Curriculum Vitae

Education

2014
Philosophy Doctorate in Law, School of Law, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London (UK).

2012
International Philosophy Doctorate in Law and Society, Philosophy of Law and Sociology of Law Department, University of Milan (Italy), in consortium with the University of Antwerp (Belgium), the University of Bologna (Italy), the Carlo Bo University of Urbino (Italy), the University of Insubria (Italy), the University of Milan-Bicocca (Italy), the Centro nazionale di prevenzione e difesa sociale (Italy), the Carlos III University of Madrid (Spain), the University of the Basque Country (Spain), the International Institute for the Sociology of Law of Oñati (Spain), and the University of Lund (Sweden).

2005
Master of Arts in International, Comparative and Legal Studies, School of Law, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London (UK).

2004
Postgraduate Specialisation Course in Intercultural Communication and Mediation, Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Turin (Italy).

2003
Laurea in Law, Law Faculty, University of Turin (Italy).

Professional Activities

March 2024–present
Associate Researcher, SOAS - University of London, School of Law and Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law (CIMEL), London (UK); https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/federica-sona

July 2023–present
Assistant Editor, South Asia Research, London (UK) and Hyderabad (IN), https://journals.sagepub.com/editorial-board/sar.

June 2023–present
Associate Member of EZIRE, Erlangen Center for Islam and Law in Europe, Friedrich-Alexander Univesity Erlangen-Nuremberg; https://www.ezire.fau.eu/about-us/team/assoziierte-mitglieder/#collapse_4

October 2022 – present
Board Member of ORFECT, Observatory on Religious Freedom in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights; https://www.orfect.unimore.it

January 2022–present
Co-investigator, research group ‘Marriage, pluralism and human rights in Europe’, Priority Research Area ‘Heritage’, Strategic Programme Excellence Initiative, Jagiellonian University, Kraków (PL). http://www.ksp.wpia.uj.edu.pl/marriage-pluralism-and-human-rights-in-europe

October 2021–December 2021
European Research Council (ERC) – European Research Council, remote referee to peer review evaluation of frontier research proposals submitted to the ERC Consolidator Grant 2021 Call, European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA), Brussels (BE).

October 2020 - Postponed due to the pandemic
Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS), School of Advanced Study, University of London, London (UK). Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS), London (UK). https://ials.sas.ac.uk/about/about-us/people/federica-sona

March 2020 - Postponed to 2022 due to the pandemic
Harvard Law School, Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World, Harvard University, Cambridge (USA). https://plsmw.law.harvard.edu/team-member/federica-sona/

January 2018–present
Senior Research fellow, Department of Law and Anthropology, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale (Germany).

April 2017–December 2017
Research fellow, Department ‘Law & Anthropology’, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale (Germany).

April 2016–March 2017
Researcher, Fundamental Rights Laboratory (LDF), Collegio Carlo Alberto, University of Turin, Torino (Italy). Director: Emeritus Judge and Professor Vladimiro Zagrebelsky.

September 2015–December 2015
Post-doctoral researcher, Law Department, University of Turin, Turin (Italy).

January 2013–present,
Assistant editor, peer reviewer and/or member of editorial boards: Australian Family Law Journal, Daimon Annuario di Diritto Comparato delle Religoni, Global Jurist, Review of Social Studies, and South Asia Research, Global Jurist, BioLaw Journal, Curedi, and The International Journal of Human Rights.

January 2009–March 2010
Researcher responsible for the Greater London area in the enquiry commissioned by the UK Ministry of Justice, A study of Sharia Councils in relation to family law matters in England and Wales, Ministry of Justice, London (UK).

October 2009
UK representative at Religare Last Preparatory Meeting, Leuven (Belgium).

October 2007–October 2008
Researcher for the National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Rome (Italy).

May 2006–November 2008
Conference interpreter and legal essays translator, University of Insubria, Law Faculty in Como and University of Milan (Italy).

