CBFM^® English

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 with Dawson Cornwell, a London based family law firm specializing in international family law and child abduction cases. Before then, Ischtar was a case manager at the child abduction NGO Reunite International in London. She completed her Legal Studies at BPP University Law School, London. She holds a Master’s Degree (MA) in Near & Middle Eastern Studies, Arabic and Islamic Law (SOAS, School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London and an MA in German, English & Teacher Training from the Freie Universität (FU, Berlin). Ischtar qualified as a mediator with the Family Mediators Association (FMA, London) and with Inmedio (Multi-Track Peace Mediation, Berlin). She trained in Child Inclusive Mediation (FMA). She is a MiKK Cross-border Family Mediation (CBFM) Core Trainer (Berlin, Singapore) and has conceived and provided diverse workshops and trainings in this field (i.e. for Academy of European Law, ERA and the European Judicial Training Network, EJTN). She has co-developed and implemented EU co-financed projects for MiKK (AMICABLE, LEPCA II, Voice) and projects co-financed by the German Ministry of Justice (BMJ), presented at the EU Parliament, Legal Affairs Committee, the Malta Working Group Meetings and the Malta Process Conferences (Malta V and Malta IV) of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). Ischtar is Co-editor of Cross-border Family Mediation. International Parental Child Abduction, Custody and Access Cases (Paul, Kiesewetter, Khalaf-Newsome, 3rd updated and expanded edition, Wolfgang Metzner Publishing, Oct. 2023) in which she co-wrote the chapter on Mediation in Non-Hague Muslim countries and on CBFM Training. She is the author of the chapter on cross-border family mediation in Research Handbook on International Child Abduction. 1980 Hague Convention. Edward Elgar Family Law Series. (Freeman &Taylor eds., Edward Elgar Publishing, June 2023) and has published articles in The Family Law Journal, Spektrum der Mediation and Die (Wirtschafts)Mediation. Contact: ischtar.newsome@mikk-ev.org

Christoph C. Paul has been a lawyer and notary public (rtd) in the law firm Paul & Partner in Berlin since 1978. He has been working as a certified mediator and mediation trainer since 1995. He has launched and conducted numerous projects dealing with cross- border family mediation and has published widely in the fields of mediation, mostly in relation to family conflicts, family businesses, and inheritance. His current focus is on mediation and mediation training in cross-border family conflicts including child abduction cases in Europe, Japan, and Singapore. Christoph was Chair of the Board of the German NGO MiKK International Mediation Centre for Family Conflict and Child Abduction since its inception as an independent entity in 2008 until 2017. He currently serves as the inaugural Patron of MiKK. Christoph was honoured with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his work in implementing cross-border family mediation in conflicts involving parents and children. In 2010 he received the Socrates Award for Mediation in recognition of his lifelong work as a mediator and as a “mediator of mediation” in institutional contexts. Contact: cornelius.paul@yahoo.de

Konstanze Welz An interculturalist by birth, building bridges has always been at the heart of my work. I have spent nearly two decades connecting creative and economic forces between Germany and Asia for the German film industry. A severe illness became a turning point, leading me to a more personal mission—helping families navigate conflict across cultures and borders. Engaging with families allowed me to blend my professional expertise with the personal insights gained from my own family’s complex journey across three continents.

I trained as a transformative and cross-border family mediator. My professional training in trauma recovery coaching and traumatic stress studies has given me powerful insights into childhood trauma and how it shapes a person’s behavior later in life.

I split my time between my three countries – Germany, India and the US – dedicated to helping families like mine make the best possible choices for their children so that they can maintain an active relationship with both parents and stay connected beyond borders.

Contact: welz@crossculturalconsult.de

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. Because of her wide experience in cross-border family conflicts and her particular interest in international family law and the European peculiarities she is often asked to share her knowledge in Germany and abroad. She was a member of the working group on drafting the Hague Guide to Good Practice on art. 13 (1) (b) of the 1980 Hague Convention as well as of the European Judicial Network Working Group on Family Mediation in International Child Abduction Cases and chairperson of the German Working Group on Implementing the Mediation Process in 1980 Hague Convention Proceedings. Martina Erb-Kliinemann has led the annual German Judges’ Seminars on the Hague Convention on Child Abduction since 2008. She publishes on different aspects of international family law including commentaries on the 1980 Hague Convention and the Brussels IIb-Regulation and on implementing mediation into these proceedings. She is the co-author of a text book on international family law which she wrote together with the lawyer Niethammer-Jürgens. She runs worldwide courses in cross-border family law and training courses on the integration of mediation in addressing cross-border family conflicts. She consults States in improving their national law in order to deal in a more effective way with return proceedings under the 1980 Hague Convention. Her main focus is on strengthening the rights of children and supporting families in finding an amicable solution. Contact: martina.erb-kluenemann@ag-hamm.nrw.de

Dr. Lesley Allport has a long career in mediation spanning the last 36 years. Working initially as a family mediator in the 1980’s, she has been involved in developing new areas of practice, particularly in the context of Special Educational Needs and Disability Conciliation. She mediates in workplace disputes, has experience in community mediation and is trained to mediate in cross border family disputes and parental child abduction cases. Lesley began training mediators over 25 years ago. She delivers foundation courses in several contexts as well as training for supervisors and mediators working directly with children and general continuing professional development. She has a keen interest in developing professional standards and currently serves as a member on the Standards Boards of both the Family Mediation and the Civil Mediation Council in the UK. Lesley also has an academic interest in mediation. In 2005, she completed a European Master’s Degree in Mediation, as part of which she developed a model of supervision specific to mediation. In 2016, she successfully completed her Ph.D. at the Birmingham Law School where she was examining the comparative growth of mediation, identifying similarities and differences of practice across a number of contexts of mediation delivery. She has since published several articles and chapters in various journals and books, with a particular focus on Child Inclusive Mediation She also sits on the editorial board of a new journal “Mediation: Theory and Practice” published by the College of Mediators. Contact: lesley.allport@ladr.net