1STE NUMMER IHT ONDER ETL BANIER ROLT VAN DE PERS

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The Title of Professor of International Maritime Law Honoris Causa, was bestowed on IMLI Governor, Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Marko Pavliha (Head of Law Department, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Maritime Studies and Transportation, Slovenia; Member, IMLI Governing Board), during IMLI’s 34th Graduation Ceremony. Professor Pavliha has written numerous maritime law books and countless contributions to highly regarded journals including ETL.

Through his work at the Comité Maritime International, the Slovenian Maritime Law Association and other international fora, he has greatly contributed to the harmonization, progressive development and codification of international maritime law.

IMLI is the IMO International Maritime Law Institute, established in 1988 under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations. Its mission is to train specialists in maritime law. More on https://imli.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/IMLI-e-News-No.-43-2022-2023.pdf

At an impressive signing ceremony held at Beijing on 5 September 2023, the UN Convention on the International Effects of the Judicial Sale of Ships was signed by no less than 15 States. Initial signatories are China, Burkina Faso, Comoros, El Salvador, Kiribati, Grenada, Honduras, Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Switzerland and Syria. A series of EU member states is expected to accede to the Convention later this year once Brussels gives green light.

The UN Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships has been nearly two decades in the making, under the sponsorship of the Comité Maritime International (CMI), the federation of the world’s national maritime law associations that works toward improving and harmonising international maritime law. This is a very important step for international maritime law because, for the first time, we will have a convention which ensures that when a vessel is sold in a judicial sale free and unencumbered in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, that that title is given full effect all over the world.

ETL issued a special edition on the Beijing Convention containing not only the text of the Convention in all 6 authentic language versions, but also a commentary co-authored by experts who have actively contributed to the genesis of the Convention within UNCITRAL Working Group VI (Judicial Sale of Ships), as well as the Explanatory Note prepared by the UNCITRAL Secretariate and reflecting the deliberations of UNCITRAL Working Group VI (Judicial Sale of Ships). This‘bible’ on the Beijing Convention concludes with contributions by a number of professional organisations, representing amongst others the ship owning community, shipping financiers, flag states and the judiciary, expressing their support for the Convention and the need for States to sign and ratify it. Interested in a copy of this special edition? Enquiries at info@europeantransportlaw.com.

At its General Assembly on Thursday 8^th June 2023, the Belgian Maritime Law Association – Belgische Vereniging voor Zeerecht – Association Belge de Droit Maritime, elected Peter Laurijssen as its 14^th president since the Association’s founding in 1896.

The Belgian Maritime Law Association was one of the founding fathers of the Comité Maritime International (CMI) in 1897 and promotes the harmonisation and unification of international maritime law.

Peter is Legal Director at Compagnie Maritime Belge in Antwerp, Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers and Editor of European Transport Law.

On 7 December 2022 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships. The Convention is the culmination of work undertaken by the Comité Maritime International (CMI) and later on by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). Its aim is to provide harmonisation, legal certainty and fairness to all stakeholders in judicial sales of ships: traders, ship owners, shipping financiers and creditors alike. The signing ceremony of the Convention is scheduled to be held in Beijing later this year.

The booklet edited by ETL and the CMI contains not only the text of the Convention in all 6 authentic language versions, but also a commentary co-authored by experts who have actively contributed to the genesis of the Convention within UNCITRAL Working Group VI (Judicial Sale of Ships), as well as the Explanatory Note prepared by the UNCITRAL Secretariate and reflecting the deliberations of UNCITRAL Working Group VI (Judicial Sale of Ships). This ‘bible’ on the Beijing Convention concludes with contributions by a number of professional organisations, representing amongst others the ship owning community, shipping financiers, flag states and the judiciary, expressing their support for the Convention and the need for States to sign and ratify it.

ETL welcomed more than 300 visitors at its stand at the Antwerp Conference of the Comité Maritime International.

Pictured (from left to right): CMI President Christopher O. Davis, ETL Editorial Coordinator Ilse Busselen and ETL Chief Editor Peter Laurijssen