History

The AVM was founded in 1997. It was instrumental in ensuring that mediation was included in the guidelines for the professional conduct of lawyers. These were the first guidelines that were ordered for professionals on the topic of mediation. They also serve as pointers for other law-related professions that deal with mediation.

The AVM was actively involved in the origin of the Civil Law Mediation Act. In 1999 it was invited by the relevant government departments to review the Marriage Law Amendment Act, the Lawyers’ Profession Amendment Act and the Child Law Amendment Act. As part of the working group of the Federal Ministry for Social Security, Generations and Consumer Protection, the AVM participated in preparing the directive on funded mediation (state-funded family mediation in accordance with the §39c Family Compensation Act).

The AVM is constantly working with the COOP-Mediation model, together with the ÖBVP, the Austrian Federal Association for Psychotherapy. Working together on these training courses has proved to be very successful - so far, 17 courses of COOP-Mediation training have been held across Austria.

The AVM is a founding member of the umbrella organization “Österreichisches Netzwerk Mediation” (Austrian Mediation Network - founded in 2003) and the European network ENCP (European Network for Collaborative Practice).

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