As part of the iCare Project (EU co-funded) MiKK organised and held 3 Free of Charge Webinars in May 2022!
(For more information on i-Care see iCare Project (project-icare.eu)
These interactive Webinars, conducted by experts and mediation addressed key topics surrounding international parental child abduction.
If you are interested in further webinars and events, please check out https://www.mikk-ev.de/en/news/events/
Webinar 1:
Friday, 6th May 2022
10:30 a.m. – 02:00 p.m. CET
(incl. 30 min. break)
The Hague Child Abduction Convention and The Return Mechanism Under the Brussels IIa- und Brussels IIb-Regulations.
The speaker will talk about the return proceedings under the 1980 Hague Convention and the conditions for ordering return by using examples taken from her daily work. She will also present the special rules that have to be taken into account in child abduction cases between EU-member states that are bound by the Brussels IIa- and the new Brussels IIb-Regulation (which will enter into force in August 2022) by explaining the scope of application and the differences between the two Regulations.
The Speaker:
Martina Erb-Klünemann
Family Judge, International Hague Liaison Judge (IHNJ), European Judicial Network Judge (EJN), Germany
Webinar 2:
Monday, 9th May 2022
02:00 p.m. – 05:30 p.m. CET
(incl. 30 min. break)
The Voice of the Child Practice in International Child Abduction Cases. The Legal Framework & Best Practices of hearing the child.
The webinar focusses on the Voice of the Child in International Child Abduction Proceedings and the different ways the child will be heard and by whom. Two International Hague Liaison Judges from two different EU States, a Guardian ad Litem and a Mediator with expertise in seeing children will all provide detailed insights into how they hear children and ensure the voice of the child is heard.
The Speakers
Dr. Joanna Guttzeit
Family Judge, International Hague Liaison Judge (IHNJ), European Judicial Network Judge (EJN), Germany
Anca Magda Voiculescu
Family Judge, Head of the IV th Civil Section at Bucharest Tribunal, International Hague Liaison Judge, (IHNJ), Romania
Simona Aradei
Mediator, guardian ad litem, trainer and consultant in communication and conflict resolution, Romania/Germany
Lesley Allport
Family Mediator, Child Expert & Trainer, England
Webinar 3:
Tuesday, 10th May 2022
10:30 a.m. – 02:00 p.m. CET
(incl. 30 min. break)
Making the Case for Specialized Cross-border Family (CBFM) Mediation in Child Abduction and Parental Responsibility Cases: The Framework, Best Practices & Practical Experiences.
This webinar will give an overview about the special characteristics of cross-border family mediation in international children matters including parental child abduction cases. It also features mediation experts who will provide insights into their practical work of mediating such complex, high-conflict cases sharing tips, anecdotes and take-aways from cases they mediated. The webinar will be interactive encouraging participants to ask questions and share their own experience.
The Speakers
Jamie Walker
Mediator and mediation trainer with the German Federal Mediation Association in 2000, US/Germany
Ischtar Khalaf-Newsome
Head of Advisory Services and Co-CEO of MiKK e.V., Cross-border Family Mediator, Family Lawyer, Trainer, Germany
Christoph C. Paul
Attorney, notary (rtd) and mediator in Berlin. He is co-founder and patron of MiKK e.V. and co-editor of the book Cross-Border Family Mediation, Germany
Shai Ordan
Attorney at Law, Mediator of commercial, technology and family disputes, usually with an international or cross-cultural aspect, Israel/Germany
For registration, please click here!
Further Information About The Speakers
Martina Erb-Klünemann
is a German family court judge. She worked as a judge in civil law and criminal law cases at various courts before her appointment as a family judge in 1996. In this capacity she is responsible for international family conflicts pending at Hamm District Court as the centralized court for the District of Hamm Court of Appeals. Martina Erb-Klünemann is a network judge in the European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters (EJN) and in the International Hague Network of Judges (IHNJ) as well as co-chair of the Association of International Family Judges (AIFJ). She publishes and runs worldwide training courses on cross-border family law and mediation in cross-border family conflicts.
Her main focus is on strengthening children’s rights in cross-border proceedings.
