Focusing solely on the UN Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships 2023 (the ‘Beijing Convention’), readers of this unique book will gain a full and detailed understanding of the way the Convention functions, its areas of difficulty and ambiguity, and how it relates to present law in common law and civilian jurisdictions, as well as to other related international conventions. It will directly enable States to be better informed in deciding whether or not to adopt the Convention.

Providing a full and detailed account of why the Beijing Convention was considered desirable, and the development of the Convention within the CMI and UNCITRAL, this edited book conveys to readers the philosophy and core principles of the Convention. It presents a detailed, expert analysis of the precise provisions of the Convention and an understanding of how the Convention relates to existing maritime jurisdictional traditions, namely Admiralty in the common law, ship arrest in civilian jurisdictions, and Admiralty in the USA. It identifies potential problem areas and offers a critical analysis of the role of the Convention in the face of growing digitalization and specialist platforms for the sale and purchase of ships. Readers will benefit from a reflective evaluation of the merits and deficiencies of the Convention.

As the Beijing Convention is currently a highly relevant topic to the international legal maritime world in all its aspects, governments, lawyers, academic institutions, students and the shipping industry generally will be directly interested in the content of this book. The subject is likely to retain its global relevance for many years as individual States consider whether they should ratify the Convention.

D. Rhidian Thomas is Professor Emeritus of Maritime Law and Founder Director of the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law at Swansea University, Wales, UK. He previously held academic positions at the University of Wales, Cardiff, and the University of East Anglia; and visiting positions at universities in Europe, Scandinavia, Far East and North America. He held the Francqui Chair at the University of Leuven in 2010/2011 and is the recipient of an honorary doctorate of law from the University of Gothenburg.

He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of International Maritime Law and member of the editorial boards of Shipping and Trade Law and Comparative Maritime Law. He is a member of the Comite Maritime International (and the International Standing Committee on Marine Insurance Law), the British Maritime Law Association, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and an honorary member of the Croatian Maritime Law Association.

His principal teaching and research interests are in the fields of admiralty jurisdiction and practice, maritime and shipping law, marine insurance law, international trade law and commercial dispute resolution. He has written, edited and contributed to many books on a range of maritime and admiralty topics and commercial arbitration, and published widely in academic and professional journals.

He is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars and also acts as an expert witness and consultant.