João Valadas Coriel, Managing Partner of VCA, is in Marrakech for the 70th Congress of the UIA – Union Internationale des Avocats, taking place from 28 October to 1 November 2026. On Saturday, 31 October, he will speak at a session on the international art trade.
The question on the table: how far should regulation go in a global market without undermining its economic viability?
About the congress
The UIA’s annual congress brings together lawyers from across jurisdictions for several days of working sessions, plenary debates and exchange between colleagues. This year’s programme is built around two main themes: major sporting events at the crossroads of human rights, the economy and sustainable development, and the role law (still) plays in international trade.
The congress is held at the Mövenpick Marrakech congress centre.
Art and the international sale of goods
The session brings art law and international trade law into the same conversation. It looks at how anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing rules, export controls on cultural property and the protection of endangered species affect cross-border art transactions. It also asks whether frameworks such as the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), OHADA uniform law or the US Uniform Commercial Code offer a suitable legal basis for art sales.
João speaks on the third panel, dedicated to the legal frameworks for art sales, addressing:
- the contractual clauses that are essential, or non-negotiable, in a cross-border art sale;
- how to draft them to meet compliance requirements without making the contract unworkable;
- the regulatory developments in Portugal that could reshape the international art trade.
For anyone buying, selling or holding a collection across borders, the contract is where protection begins. Getting the detail right is often what separates a smooth transaction from a dispute.
Our work in art law
We advise private clients, family offices, foundations and collectors on art and cultural property matters, from domestic and international transactions to tax planning and succession. Sessions like this keep us close to how other jurisdictions are approaching the same questions, a perspective we bring back to our clients.
Throughout the congress, João looks forward to reconnecting with colleagues from around the world and continuing the relationships that allow us to support clients wherever their interests take them.