Dr Joanna Guttzeit
Dr Joanna Guttzeit is a judge in Berlin. She graduated from the Law Faculty of the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany and from the Adam-Mickiewicz-University in Poznań, Poland. She received her Ph.D. in Law from the Karl-Ruprecht-University in Heidelberg in Germany.
After working as a judge in Cologne for several years, she was seconded 2015-2017 to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Currently, Dr Guttzeit works at the Pankow/Weißensee Family Court in Berlin, where she is in charge of proceedings involving international cases (child abduction, maintenance etc). She is also a liaison judge within the International Hague Network of Judges (IHNJ) and the European Judicial Network in Civil and Commercial Matters (EJN).
Voiculescu Anca
Born in 1975; graduate of Faculty of Law – University of Bucharest (1997); judge since 1997, currently judge at the Bucharest Tribunal since 2004; postgraduate courses in private law and community law, Faculty of Law – University of Bucharest (1999 and 2006); postgraduate courses in human resources management, Faculty of Management – Bucharest Academy of Economic Sciences (2007); Master in European Union Law, Faculty of Law – Titu Maiorescu University of Bucharest (2007); Doctor of Laws in European Union Law, Faculty of Law – Nicolae Titulescu University of Bucharest (2012); judge appointed by Romania as member of the International Network of Judges for the 1980 Hague Convention on Civil Matters concerning the International Abduction of Minors from 2007; member of the Romanian Network in civil and commercial matters since 2014; trainer at the National School of Clerks in international judicial cooperation in civil matters, European Union law and civil procedural law from 2007 and 2008; trainer at the National Institute of Magistracy in family law since 2017; graduate of mediation courses organized by ADR Professional Trading SRL – Board of Mediation, Bucharest 2016; member of numerous examination commissions organized by the Superior Council of Magistracy, the National Institute of Magistracy and the National School of Clerks; author of publications in the field of European Union law, family law and the 1980 Hague Convention on Civil Matters concerning the International Abduction of Minors; national expert in international seminars and projects.
Simona Aradei-Odenkirchen
Simona is mediator, guardian ad litem, trainer and consultant in communication and conflict resolution. She was one of the pioneers of conflict resolution and mediation in Romania, developing since 1998 courses in mediation and negotiation, setting up the first Community Mediation Center in Romania and introducing conflict resolution in the justice system, labour relations and multicultural communities. She has an extensive experience in managing national and international projects related to conflict resolution and human rights. Since 2011, Simona is a family cross-border mediator, member of MiKK and Cross-Border Family Mediators Networks and gives workshops on family cross-border mediation. In Germany, she also works as a Guardian ad Litem, specialized in bi-national families’ cases.
Dr Lesley Allport
Lesley has a long career as a mediation practitioner spanning more than 30 years. Working initially as a family mediator in the 1980’s,
she has been involved in developing new areas of practice such as Special Educational Needs Mediation and Disab
ility Conciliation. She mediates conflicts within families, workplace disputes and education settings as well as having experience in community mediation and cross border child abduction cases. She delivers foundation mediation training in several different delivery areas. She has a particular interest in involving children as part of the mediation process and was a member of a national working group to promote best practice in this area; she contributed a chapter
to a recent publication edited by prominent mediation practitioners in the UK and she delivers training both nationally and internationally on the Voice of the Child in Mediation. She has a keen interest in developing professional standards. She chaired the Professional Standards Committee (PSC) of the College of Mediators in the UK and currently sits on the Standards Boards of both the Family Mediation Council and the Civil Mediation Council. Lesley’s academic interest in mediation began in 2005 with a European Masters’ Degree as part of which she developed a model of supervision specific to mediation. In 2016 she successfully completed her PhD with the Birmingham Law School examining the comparative growth of mediation. Her research included conversations with many mediators working in a variety of contexts and investigated core aspects of mediation practice operating across all sectors.
Dr Jamie Walker
Jamie Walker has been working in the field of adult education and nonviolence training since 1981. She became a certified mediator and mediation trainer with the German Federal Mediation Association in 2000.
Jamie taught education at the Technical University of Berlin for five years, ran the Mediationbüro Mitte for 10 years, developed and conducted professional mediation training courses as well as numerous projects and published widely in the fields of violence prevention and mediation in schools and communities as well as mediation and mediation training in cross-border family conflicts, including child abduction cases. She is co-founder of the German NGO MiKK e.V. International Mediation Centre for Family Conflict and Child Abduction and the Cross- Border Family Mediators Network.
