Recent legislation passed by the South African Parliament has sharpened attention on the importance of mediation in the process of divorce. Without the understanding and cooperation of the legal profession, and of attorneys in particular, there appears to be small chance that this will be adequately recognised and brought to fruition. The research reported in this dissertation reflects the results of an investigation of Cape Town attorneys working in the field of divorce. Their attitudes to and knowledge of the concept of divorce mediation are reported, and the prospects of collaboration between a social work agency and the legal profession in divorce mediation have been analysed. It is clear that some collaboration is achievable between the social work and legal professions in this area. A methodology has been developed and validated that is generally applicable, and which could also be used for investigation of other professional groups. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Work)

My Diploma Thesis themed ``the Crisis centre for children and family in the South Bohemian Region within an intervention care{\crqq} has a research character. This thesis is divided into two large parts and consists of a theory and practice. The theoretical part is divided into five major chapters. The first one describes the Crisis centre for children and family in the South Bohemian Region. The second one is devoted to CAN syndrome. The third one deals with the most important legislation solving breaking of the basic children rights. In the fourth chapter I focus on family and the last one is devoted to divorces, serious child suits, solving of divorce suits in a Crisis centre. The practical part is research oriented. The aim of the thesis was to find out to what extent the intervention care is implemented in the work of the Crisis centre for children and family in the South Bohemian Region during a divorce period and after. In the first hypothesis I supposed that the clients who used the support to families in a difficult life situation in the Crisis centre for children and family in the South Bohemian Region managed to keep their role of parentage also after the divorce and finished conflicts and child manipulation. In the second hypothesis I supposed that clients managed to keep their role of parentage also after the divorce and finished conflicts and child manipulation regardless of being married, divorced or single and whether they care together for own or adopted child. To confirm or disconfirm the defined hypotheses I used the method of a questionnaire. The questionnaires were intended for employees of the Crisis centre for children and family, the clients of the Crisis centre for children and family in the South Bohemian Region and to public. I prepared a different type of questionnaire for each group. In total I handed out 115 questionnaires. All of them were returned to me. The return was 100%. The hypotheses are analysed at the end of the practical part. They were confirmed. In the conclusion of the thesis the knowledge based on the theoretical and practical parts are included. The last part includes annexes referring to the actual matters (e.g. an International co-operation within a child care, casuistry, the leaflet of the Crisis centre for children and family in the South Bohemian Region).

Magister Legum - LLM

The development of private divorce mediation appears to offer a friendly and informal alternative to the "hostile" adversarial divorce. A close analysis of its claims, however, shows them to be largely unproven. Urgent attention should therefore be given to the philosophical base of the movement. There is also a need for empirical research and for standardised training. Further unanswered questions relate to the part to be played by different professions, and to professional ethics. It is submitted that the appointment of Family Advocates is a step in the right direction but that the establishment of a full Family Court will best protect children's interests.

The aim of this thesis is to explain the role of mediation and its possibilities in dealing with questions connected to divorce, focusing on adjustment of child relations after a divorce. It also deals with the use of other methods for adjustment of child relations after divorce which should help with minimalizing negative impacts which are inevitably connected to divorce. It is looking for inspiration in our neighbouring countries: Germany, Austria, and Poland. This thesis is divided into two imaginary parts. The first part includes eight chapters and is dedicated to family and divorce mediation. In the second part, there is analysed adjustment of child care after divorce in the Czech legal system and there are discussed other methods than mediation which can be used for adjustment of child relations after a divorce. At the beginning of the first part, mediation is defined as alternative dispute resolution. After that, there is shortly mentioned its history and development in Europe and the Czech Republic. In the third chapter, family mediation is introduced and its elementary types (i.e. family mediation in a narrow sense and divorce mediation) in Czech terminology are defined while there is also mentioned mediation for the protection of children. This chapter also familiarizes us with specific...

