The requirement of ‘power to dispose’ in the Cape Town Convention and its protocols

Abstract

The concept of an ‘international interest’ is central to the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment. Once an international interest is created, it can be registered in the International Registry, established under the Convention, in which case it will be given priority over competing interests and enforced if the debtor defaults. One of the essential requirements for the constitution of an international interest is that a chargor, conditional seller, and lessor must have the ‘power to dispose’ of the interest held by them in the object. This article evaluates the basis and meaning of the power to dispose requirement under the Convention. It argues that power to dispose (where it arises without the right to dispose) is a matter governed by the Convention and constructs and proposes an internationally uniform concept of power to dispose under the Convention, autonomous from national law.