Mediation promotes an EU rapprochement

The mediators from Montenegro in front of the IHK Frankfurt/Main
The mediators from Montenegro in front of the IHK Frankfurt/Main
Montenegro

“Business mediation” was the topic of a working visit to Frankfurt am Main from 14-17 November 2022, the Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ) and IRZ invited a group of Montenegrin mediators to attend. This project was supported by the Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution in Montenegro and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) Frankfurt am Main, which hosted the training courses. 

The participants work as instructors in mediation in their home country and the IHK in Frankfurt am Main also provides mediator training courses. The three-day working meeting therefore consisted of presentations, discussion rounds and roleplay sessions, led by the lawyer Prof Dr Renate Dendorfer-Ditges and lawyer and solicitor (England & Wales) Anke Beyer.

Combination of face-to-face and online elements

The face-to-face elements were supplemented by an online presence where the most important players in mediation in Germany were able to present their activities. The focus here was quality assurance and how to deal with difficult situations in mediation.

The legal-political dimension of the event

The participants therefore gained a comprehensive insight into mediation in Germany and many recommendations for their own practical work, which will help to implement Directive 2008/52/EC on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters in Montenegro. The event contributes to the effective resolution of legal disputes, which is also the subject of the cooperation agreement between the Montenegro Ministry of Justice, the founder of the Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution of Montenegro, and the Federal Ministry of Justice.

Introduction of the new IRZ educational film “Negotiation in civil proceedings”

Montenegro

On 23 June 2022, the IRZ introduced its new educational film, “How judges can accelerate civil proceedings through active procedural management and supporting settlements” at a two-day event on civil procedure law at the Judicial Training Centre in Montenegro.

The film gives judges a direct insight into German legal practice and therefore starts with a recording of an introduction to the facts of the case and the matters at issue and the subsequent successful settlement negotiations in a German Civil court.

The overlayed texts and translations of the pertinent Sections 138 and 278 of the German Civil Code during the film’s opening and closing credits round off the film’s informational content.

In the ensuing interviews, a Professor of Civil Law from Serbia as well as Macedonian and Montenegrin participants in earlier working visits to Germany share their personal impressions of German legal practice and its implementability in their own national legislation.

The discussion after the presentation of the film showed that films like this are an excellent means of stimulating intensive professional discussions.

Project support from the Foreign Office enables the IRZ educational film to be made. The following were all involved in the project: Cologne Regional Court, the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors, “Pavel Shatev” in North Macedonia and the centre for training judges and public prosecutors in Montenegro.

The IRZ will use the educational film in future events and has also made it available on its homepage at “Media centre – Training films”  in order to reach as large an audience as possible. The film is also available in Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian and Macedonian.

Publication of translations of the German StGB (German Criminal Code) into Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian

South Eastern Europe

A new translation of the German Criminal Code into Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian has been published by the IRZ, with an introduction written by the Research Director at the Institute for Eastern Law in Regensburg, Prof. Dr Dres. h.c. Friedrich-Christian Schroeder.

The book is part of a series of publications with translations of German laws into the languages of the partner states in South Eastern Europe, which are intended to strengthen the role of German law as an orientation law in legal transformation. The Minister of Justice of Northern Macedonia, Prof. Dr. Nikola Tupancheski, himself a professor of criminal law and a member of the local expert commission for the reform of the criminal code until he took office, recently confirmed the important role of the publication.

The translations are not only used to inform groups of experts working on draft reform laws, but are also used by scholars researching on comparative law, practitioners working across borders and students. They are also a popular tool for learning German legal terminology.