April 2006–September 2006
Research fellow, Law Faculty, University of Oriental Piedmont, Alessandria (Italy).

September 2005–present
Expert and advocate legal assistance and advice (predominantly pro-bono), in Turin (Italy) and London (UK).

Teaching

2024
Adjunct lecturer the following programmes:

‘Ordine pubblico e scioglimento del matrimonio sciaraitico: profili di diritto vivente tra unioni zoppicanti e cattività coniugale’, e ‘Procreazione medicalmente assistita, filiazione e ordine pubblico familiare. A vent’anni dalla Legge 40/2004’, part of the PRIN project entitled ‘Social Parenthood’, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano (IT).
‘Il corpo fecondo. Genitorialità e filiazione nell'era delle tecniche procreative’, del ciclo ‘Corpi credenti. Le religioni e il governo del corpo’, seminar of the course in comparative law of religions, Law Department, University of Ferrara, Ferrara (IT).

2023
Invited lecturer and judicial trainer, European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), Courts and Tribunals Sector, Malta (MT).

2021–2023
Expert of Islamic and Muslim family law and the laws of Muslim-majority countries interacting with European legal systems during the Judicial Visit Programme, co-organised by the European Judicial Training Network and the Law and Anthropology Department of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle (DE).

2021–December 2022 [academic year]
Invited lecturer or adjunct lecturer the following programmes:

Introduction to Islamic Law, Harvard Law School, Harvard University, Cambridge MA (US).
Comparative Law of Religions, Law Faculty, University of Torino (IT).
Comparative Law of Religions, Law Faculty, University of Trento (IT).
Summer School – Religious and gender diversity (LGBTIQ+) in multicultural societies: Towards a legal and public policy interdisciplinary approach, Law Faculty, Universidad Complutense (UCM), Madrid (ES) - approved but postponed.
Rechtsvergleichung, Comparative Law, Law Faculty, Martin Luther Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (DE).

December 2021–December 2022

Member of the Experts Committee tutoring and commenting the thesis of the students of the Three-year programme ‘Degree in Design’, Comparate private law, Master degree course in Design, IUAV University of Venice (IT). Results: https://sites.google.com/iuav.it/design/design-open-lab/202122-primo-semestre/212-i-lt-3-diritti-mercati-globalizzazione?authuser=0

2020–2021 [academic year]
Invited lecturer or adjunct lecturer the following programmes:

Rechtsvergleichung, Comparative Constitutional Law, Law Faculty, Martin Luther Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (DE).
Comparative Law of Religions, Law Faculty, University of Trento (IT).
EJTN/MPI judicial visit programme, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle (DE).
Summer School, Human Rights and the Governance of Religious, Cultural and Gender Diversity, International Institute for the Sociology of Law of Oñati (ES) - postponed.

2019–2021 [a.y.]
Adjunct lecturer to the PriMed High Education Programme financed by Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Scientific Research (MIUR, Religione, Cultura, Diritto: Islam e integrazione in Italia [Religion, Culture, and Law: Islam and Integration in Italy], in the following courses:

