Train-the-Trainers Tool

Edited by the Project Teams from University of Verona (Italy), University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy), University of Minho (Portugal), Loránd Eötvös University (Hungary) and the Law Institute of Lithuania.

Click here to download the full Train-the-Trainers Tool.

Scroll down to read the online version of the Train-the-Trainers Tool.

Scroll down to find the Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian and Portuguese versions of the first sections.

In the “Scientific part”, click on the specific topics to download the respective presentations and case studies (in English language).

Contents
1.Introduction. – 2.Technical part. – 3.Scientific part. – 4.Other materials.

1. Introduction

1.1. The C.L.A.S.S.4EU Project

The present Train-the-Trainers Tool has been developed and finalised within the Project “C.L.A.S.S.4EU”, that means “4 EU training sessions on family law regulations for Cross-border Lawyers And Social Services”. The Project (no. JUST-JTRA-EJTR-AG-2016-763874) has been co-funded by the Justice Programme 2014-2020 of the European Union, and its activities have been carried out from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2019.
The Partnership consisted of:
  • the University of Verona (UNIVR, the Coordinator), scientific contact: Prof Maria Caterina Baruffi, and team members: Prof Caterina Fratea, Prof Francesca Ragno, Dr Diletta Danieli, Dr Cinzia Peraro;
  • the University of Milano-Bicocca (UNIMIB), scientific contact: Prof Costanza Honorati, and team members: Dr Francesca Balbi, Dr Sara Bernasconi, Giovanna Ricciardi, and Prof Carola Ricci (expert, University of Pavia);
  • the University of Minho, Braga (UMINHO), scientific contact: Prof Anabela Susana de Sousa Gonçalves, and team members: Prof Cristina Manuela Araújo Dias, Dr Diana Sofia Araújo Coutinho;
  • the Loránd Eötvös University, Budapest (ELTE), scientific contact: Prof Orsolya Szeibert, and team member: Dr Lilla Király;
  • the Law Institute of Lithuania (TEISE), scientific contact: Dr Agne Limante, and team member: Ana Pliner.
The Project’s main objectives were (a) identifying the difficulties met by targeted practitioners (lawyers and social service workers) in applying the EU family law Regulations, with particular regard to the national experiences; (b) improving the knowledge of such practitioners regarding EU Regulations and their interplay, as well as facilitating dialogue between practitioners from different countries and different backgrounds; (c) developing a common expertise and promoting training standards and methodologies according to the specificity of cross-border relations; (d) fostering EU net-building processes among the practitioners of different Member States.
The Project intended to focus on cross-border family disputes and the very sensitive aspects of the protection of children. Therefore, the main target groups of the training activities consisted, on the one hand, of lawyers and legal practitioners in general, and on the other hand, of social services workers who are involved in family proceedings, given that the protection of children’s rights in transnational disputes requires the support of a variety of experts from different disciplines and different countries.
The Project’s final aim was to create a guide for the implementation of further cross-border training sessions, that collects presentations, case studies and other useful materials on the application of EU family law Regulations.

1.2. The Train-the-Trainers Tool

As the main comprehensive and final ready-to-use training material, the Train-the-Trainers Tool is intended to provide a useful guide which collects all presentations and case studies that have been elaborated by the Project Teams for the purposes of delivering the cross-border training sessions held in the two-year period and are thus drafted in English language.
Its aim is to enable and support other training providers to train practitioners involved in cross-border family disputes, including both legal professionals and social service workers, through the employment of presentations (in power point format) and examples of practical cases prepared in relation to the various topics on family law matters covered by the activities carried out within the Project.
These materials are included in the present guide and are mainly based on the presentations and case studies used during the final transnational training sessions held in the second year of the Project, that have been reviewed taking into account all comments and feedback received after the sessions. In particular, the power point presentations were elaborated by the Partner member(s) who acted as trainer(s) within the training sessions on one or two topics. They proved to be useful as training materials insofar as they allowed the participants to better follow the presentations. Moreover, the same member(s) drafted the case study(ies) related to the topic addressed, that were aimed at providing trainees with practical experience and actually testing the application of the relevant legal instruments. In relation to each case study, the trainers prepared guidelines for training providers in order to support the examination and discussion in working groups and allow a better assessment of the relevant issues.
The training materials also include additional documentation, such as the glossary of legal terminology, that contains all notions as defined in the relevant legal tools, prepared in the different languages of the countries involved, and a list of bibliographic references, with selected articles or books edited by Partners’ members and recommended to trainees to support their study.
The present guide contains a description of the preliminary activities and training sessions delivered, under para. 2 “Technical part”, and the final materials in the following para. 3 “Scientific part”, that are complemented by Other materials included in para. 4.

