Train-the-trainer seminar on business mediation

Presentation and discussion of the findings of a working group.
Presentation and discussion of the findings of a working group.
Montenegro

A train-the-trainer seminar on business mediation, funded by project support from the Federal Foreign Office, took place in Podgorica, Montenegro, from 3-5 November, organised by the IRZ and the Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution.

After welcoming speeches by the Permanent Representative of the German Ambassador, Ralf Reusch, who emphasised the importance of the IRZ's activities in Montenegro, the event was opened by the Director of the Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution, Marina Lutovac, and the responsible Project Area Manager of the IRZ, Dr. Stefan Pürner.

Prof. Dr. Renata Dendörfer Ditges and Simone Pöhlmann, both lawyers and certified mediators with many years of experience in meditation and mediator training, and authors of many specialist publications based on a practical case, then explained all five phases of the mediation process. Topics such as “Disruptions in mediation” and “Mediative language” were addressed in small work groups and using roleplay. This interactive approach received a particularly positive response from the participants.

Mediation is very important in Montenegro. This is evidenced not only by the founding of the Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution, which is supported by the European Union and the Council of Europe, but also because the Centre’s 2022 annual report stated that 201 mediators for civil law and 37 for criminal law have already received training, and several thousand mediation proceedings have taken place.

Judges make a working visit to Bonn

The participants of the working visit to Bonn am Rhein.
The participants of the working visit to Bonn am Rhein.
Montenegro

A working visit of a 20-person delegation of judges took place at the Bonn Regional Court from 24-28 September 2023 as part of the measures on judicial hearings funded by the Federal Foreign Office, which the IRZ organised in cooperation with the Training Centre for the Montenegrin Judiciary and Public Prosecutor's Office.

Dr. Frauke Bachler, General Director of the IRZ, introduced the participants on the first day of the event, and attendees then engaged in an extensive expert programme which, in addition to lectures on the basic principles of civil and criminal procedural law in Germany, also included two educational films produced by the IRZ itself on juvenile court proceedings in Germany and judicial support for settlements in civil proceedings. The films also featured contributions from experts from the IRZ's Southeast European partner states, and are available either dubbed or with subtitles in the visitors' own languages.

The IRZ also provided participants with extensive translations of German laws, including the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Criminal Code, and publications in the Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian languages that had been produced as part of other IRZ measures. The range of materials was completed by a translation in the respective national languages of the participants of the relevant German law, which was created in cooperation with the Association of German Legal Officers, with an expert introduction and literature on the official assessment of judges. This enabled the participants themselves to explore the topic in more depth. 

The programme was rounded off by visits to civil and criminal court hearings at the Bonn Regional Court and presentations and discussions with German colleagues.

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.