‘Genere e autorità nei rapporti uomo-donna nell'Islam’, advanced programme, University of Milano and University Bicocca (IT).
‘Questioni di genere nel diritto islamico e musulmano’, intended for officials and employees of the PRAP (Istituti penitenziari) and of the UIEPE (Ufficio Interdistrettuale di Esecuzione Penale Esterna), University of Milano and University Bicocca (IT).
‘Il corpo e la salute nell’islam’, high education programme entitled ‘Religione, Cultura, Diritto: Islam e integrazione in Italia’ intended for officials and employees of the PRAP (Istituti penitenziari) and of the UIEPE (Ufficio Interdistrettuale di Esecuzione Penale Esterna), University of Milano and University Bicocca (IT).
‘Islam e questioni di genere: profili teorici e pratici’, high education programme ‘Religione, Cultura, Diritto: Islam e integrazione in Italia’, programma avanzato, University of Milano and University Bicocca (IT).
‘Il corpo e la salute nel diritto islamico e musulmano’, high education programme ‘Religione, Cultura, Diritto: Islam e integrazione in Italia’ ntended for officials and employees of the PRAP (Istituti penitenziari) and of the UIEPE (Ufficio Interdistrettuale di Esecuzione Penale Esterna), University of Milano and University Bicocca (IT).
‘Islam e questioni di genere: profili teorici e pratici’, high education programme ‘Religione, Cultura, Diritto: Islam e integrazione in Italia’, programma avanzato, University of Milano and University Bicocca (IT).
‘Il matrimonio e la famiglia’, high education programme ‘Religione, Cultura, Diritto: Islam e integrazione in Italia’ intended for officials and employees of the PRAP (Istituti penitenziari) and of the UIEPE (Ufficio Interdistrettuale di Esecuzione Penale Esterna), University of Milano and University Bicocca (IT).
‘Islam, corpo e diritto: fecondazione assistita e nuove forme di filiazione’, high education programme for clinicians, physicians, nurses and healthcare staff entitled ‘Conoscere, comprendere, gestire le relazioni con i cittadini musulmani’, Dipartimento di Culture, Politica e Società, University of Torino (IT).

This is ‘the first major project to prevent religious radicalization launched by the Italian government, and, in fact, the first significant investment by the Italian state in the matter.’ - https://primed-miur.it/en/what-is-primed/

2019
Invited lecturer and PhD thesis commentator, PhD Training, Law & Anthropology, Department of Law and Anthropology, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale (DE).

2018–present
Training design, coordination, lecturing, charing, and moderation in the following programmes of the European Judicial Training Netwrok (EJTN), ‘Cultural diversity in the court room - Judges in Europe facing new challenges’:

Asylum, Criminal, Family, and Labour Laws, Hessian Ministry of Justice, Wiesbaden (DE).
Criminal, Family, Labour, and Welfare/Social Laws, Utrecht (NL).
Criminal, Family, Labour, and Welfare/Social Laws, Vienna (AT).
Criminal, Family, and Labour Law, Barcelona (ES).

2016–present
Lecturing and seminar moderation in the European Judicial Training Network, Administrative Law Sub-Working Group Judicial Training on EU Asylum Law, following programmes:

(AD/2016/07) Ministry of Justice, Helsinki (FI).
(AD/2017/04) Swedish National Court Administration, Stockholm (SE).
(AD/2018/03) Ministry of Justice, Helsinki (FI).
(AD/2019/09) National School of Judges (ESDi), Thessaloniki (EL).
(AD/2020/07) Administrative Court, Vittoriosa (MT).
(AD/2021/11) National Administration Court, Tikkurila (FI).
(AD/2022/05) Center for Judicial Studies, Lisbon (PT).
(AD/2023/11) National Courts’ Administration, Tikkurila (FI)
(AD/2024/04) Centro de Estudos Judiciários of Portugal, Lisbon (PT).

2017
Invited lecturer, programme ‘I rapporti fra la giurisdizione dello Stato e i tribunali religiosi’ (Relationship between state jurisdiction and religious tribunals), Doctoral School, Law Department, University of Turin, Turin (Italy).

2016
Invited guest lecturer, course ‘State, Law and Religion’, Center for Transnational Legal Studies (CTLS), George Town University, London (UK).

2016
Lecturer, Summer School on ‘Legal Pluralism and Human Rights’, University of Lucerne (Switzerland).

2015–2016 [academic year]
Invited guest lecturer in the following courses and programmes: ‘Comparative Juridical Systems ‘(three different courses), ‘Comparative Law of Religions’ (LLB and LLM special seminar), ‘Research Methods’ (Doctoral School programme in Law, in English language), Law Department, University of Turin, Turin (Italy).

