Originally from World Arbitration and Mediation Review

This article discusses the implementation of a global program for the institutionalization of international family mediation (“IFM”).  Political organizations along with a certain number of initiatives in the past decade began this dynamic institutionalization process that is currently steered by several stakeholder groups. This process has given rise to great international discussions that in turn have led to the process’s own worldwide expansion, which has occurred on a project-by-project basis.  The global project that is the theme of this article is one of the stakeholders of the process that was launched in 2010 and then developed by the International Social Service (Service Social International) (“ISS”)—a service that coordinates the work of a

worldwide professional network that supports families.

The ISS vigorously works toward the development and professionalization of the mediation field on all continents and hires experienced mediation practitioners from varied cultures and backgrounds.

The justification for the ISS is twofold: in the first place, it addresses the field’s needs—supporting the ever growing number of “mobile” families worldwide in the reorganization of their family life following a breakup that involves relocation abroad; and, on the other hand, an international political proposal—encouraging the use of family mediation to solve family-related disputes that involve several countries, several jurisdictions, and several cultures’ bodies of family law.