Spain ratifies the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships

On 21 August 2025, the Government of Spain deposited with the United Nations its instrument of ratification of the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships, adopted in Beijing in 2022. With this step, Spain becomes the third State to ratify the Convention, which will enter into force on 17 February 2026, in accordance with Article 21 of the instrument.

Spain had previously signed the Convention on 19 June 2024 in Malta, during the second signing ceremony jointly organised by UNCITRAL and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

The Convention, initially drafted at the proposal of the Comité Maritime International (CMI), was developed by Working Group VI of UNCITRAL: United Nations Commission on International Trade Law between 2019 and December 2022, when the text was adopted in New York by the United Nations General Assembly.

The Convention establishes a uniform international regime to ensure that judicial sales of ships conducted in a Contracting State produce effects recognised across jurisdictions. It grants the purchaser a “clean title”, as defined in the Convention, through the issuance of a Certificate of Judicial Sale. This certificate protects the vessel from subsequent arrests or claims extinguished by the sale. In addition, the Convention provides for the establishment of an international electronic registry of notices and certificates, administered by the IMO, thereby strengthening legal certainty and transparency in maritime commerce.

The implementation of this Convention will be of particular significance for the international maritime community, as it enhances the effectiveness and reliability of judicial enforcement procedures involving ships. By eliminating uncertainties and safeguarding the buyer’s position, the Convention contributes to achieving more accurate market valuations of ships, enabling creditors to recover their claims more efficiently, limiting the impact on the debtor shipowner to what is strictly necessary, and ultimately improving conditions for ship financing and investment.