Meeting of the Working Party on Mediation
On 12 May 2026, the Working Party on Cross-Border Family Mediation in the Context of the Malta Process (Working Party on Mediation) met online. The meeting had 25 registered participants, representing 13 HCCH Members and one Observer non-Member Contracting Party to the 1980 Child Abduction Convention, in addition to members of the Permanent Bureau of the HCCH.
During the meeting, participants from various jurisdictions shared their experiences with Central Contact Points for international family mediation. Participants heard presentations from experts representing Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Pakistan, and the United States of America. Participants also discussed the recognition and enforcement of mediated agreements arising from cross-border mediation in family matters including, more specifically, the recognition and enforcement of child support clauses within such agreements.
The Working Party on Mediation was established in 2009 to promote, in the context of the Malta Process, the development of mediation structures to help resolve cross-border family disputes concerning custody of, or contact with, children, including cases of unilateral removal of a child to another State, where the 1980 Child Abduction and 1996 Child Protection Conventions do not apply between the States concerned.
More information on the Working Party on Mediation and on the Malta Process is available on the HCCH website.