2. Technical part

The Train-the-Trainers Tool represents the final deliverable of the Project, consisting in the main outcome of the implemented training activities.
Namely, the core activities planned during the Project’s lifetime aimed at delivering training sessions and creating the final materials were:
  • assessing the target groups’ training needs through the examination of relevant national case law;
  • preparing the training content and packages (presentations and case studies) for the transnational training sessions on different topics related to the EU family law Regulations;
  • preparing other useful materials (glossary of legal terminology, relevant legal instruments, bibliographic references), to be uploaded on the project website as ready-to-use materials;
  • evaluating the training contents and methodology on the basis of short-term evaluation questionnaires, as well as assessing the overall Project’s implementation and impact on the trainees’ daily professional activities through a long-term evaluation questionnaire;
  • managing the overall implementation of the Project through coordination meetings, monitoring reports and on-going dissemination.

2.1. Organisational activities

As to the practical arrangements related to the training sessions, each Partner contributed to the dissemination of the activities through their communication channels and networks, and in collaboration with the Selection Committee that was made of associations representatives of the target groups from the Partners’ countries, namely: AIJA (International Association of Young Lawyers), AIGA (Italian Association of Young Lawyers), AIAF (Italian Association of Family Lawyers), Lithuanian Bar Association, Lithuanian Child Rights and Adoption Service, ISS (International Social Service).
Each Partner was then in charge of the collection of applications and selection of the participants from the respective country, both when the training sessions were held in their country and abroad. For the selection procedure, an application form (see a template in para. 4) was elaborated and contained questions related to personal data, professional background and other information on knowledge and/or practical experience in European and international family law, as well as the level of knowledge of the English language.
The Partner in charge of the training session took care of the practical arrangements, organisation and logistics (venue, coffee and lunch breaks, information on accommodation and local transport means). Moreover, it prepared printed copies of the training packages (containing presentations, case studies and relevant legal instruments) and was responsible for the welcome information and registration of participants, who were requested to sign a register of attendance (see a template in para. 4).

2.2. Preparation of the training programme

Through the preliminary activity consisting in the analysis of national case law, the Project Teams were able to identify the training needs by determining the most significant issues related to the application of the EU family law Regulations and relevant international conventions. These issues reflected the national trends and have been discussed among the Partners, who then finalised a list of the matters to be deepened and dealt with during the training sessions, both during the presentations of the topics and the examination of case studies.
The preliminary assessment of training needs was useful for the determination of the training contents and their adjustment in light of the attending target groups. In this respect, due attention was paid not only to the legal aspects of the application of the EU rules, but also to the role of social service workers as practitioners who are involved in family disputes mainly concerning the protection of children.
With a view to testing the contents and the overall organisation of the training sessions, test-the-training sessions have been organised and addressed to a small number of participants in order to facilitate the exchange of views and the discussion. The main goal was indeed to verify the suitability of the programme and organisation of the sessions, as well as the interaction and involvement of attendees in the cross-border training sessions.
Comments and suggestions have been collected during the sessions and then through the short-term evaluation questionnaires, that consisted in questions concerning the organisational aspects of the training sessions, contents and programme, presentations, case studies, trainers, self-evaluation and benefit for the trainees (see a template in para. 4). The outcomes have been transferred in reports drafted by the Partner hosting the training sessions and in charge of their organisation, and then published on the Project website.
Based on those reports, Partners defined the contents of the final transnational training sessions targeting a higher number of trainees, thus allowing the participation of more practitioners and social service workers from the Partners’ countries.

