date details (uncitral.un.org).

The CMI President, Dr Ann Fenech officially announced that the Maltese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in liaison with the CMI and UNCITRAL will organise a high level celebration in Malta on June 19, 2024 whereby the States will be able to sign the Convention. Namely, the Treaty Section of the UN has agreed that on this occasion and on a one off exceptional basis the Treaty book will be brought from the UN Headquarters in New York to Malta and all the States interested in signing the Convention will have the opportunity to do so. The letter of the CMI president is available here.