A ship is among the most international of commercial assets. It may be owned, financed, mortgaged, arrested, sold and re-registered across different jurisdictions. Judicial sale is therefore a crucial enforcement mechanism in maritime commerce, but its value depends on one essential assurance: that the purchaser receives clean title, free from prior mortgages, registered charges and other charges against the ship.

For many years, that assurance has been uncertain in cross-border practice because judicial sale ordered or approved in one jurisdiction may not automatically be recognised by courts or registries elsewhere. This uncertainty exposed purchasers to re-arrest, increased risk for ship financiers, complicated registry practice, and depressed sale prices.

The United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships, commonly known as the ‘Beijing Convention’, entered into force on 17 February 2026. It aims to establish a harmonised regime for giving international effect to judicial sales that confer clean title, including registry action, deletion of pre-sale mortgages and registered charges, as well as protection against arrest for claims arising before the sale.

With Dr Anthony Neoh SC JP, Chairman of the Asian Academy of International Law, as moderator, this seminar brings together leading voices from the UNCITRAL, private practice, maritime finance and Hong Kong’s maritime administration to examine the Convention’s history, structure, impact and future prospects, and to consider its significance for Hong Kong, Chinese Mainland and international maritime commerce.
For more information, please refer to the AAIL Research Paper on the Convention, and the full text of The Convention with explanatory note prepared by the UNCITRAL Secretariat.