International mediation center for family conflicts and child abduction

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MiKK e. V. - International Mediation Center for Family Conflicts and Child Abduction (formerly MiKK e.V. - Mediation in International Childhood Conflicts ) is a non-profit association that advises and mediates in cross-border child abductions as well as conflicts of rights and custody .

former logo of the MiKK e. V.

General information on mediation in international child conflicts

Starting position

In the course of globalization, there are more and more binational marriages and partnerships. As a result, international childhood and separation conflicts are also increasing, which have a very special potential for conflict compared to usual divorce or separation disputes. In addition to the usual disappointments and fears, there are very existential questions: In which country will we live? Is it also possible to exercise parenthood across national borders? And if so, who bears the costs? It is not uncommon for one parent to return to their home country and take the child with them without the other parent's permission. The following (particularly accelerated) court proceedings under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (HKC) only deal with the subject of return, but not with other questions relating to the future of the family. In particular, the focus is not on the best interests of the child . In this situation, the advantage of mediation is that the feelings and interests of the parents and especially the children are taken into account. In many cases an agreement is reached that goes far beyond resolving the current conflict situation.

Special features for the mediation process

International filiation mediation is different from the usual divorce or separation mediation. This is primarily due to the existential conflict situation described above and the associated increased potential for conflict. In addition, these mediations often take place under enormous time pressure, for example while one of the partners travels for a short time to the court hearing in the country to which the child was kidnapped. The narrow legal framework, paired with an often extremely different legal perception of the mediators, creates additional pressure on all parties.

For the course of the mediation this means: Usually several hours of meetings take place on several consecutive days. The technique of slowing down can therefore only be used to a limited extent. Individual meetings are necessary more often than usual in order to emotionally support the parties in their plight and to work out different solutions. It is not uncommon for the setting to be changed by bringing in interpreters .

The interculturality of the conflict is also reflected in the mediation. Different understandings of law and justice, family planning, child-rearing or the way of arguing, harbor a high risk of misunderstandings. It is therefore advisable to co-mediate in accordance with the principles of the Wroclaw Declaration on Binational Childhood Mediation from 2007. The mediators should, if possible, have the same national origin as the two parents. B. a German mediator and a French mediator (or vice versa) in a Franco-German kidnapping case. If possible, there should be a female and a male, as well as a mediator each from the psychological / educational and legal professional groups.

International mediation center for family conflicts and child abduction

history

Since 2002, the Federal Working Group for Family Mediation (BAFM) has run a network of mediators who, based on their international experience, in particular appropriate language skills (currently more than 30 languages), are used to settle international conflicts with children, both in the case of child abduction and social conflicts of binational parents who are particularly suitable and competent.

In order to set up an international network, the project launched by BAFM has since been involved in the development and further development of a Franco-German, Polish, British, American and Spanish mediation project and has cooperated closely with the English reunite project and the Dutch Centrum Internationale Kinderontvoering NL , Child Focus and the AIA Association for International Arbitration . It was significantly involved in the development and establishment of the German-American mediation project and in the initiation and maintenance of the German-Polish mediation project. However, the association acts as an intermediary in all cross-border child conflicts, regardless of the origin of the parents.

The international mediation project has been carried out in cooperation with the Bundesverband Mediation (BM) since 2007 . This collaboration resulted in the foundation of the non-profit association MiKK e. V. in Berlin. MiKK today has a network of over 150 mediators and has processed over 1350 cases and inquiries since 2012. After being renamed in 2016, the association bears the name MiKK eV - International Mediation Center for Family Conflicts and Child Abduction .

activities

The most important tasks and activities of the association include:

  • Placement of mediators worldwide
  • Advisory and information work on mediation in cross-border family conflicts
  • Organization and conducting of lectures and seminars on the subject of mediation in international child conflicts
  • From 2010 to 2012, MiKK developed a training concept for international family mediators and carried out several international trainings in cooperation with Child Focus (Belgium) and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, as well as with the support of the Dutch Center for International Child Abduction . The result is a Europe-wide network of specialized international family mediators.

Awards

On November 20, 2009 the first chairman of the association, lawyer and notary Christoph C. Paul, was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for his engagement in mediation work in international child conflicts, and on April 29, 2010 the Central Socrates Prize for Mediation. In 2012, the association was honored with several prizes: The Germany - Land of Ideas initiative selected MiKK as the winner in the “365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas” competition and MiKK e. V. is the winner of the Jugend WinWinno from the Promotion Association Mediation DACH and the Outstanding Leadership Award from the Association for Conflict Resolutions (ACR) International Section.

Cooperations

See also

literature

  • Carl, Eberhard / Copin, Jean-Pierre / Ripke, Lis: The German-French model project of professional mediation. A model for international cooperation in cross-border child conflicts . In: Kind-Prax Spezial 2004, pp. 25–28.
  • Carl Eberhard: Possibilities of reducing conflicts in HKÜ (international child abduction) proceedings . In: Family, Partnership and Law 3/2001, p. 211.
  • Christoph C. Paul / Sybille Kiesewetter: Mediation in international conflicts between children and children - legal principles, intercultural aspects, tools for mediators, involvement in the process, samples and work aids . Verlag CH Beck, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-58733-7 .
  • Christoph C. Paul / Sybille Kiesewetter: Cross-Border Family Mediation - International Parental Child Abduction, Custody and Access Cases . Verlag Wolfgang Metzner, Frankfurt / Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-9806207-1-0 .
  • Christoph C. Paul / Sybille Kiesewetter: Mediation across borders - Foreign and international legal norms / Cross-Border Mediation - Foreign and International Legal Provisions . Publishing house Wolfgang Metzner, Frankfurt / Berlin.
  • Paul, Christoph C. / Walker, Jamie: Family mediation in international childhood conflicts . In: Spektrum der Mediation 1/2007, pp. 44–47.
  • Walker, Jamie / Kiesewetter, Sybille: Mediation in international childhood conflicts - MiKK eV In: Spectrum of Mediation, 33/2009, pp. 43–44.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Walker, Jamie / Kiesewetter, Sybille: Mediation in international childhood conflicts - MiKK eV In: Spectrum of Mediation, 33/2009, p. 43.
  2. ^ Paul, Christoph C. / Walker, Jamie: Family mediation in international childhood conflicts In: Spectrum of Mediation 1/2007, p. 44.
  3. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Wroclaw Declaration (pdf)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mikk-ev.de
  4. ^ Paul, Christoph C. / Walker, Jamie: Family mediation in international childhood conflicts In: Spectrum of Mediation 1/2007, p. 44.
  5. ↑ Press release from the State of Berlin
  6. ↑ Prize Winner Land of Ideas 2012 ( Memento of the original from December 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.land-der-ideen.de
  7. ↑ Mediation Dach Jugend WinWinno 2012  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.mediation-dach.com  
  8. ↑ Outstanding Leadership Award 2012 ( Memento of the original from February 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 110 kB)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mikk-ev.de
  9. ↑ Cross-border mediation  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.vfst.de