2. 4. I Germany In Germany, family mediation appeared in the mid-1980s in the south of Germany and it did not become well known in the north of Germany until the beginning of the 1990s. Divorce mediation and separation mediation are offered mainly by practitioners in private practices. However, youth offices and other social services also offer family mediation within the framework of counselling services for separation and divorce. xxxix[39] At the beginning of the 1990s, all mediators organised themselves around two mediation associations, the Bundesverband fur Mediation (BM) and the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft fur Familienmediation(BAFm). The BM has its roots in the peace movement and, therefore, is much more concerned with mediation in the broadest sense of social conflict. For this reason the focus of the association is not only family mediation, but also different areas of conflict such as school relations industrial relations involving young people, neighbourhood problems, environmental conflicts, etc. By contrast, the BaFm, founded in 1992 by a group of family mediators who had learnt the theoretical basis of mediation from the United States, was specifically aimed at family mediation. The expansion of their interests to other areas of conflict has taken place over the last few years. An essential difference between the two associations is their previous training is required. Owing to its origins and bh position regarding who can be trained as a mediator and what philosophical background, the BM does not require mediators to have any previous academic training and grants qualification as a mediator on the grounds of a person's practical experience. By contrast, the training offered by the baFm is aimed at lawyers and professionals in psychology or fields related to psychology. From the outset, this association has emphasised that family mediation ific field fo alists from different profe backgrounds who offer family mediation as a second professional activity. The Bundesrechts-anwaItskammer(Federal Chamber of Lawyers), however, does not seem to share this opinion, and considers mediation a clear legal counselling activity and therefore, a field of activity which should be exclusivel reserved for lawyers Over the years, the BAFM has developed a very high standard of training for its members as well as a code of practice which closely follows the European Recommendation of 1998. xl[40] In the meantime, both the code of practice and the professional training2.4.1 Germany In Germany, family mediation appeared in the mid-1980s in the south of Germany and it did not become well known in the north of Germany until the beginning of the 1990s. Divorce mediation and separation mediation are offered mainly by practitioners in private practices. However, youth offices and other social services also offer family mediation within the framework of counselling services for separation and divorce.xxxix[39] At the beginning of the 1990s, all mediators organised themselves around two mediation associations, the Bundesverband für Mediation (BM) and the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft für Familienmediation (BAFM). The BM has its roots in the peace movement and, therefore, is much more concerned with mediation in the broadest sense of social conflict. For this reason, the focus of the association is not only family mediation, but also different areas of conflict such as school relations, industrial relations involving young people, neighbourhood problems, environmental conflicts, etc. By contrast, the BAFM, founded in 1992 by a group of family mediators who had learnt the theoretical basis of mediation from the United States, was specifically aimed at family mediation. The expansion of their interests to other areas of conflict has taken place over the last few years. An essential difference between the two associations is their position regarding who can be trained as a mediator and what previous training is required. Owing to its origins and philosophical background, the BM does not require mediators to have any previous academic training and grants qualification as a mediator on the grounds of a person’s practical experience. By contrast, the training offered by the BAFM is aimed at lawyers and professionals in psychology or fields related to psychology. From the outset, this association has emphasised that family mediation is a specific field for specialists from different professional backgrounds who offer family mediation as a second professional activity. The Bundesrechts-anwaltskammer (Federal Chamber of Lawyers), however, does not seem to share this opinion, and considers mediation a clear legal counselling activity and, therefore, a field of activity which should be exclusively reserved for lawyers. Over the years, the BAFM has developed a very high standard of training for its members as well as a code of practice which closely follows the European Recommendation of 1998.xl[40] In the meantime, both the code of practice and the professional training