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

Text in English / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Practical Theology, with specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

Text in English / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Practical Theology, with specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

Family mediation as a method of resolving family disputes Family disputes rank among the most mentally and emotionally demanding. Despite that they can be resolved in a cultivated manner through an intermediate. A mediator does not decide the dispute on behalf of the parties but he/she can help them to find their own solution acceptable for all the involved parties. The theoretical part of the thesis outlines the conflict as a subject matter of the mediation. It also describes mediation as a form of negotiation. One part of the thesis is dedicated to the person of the mediator and his/her role and competence in the mediation process. Further, the thesis deals with the process and forms of mediation. The theoretical part also contains a characterization of mediation in family conflicts and it describes objectives of family mediation, its advantages and limitations. It also describes the tasks of the mediator in a divorce procedure and the legal regulation of family mediation. The thesis also deals with children in parental legal disputes and with the importance of a family for a child. The objective of the practical part was to determine how mediation, as a method of resolving divorce disputes, is viewed by workers in charge of social and legal protection of children operating in the South Bohemian region and to determine to what extent the respective social workers are familiar with mediation. In order to obtain comprehensive information about the divorce mediation, we also approached mediators involved in this type of disputes. One of the objectives of the thesis was to determine how the mediators view divorce mediation in the South Bohemian region. Last but not least, I was interested in mutual cooperation between the two involved entities. The purpose of the conducted interviews was to find out whether there are any obstacles which prevent the development of divorce mediation and its more frequent use in the South Bohemian region. Main object, by having answered partial questions, was to describe the potencial of divorce mediation and its real usage in the South Bohemian region. In order to obtain the necessary data we used a qualitative research. As a technique to collect the qualitative data we used semi-structured interviews with open questions. The respondents {--} workers of social and legal protection of children - were asked previously defined circles of questions which focused on a mediation method in general, mediator´s working post, divorce mediation and questions focusing on cooperation with mediators specialized in divorce mediation. The first three circles of questions were identical also for the interviewed mediators. The latter were additionally asked questions about the introduction of divorce mediation and availability of the method. Interviews were recorded on a dictaphone and subsequently converted into a written form. Before the beginning of the interview each interviewed person was assured that the interview was anonymous and no names or workplaces were recorded. For the purposes of a qualitative research we approached seven workers of the authority in charge of social and legal protection of children at workplaces in Písek, České Budějovice, Strakonice and Milevsko. For the purposes of research we also interviewed four mediators dealing with family (divorce) mediation in the South Bohemian region. The results of the thesis may improve the awareness of the discussed issues. The thesis may also serve as a pilot project for a more extensive research.

M.A. (Social Work) / Divorce mediation is at this stage accessible mainly to those people married in terms of " the common law. One of the main reasons for this is that social workers lack the knowledge and skills needed to mediate custody during the dissolution of the customary marriage. This explorative-descriptive study aims to develop guidelines for social workers that can be used in resolving custody disputes between parties married in terms of the customary law. A qualitative approach using an inductive strategy was followed to achieve this aim. The research question was formulated as "what guidelines do social workers need to mediate custody during the dissolution of the customary memeqe": A literature review, focusing on the customary marriage and the dissolution of the customary marriage as well as the structure and process of divorce mediation, was firstly undertaken. Secondly a questionnaire was drawn up as part of the pre-test and completed by eight social workers working as family counsellors at the different Offices of the Family Advocate in the Republic of South Africa. The aim of this pre-test was to determine whether social workers are familiar 'with mediating custody during the dissolution of the customary marriage as well as to assess their needs in terms of knowledge and skills pertaining to the research problem. From the results of the pre-test as well as the literature study an unstructured interview schedule was compiled and used to guide a focus group interview with four respondents familiar with the principles of the customary union and the dissolution of the customary union. The purpose of the focus group interview was to identify guidelines social workers can use when mediating custody during the dissolution of the customary union. After having compared the results of the focus group interview with the relevant literature certain conclusions were drawn and recommendations made. In conclusion to this study guidelines were designed to be used by social workers when mediation custody during the dissolution of the customary marriage.