After working as an international peace consultant for mediation and Do No Harm with the GIZ Civil Peace Service Program in Ethiopia from 2015 to 2017, Jamie acted as an educational consultant at the Academy for Conflict Transformation in Cologne, running 10-week Peace and Conflict courses for international experts 2017-2020. She has since relocated to Berlin and remains active as a mediator and mediation trainer.
Christoph C. Paul
Christoph C. Paul is an attorney, notary (rtd) and mediator in Berlin. He is co-founder and patron of MiKK e.V. International Mediation Centre for Family Conflict and Child Abduction and co-editor of Cross-Border Family Mediation, Paul, C.C. and Kiesewetter, S. (eds.), 2014. He holds the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for the implementation of cross-border mediation in conflicts involving parents and children and he received the Socrates Award for Mediation in 2010 for his longstanding work as a mediator and a “mediator of mediation” in institutional contexts.
Ischtar Khalaf-Newsome
is Head of Advisory Services and Co-CEO of MiKK e.V. – International Mediation Centre for Family Conflict and Child Abduction in Berlin. She is a cross-border family mediator, family lawyer and trainer. Prior to joining MiKK in 2014 she practiced family law for nine years with Dawson Cornwell, a London based family law firm specializing in international family law disputes & 1980 Hague child abduction cases. Before that, Ischtar worked as a case manager at the child abduction NGO Reunite International in London. She completed her Legal Studies in London at BPP University Law School. Ischtar holds a Master’s Degree (MA) in Near
& Middle Eastern Studies, Arabic and Islamic Law from SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London, as well a Master’s Degree in German and English & Teaching Qualification from the Freie Universität (FU) Berlin. Ischtar qualified as a mediator with the Family Mediators Association (FMA) in London and with Inmedio (Multi-Track Peace Mediation) in Berlin. She also trained in Child Inclusive Mediation (CIM) with the FMA. Ischtar is a practicing cross-border mediator and has provided diverse trainings in this field for MiKK both in Germany and internationally, including for external training institutions such as the Academy of European Law (ERA) & the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN). Ischtar has represented MiKK as a speaker at international conferences and evens, such as at the EU Legal Affairs Committee in Brussels and at the Malta Working Group Conference of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) in Amman, Jordan. She has developed content for mediation trainings, conceived and implemented EU co-financed projects for MiKK (i.e. AMICABLE). Ischtar has published on family law and mediation in e.g. The Family Law Journal, Spektrum der Mediation and Die (Wirtschafts)Mediation.
Shai Ordan
Shai Ordan is a mediator of commercial, technology and family disputes, usually with an international or cross-cultural aspect. Many of Shai’s cases involve conflicts short of litigation, such as the prevention, containment and mitigation of conflict at an early stage. Dividing his time between the Berlin and Tel-Aviv, Shai was born and raised in Israel, obtained an LL.B. with distinction from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and clerked for Justice E. Mazza at Israel’s Supreme Court before being admitted to the Israeli Bar Association. He worked internationally for a highly regarded law firm until in 2014 he co-founded Raz, Ordan, Law Offices in Berlin and Tel-Aviv. Shai frequently serves as a judge in international dispute resolution competitions. Shai serves as the Vice Chairperson of the Board of MiKK e.V. International Mediation Centre for Family Conflict and Child Abduction, an NGO engaged since more than a decade in assistance to families, professional training, research and development and the promotion of Cross-Border Family Mediation (CBFM) in the EU and worldwide.
Sabine Brieger
Judge and Family Judge in different courts in Berlin since 1982, since 2001 Family Judge in the Court of Pankow/Weißensee in Berlin. Since 2004 specialized Judge in international abduction cases (Hague Convention of 1980). Retired since October 2018. Network Judge in the European Judicial Network since 2006 and since June 2011 one of two German Network Judges in the International Hague Network of Judges. Mediator in Family affairs, since 2006. Workshops and lectures at national and international conferences, especially on binational direct judicial communication and the application of the Hague Convention of 1980 and the Brussells IIa Regulation, but also family law in general. Member of the Hague Expert’ s group „on cross-border recognition and enforcement in family matters“