In German custody and contact cases, the court is to work toward agreement between the parties at every stage of the proceedings, unless this is against the child’s welfare. The section of the law is headed Hinwirken auf Einvernehmen, working toward agreement. If the parents agree on contact and the court approves it, the agreement becomes a gerichtlich gebilligter Vergleich, a settlement approved by the court.
The reform of 2009 drew heavily on the Cochemer Modell, a practice developed in Cochem. Publications from Cochem reported no contested decisions on custody and contact there between 1996 and 1999. A 2009 presentation hosted by the German Youth Institute notes that there is no valid evaluation of the Cochem model, only the court’s own publications.