2.3. Training activities

The training activities, that were implemented in the sessions held in the different Partners’ countries, envisaged, firstly, the presentations of the selected topics as lectures, where the relevant provisions of the legal instruments were explained, also on the basis of the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and practical issues were addressed with examples, and secondly, the analysis of the case studies, that allowed the trainees to apply the rules in practice.
With particular regard to the practice-oriented training, trainees have been divided into small working groups with a view to balancing their different nationality with a similar level of knowledge and/or familiarity with the application of the EU family law Regulations and other relevant international legal instruments. In this way, the exchange of views and experiences among professionals from different countries contributed to deepening the study and application of the provisions, as well as to creating synergies useful for their daily professional activities.
The impact, the overall ex post evaluation of and the follow-up to the training activities have been verified through the dissemination of a web-based long-term evaluation questionnaire, that contained questions related to the background of the participant, self-evaluation and benefit, general aspects of the transnational trainings, as well as the creation of a network among the Project members and trainees (see a template in para. 4).

3. Scientific part

The training materials produced within the Project cover EU family law Regulations and their interplay with the relevant international conventions.
The Project was indeed mainly aimed at addressing the application of Regulation No 2201/2003 in cross-border family disputes, both regarding parental responsibility and matrimonial matters, and its interplay with other Regulations dedicated to specific matters, such as Regulation No 1259/2010 on the law applicable to matrimonial matters, Regulation No 4/2009 on maintenance obligations, jointly with the 2007 Hague Protocol, Regulations No 2016/1103 and No 2016/1104 on matrimonial property regimes and property consequences of registered partnerships, as well as the 1980 Hague Convention on international child abduction and the 1996 Hague Convention on children protection measures.
Presentations and the respective case studies drafted in English to support cross-border training are collected and divided into the following main topics:
  • warming up on international family law and terminology,
  • parental responsibility,
  • international child abduction,
  • matrimonial matters,
  • maintenance obligations,
  • property regimes.

Other versions of the descriptive parts: Hungarian | Italian | Lithuanian | Portuguese

Warming up

drafted by Prof Maria Caterina Baruffi (UNIVR, mariacaterina.baruffi@univr.it)

Parental responsibility

drafted by Dr Lilla Király (ELTE, drkiralylilla71@gmail.com)

drafted by Prof Orsolya Szeibert (ELTE, szeibert@ajk.elte.hu)

drafted by Dr Diletta Danieli (UNIVR, diletta.danieli@univr.it) and Dr Cinzia Peraro (UNIVR, cinzia.peraro@univr.it)

drafted by Ana Pliner (TEISE, ana.pliner@gmail.com)

International child abduction

drafted by Prof Anabela Gonçalves (UMINHO, asgoncalves@direito.uminho.pt)

drafted by Dr Agne Limante (TEISE, agne.limante@gmail.com)

drafted by Prof Anabela Gonçalves (UMINHO, asgoncalves@direito.uminho.pt)

drafted by Prof Costanza Honorati (UNIMIB, costanza.honorati@unimib.it) and Dr Sara Bernasconi (UNIMIB, sara.bernasconi@unimib.it)

Matrimonial matters

drafted by Prof Maria Caterina Baruffi (UNIVR, mariacaterina.baruffi@univr.it), and Prof Costanza Honorati (UNIMIB, costanza.honorati@unimib.it) [respectively, case study 1 and case study 2]

drafted by Dr Lilla Király (ELTE, drkiralylilla71@gmail.com)

drafted by Dr Agne Limante (TEISE, agne.limante@gmail.com)

Maintenance obligations

drafted by Dr Diletta Danieli (UNIVR, diletta.danieli@univr.it) and Dr Cinzia Peraro (UNIVR, cinzia.peraro@univr.it)

drafted by Prof Anabela Gonçalves (UMINHO, asgoncalves@direito.uminho.pt)

drafted by Ana Pliner (TEISE, ana.pliner@gmail.com)

Property regimes

drafted by Prof Carola Ricci (expert, University of Pavia, carola.ricci@unipv.it)

drafted by Prof Orsolya Szeibert (ELTE, szeibert@ajk.elte.hu)

Published in November 2019.

The contents are the sole responsibility of the C.L.A.S.S.4EU Project Teams and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission.

Please, if you use or wish to use the Train-the-Trainers Tool, kindly inform us via mail to class4eu@ateneo.univr.it and feel free to send  any observations, comments and suggestions: you could be very helpful!

Thank you for your interest!

 

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