Training module on parental responsibility and child abduction
Parental responsibility in a cross-border context, including child abduction
This self-standing training module on ‘Parental responsibility in a cross-border context, including child abduction’ developed by ERA on behalf of the European Commission is addressed to training institutes, networks of legal practitioners, trainers and end users of European Union Member States wishing to organise training sessions in the area of EU family law and, more concretely, on parental responsibility in a cross-border context.
In today's world, where people are increasingly mobile, the number of families made up of citizens of different EU countries, or of EU citizens and third-country nationals, is increasing – there are currently around 16 million international couples in the EU. The greater use of the rights of free movement of persons, goods and services results in an increase in the potential number of cross-border disputes and makes the provision of training in European family law progressively more relevant.
The training module is structured as a ‘training package’ and includes information on the programme and methodology to be employed and the training material necessary for setting up a workshop on parental responsibility in a cross-border context. It covers the EU acquis in this area of law and illustrates how this has been applied in the Member States.
Scope of the training module
More concretely, the training material included in the training module covers the EU acquis on the following thematic units:- Cross-border parental responsibility: rules on jurisdiction, provisional measures and applicable law, recognition and enforcement of judgments, including special rules on access rights and on cross-border child abduction within the EU,
- Procedure in family matters: hearing of the child and taking of evidence, cross-border communication between courts and between central authorities,
- Preliminary ruling procedure in family matters
- Family mediation
The varying training methods that can be used in future workshops based on this material are presented in the module, together with recommendations on how and in which part of the training they may be best employed. Face-to-face presentations can be combined with practical exercises requiring the active contribution of participants, IT-supported learning, allowing participants to familiarise themselves with available e-justice tools and interactive sessions promoting the exchange of good practice and experience.
On this webpage, you may find the e-learning course on parental responsibility in a cross-border context, including child abduction in English, Italian, Greek, German, French and Spanish, the Guide to this training module (materials for trainers) in English, Italian, Greek, German, French and Spanish, and information on the already implemented workshops.
