News

18 November 2024

The Law and Society Institute at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin recently hosted the launch of the newly published book Leading Works in Law and Anthropology, edited by Prof. Dr. Alice Margaria and Dr. Larissa Vetters (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology). The event featured a hybrid roundtable where chapter authors reflected on the interdisciplinary encounter between law and anthropology, discussing works that have shaped—or should shape—the development of this relationship, followed  by thought-provoking reflections from Prof. Dr. Susanne Baer (Humboldt Universität zu Berlin) and Prof. Dr. Anya Bernstein (University of Connecticut).

19 November 2024

A condensed version of the keynote conversation between ECtHR Judge Kateřina Šimáčková and former ECtHR Vice-President Angelika Nußberger, held on 5 September 2024 at UZH, has just been published on Verfassungsblog. The discussion highlights recent procedural reforms impacting access to justice, the extensive yet often invisible judicial work that does not lead to published decisions, the ongoing challenge of achieving gender balance on the bench, and reflections on judges’ personal legacies.

11 November 2024

Prof. Dr. Alice Margaria has been appointed International Research Associate at the NOVA Centre for the Study of Gender, Family, and Law (Lisbon). In this role, she will collaborate with the Centre’s team and international experts to advance interdisciplinary research on gender, equality and family legal issues. Her expertise in family law and diversity will significantly contribute to the Centre’s mission to foster thoughtful policy development in these critical areas.

30 September 2024

On 5-6 September, Prof. Alice Margaria convened a workshop on the 'human' dimensions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) at the University of Zurich (program here). A highlight was the keynote conversation with Prof. Angelika Nussberger (former ECtHR Vice-President) and ECtHR Judge Kateřina Šimáčková on the responsibility of judges for the ‘visible’ and the ‘invisible’ at the European Court of Human Rights.  

The event marked the 1st birthday of the project  Who is the Court for? Bringing the Human (back) into Human Rights Research, funded by Volkswagen Foundation. It was supported by the URPP Human Reproduction Reloaded, the Academy of European Human Rights Protection (University of Cologne), the Centre for Human Rights at UZH, the Europa Institut Zürich, and OCEAN.

A written version of the keynote conversation and a special issue in the ECHR Law Review are forthcoming. Stay tuned!

16 August 2024

A digital launch event will be held on 10 September 2024, 12.00 to 13.00 UK time / 13.00 to 14.00 CET to mark the release of the special issue titled "Who is Family Law For? Exploring Legal Approaches to Family Diversity", published by the Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law. This special issue, edited by Alice Margaria and Dafni Lima, features contributions that explore various aspects of family diversity across different jurisdictions.

The event, conducted via Zoom, will feature a welcome address, lightning talks by contributing authors, an overview of the special issue by the editors, and a concluding Q&A session, allowing participants to engage directly with the contributors.

Register here for the event.

Download the flyer here (JPG, 701 KB).

8 June 2024

The special issue "Who is Family Law for? Exploring Legal Approaches to Family Diversity", edited by Alice Margaria and Dafni Lima, has just been published by the Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law. This special issue features a collection of papers that explore various aspects of family diversity across different jurisdictions.

Navigating legal protections for cohabiting and economic relationships: can the market/home dichotomy guide us? (Elise Goossens)

‘We are here to put the past behind us’: violence and welfare governmentality in Finnish family law (Sanna Mustasaari)

Functional recognition and polyamory: glitters and hard truths in the O’Neill judgment (Nausica Palazzo)

Queering children’s rights: a critical queer analysis of the UNCRC (Frederique Joosten) 

Registering births: What’s care got to do with it? (Alice Margaria)

Legal parenthood in surrogacy: shifting the focus to the surrogate’s negative intention (Dafni Lima) 

The cross-border legal recognition of parenthood under European law: current law and future prospects (Alina Tryfonidou) 

15 May 2024

Prof. Alice Margaria and Prof. Claire Fenton-Glynn (Monash University) are pleased to announce the forthcoming publication of the book What is Family? Law and Regulation in a Transdisciplinary Context, with Bristol University Press. Scheduled for release in 2025, this volume will explore the question "what is family?" by drawing on a diverse range of disciplinary perspectives, including law, anthropology, psychology, Christian theology, economics, history, and sociology.

15 March 2024

Prof. Margaria, Agnes Kandlbinder (doctoral researcher, URPP H2R) and Dr. Carole Ammann (ETH) have been awarded a Symposium grant from the Brocher Foundation. They will host an international workshop on "Bringing Men into the Spotlight: Men, Masculinities and Reproduction" on 14–16 May 2025. Confirmed international speakers include Prof. Marcia Inhorn (Yale), Prof. Rene Almeling (Yale), Prof. Lisa Campo-Engelstein (University of Texas), Prof. Abbie Goldberg (Clark University). A detailed program will follow soon.

23 January 2024

Prof. Margaria contributes a chapter titled "Trans(forming) Fatherhood? European Legal Approaches to ‘Seahorse Fatherhood’" (pp. 177 – 194) to the book Changing Families, Changing Family Law in Europe (Insertia). The book, co-edited by Konrad Duden and Denise Wiedemann, was published on 23 January 2024 and is available Open Access.