Taking the child’s best interests as a priority, the iCare project will develop and implement novel tools and activities to improve the situation of children in international child abduction (ICA) cases through strengthening judicial cooperation and incorporating International Family Mediation (IFM) as complementary to judicial proceedings. This will result in a child-friendly, cost-effective, and time-efficient judicial process in ICA cases.
International marriages are becoming more and more of a common occurrence in recent years, largely due to the free movement of workers that is one of the four pillars of the European single market, but also due to a higher percentage of migration flows that has been largely observed lately. Thе lack of information, coupled with the language barriers, cultural gaps and the lack of judicial cooperation, which in turn hinders and further complicates the judicial process, slowing down the processing of return applications and prolonging its timeframe, are only some of the issues in this area.
One of the main objectives of iCare is to increase the capacity of national Central Authorities designated by the relevant legislation, legal practitioners (family law judges and lawyers) and family mediators, improving cooperation and information exchange among them. To achieve this, iCare will increase their knowledge on the current legal and administrative framework, accelerate the judicial process through creating minimum EU common standards and raise their awareness of judicial cooperation and the application of IFM. The project will produce a detailed methodology, inclusive of a list of recommendations, and an e-Platform for Central Authorities, legal practitioners and family mediators, which will be both respecting the right of the child to information and increasing the knowledge of parents. An AI Chatbot will be created, serving as a first point of inquiry for children and parents. The project will also provide outputs for awareness-raising, facilitation of mutual learning and effective dissemination (e-Platform, international workshops, webinars, videos, newsletter and a Final Conference).
By implementing all the planned activities that have been mentioned, there will be a significant improvement of the current situation of children during ICA judicial proceedings.
This project is conducted by Law and Internet Foundation (Bulgaria), CERTH (Greece), Defence for Children International – DCI (Italy), MiKK e.V. International Mediation Centre for Family Conflict and Child Abduction – MiKK e.V. (Germany), and European Federation for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children AISBL – MCE (Belgium).
The project is implemented with the support of Justice Programme of the European Commission under Grant Agreement №101007436.
For more information, please visit the iCare project website.
Workshops and Seminars of the Project – FULLY BOOKED
24 March 2022: iCare Workshop (in German) – FULLY BOOKED
Workshop leaders:
Isabel Fernández de Castillejo, Lawyer, Mediator, Chair of the MiKK board
Shai Ordan, Attorney at Law, Mediator, Mediation Trainer, Vice Chair of the MiKK board
Speakers:
Ischtar Khalaf-Newsome & Magdalena Jańczuk, Co-CEOs of MiKK
Athanasios Mavropoulos, Centre for Research and Technology-Hellas, Greece
Christian Höhn, Federal Office of Justice, Central Authority, Germany
Julia Aleemi-Maier, Mediator, HR personnel development, MiKK Mediator
Bassem Chour, Mediator, Political Scientist, intercultural Family Mediator, MiKK Mediator
Felicia Guarini, Mediator, Communication counsultant, MiKK Mediator
Dr. Jonna Guttzeit, Judge, Court Pankow, Berlin, International Hague Liaison Judge (IHNJ), European Judicial Network Judge
Konstanze Welz, Mediator, Cross-Cultural Consultant, MiKK Mediator
Isabel Fernández de Castillejo, Lawyer, Mediator, Chair of the MiKK board
__________
6 May 2022: iCare Webinar on Child Abduction – FULLY BOOKED
“The Hague Child Abduction Convention and the Return Mechanism under the Brussels IIa- and Brussels IIb-Regulations.”
Judge Martina Erb-Klünemann, Family Judge, International Hague Liaison Judge (IHNJ), European Judicial Network Judge (EJN), Germany
This workshop is part of the EU iCare project.
More information and detailed programme can be found here.
__________
9 May 2022: iCare Webinar on Child Abduction – FULLY BOOKED
“The Voice of the Child Practice in International Child Abduction Cases. The Legal Framework & Best Practices of Hearing the Child.”
Judge Dr. Joanna Guttzeit, Family Judge, International Hague Liaison Judge (IHNJ), European Judicial Network Judge (EJN), Germany
Simona Aradei, Family Mediator, Guardian Ad Litem, Romania/Germany
Judge Anca Voiculescu, Family Judge, International Hague Liaison Judge (IHNJ), Romania
Dr. Lesley Allport, Family Mediator, Child Expert & Trainer, England
This workshop is part of the EU iCare project.
More information and detailed programme can be found here.
__________
10 May 2022: iCare Webinar on Child Abduction – FULLY BOOKED
“Making the Case for Specialized Cross-border Family Mediation in Child Abduction Cases: the Framework, Best Practices & Practical Experiences.”
Shai Ordan, Attorney at Law, Mediator, Israel/Germany
Ischtar Khalaf-Newsome, Head of Advisory Services & Co-CEO MiKK, Family Lawyer (England & Wales), Mediator, Germany
Dr. Jamie Walker, Educator, Mediator, Trainer BM®, USA/Germany
Christoph C. Paul, Lawyer and Notary (ret.), Mediator, Germany
This workshop is part of the EU iCare project.
More information and detailed programme can be found here
You will find up-to-date information on all trainings and webinars here.