Porto to host the 17th World Customs Law Meeting

The city of Porto succeeds Berlin, with the event scheduled for the 4th and 5th of September 2025, at the Alfândega Congress Centre.

The International Customs Law Academy (ICLA) has chosen Porto as the venue for the 17th World Customs Law Meeting, scheduled for 4 and 5 September 2025 at the Alfândega Congress Centre.

The meeting will bring together academics, researchers, members of international institutions, lawyers, economists, customs brokers and customs representatives, and has the Order of Official Customs Brokers (ODO) and the SPCA – Sociedade de Advogados as co-organisers.

For Andrés Rohde, President of the ICLA, an international non-profit association dedicated to researching, publishing, teaching and promoting the practice of customs law, ‘the current conditions of international trade require the application of security and control measures for the protection of citizens, environmental welfare and legitimate trade, in the monitoring of which customs rules are becoming increasingly important and customs have a greater role to play – issues that will be discussed at our next meeting’.

Co-organisers highlight the magnitude of the event

Marking a special moment in its history – its 80th anniversary in 2025 – the ODO and its President, Mário Jorge, highlight this very coincidence: ‘we couldn’t celebrate better by hosting such a prestigious worldwide event in our country – in the city of Porto and in a building as emblematic as the Alfândega do Porto – Museu dos Transportes, which is particularly symbolic for Customs Brokers’.

Mário Jorge also commented that ‘ODO is pleased to be associated with ICLA, given the importance of Customs Law, which is essential to understand in the complex dynamics of International Trade’.

According to José Rijo, a member of the ICLA and Partner of the SPCA, ‘bringing an event of the magnitude of the World Customs Law Meeting to Portugal will surely be a unique opportunity to meet with the world’s leading experts in this type of matter related to international trade’.

In the words of the lawyer, who is also a co-founding member of GreenLane – The Alliance of European Customs and Trade Law Firms, ‘the customs dimension of international trade operations plays a crucial role in the success of companies. In-depth knowledge of customs mechanisms and instruments is now of the utmost importance for increasing the competitiveness of companies competing for shares in global markets.’