2015–2017 [academic years]
Teaching fellow - guest lecturer, ‘Law, Multiculturalism and Rights’, School of Law, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London (UK).

2014–2015 [academic year]
Teaching fellow - guest lecturer, tutor and/or examiner in the following courses and programmes: ‘Legal Systems of Asia and Africa’ and ‘Law, Multiculturalism and Rights’, School of Law, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London (UK).

2014
Examiner of the Postgraduate Diploma in ‘Community Leadership’, Centre for Ethnic Minority Studies (CEMS), School of Law, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London (UK), in consortium with the Ocean Somali Community Organisation (OSCA) and London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

2009
Invited lecturer, University of Oriental Piedmont, Law Faculty, LLB and LLM courses, in collaboration with the Interreligious Studies Academy (ISA), Alessandria (Italy).

2006
Invited lecturer, International Summer School in ‘Law and Religion’, University of Siena, Siena (Italy).

2006
Invited lecturer, University of Oriental Piedmont, Alessandria (Italy).

2005–2009
LLB and LLM dissertation tutor and teaching assistant, University of Turin and University of Oriental Piedmont (Italy).

Academic and Professional Training (selected)

2014–2015
PDHEP – HEA, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London (UK).

2009
GTA trainee, as part of the Professional Development in Higher Education (PDHEP, 1.1-1.3), School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London (UK).

2003–2005
Legal apprenticeship, Turin (Italy).

2004
Foreign Office trainee, Police Headquarters, Turin (Italy).

2004
Legal consultant trainee, Turin (Italy).

1997–2000
Employment and labour law consultant apprentice, Turin (Italy).

Organisation of Conferences, Workshops and Seminars (selected)

International conference organisation
Organisation (with Esther van Eijk) of the first conference for the NMFDL - Network on Muslim Family and Divorce Law; University of Maastricht (NL). Nov. 2022, 23 – present

International conference organisation
“Biomedical encounters of human bodies and culture: voices from the Middle East and Europe” (temporary title), Department of Law and Anthropology, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale (Germany), in collaboration with the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, Jerusalem (Israel). Conference conveners: Prof. Shai Lavi, Prof. Marie-Claire Foblets, Dr. Federica Sona, Dr. Hagai Boas. Jan 2021 – July 2021.

International conference panels organisation
Panel No. 1 – The governance of contemporary plural kinship frameworks, invited presenters: Prof. Vladimiro Zagrebelsky, Dr. Ilaria Bertini, Dr. Alice Margaria, and Dr. Federica Sona;
Panel No. 2 – Governing plural societies: Religiously and culturally sensitive (in)justice; at “Citizenship, Legal Pluralism and Governance in the Age of Globalization”, International conference of the Commission on Legal Pluralism, in collaboration with the University of Ottawa Chair on Legal Diversity and Indigenous Peoples and the Human Rights Research and Education Centre, co-sponsored by Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Ottawa, Canada. August 2018, 22–24.

International conference panel organisation
Governing plural societies: Religiously and culturally sensitive (in)justice, International Conference of the Commission on Legal Pluralism, Citizenship, Legal Pluralism and Governance in the Age of Globalization, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York (USA). August 2017, 9–11.

Colloquia planning
Planning meeting for three colloquia on Sharīʿah Councils, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London (UK). June 2013, 6.

International workshop co-organisation
European “newcomers” and minorities: Challenges and opportunities, Congress of the Swiss Curriculum Vitae FS 6/15 Sociological Association (SSA) “Inequality and Integration in Times of Crisis”, (26th–28th June 2013), University of Bern (Switzerland). Conveners: Dr. Federica Sona and Dr. Barbara Bello. December 2012, 24 – June 2013, 28.

Presentation at Conferences and Workshops (selected)

May 2024, 20–24
Conference paper – ‘Muslim women and fatwā-issuing bodies: Sharīʿah Councils and beyond’, in Preventing domestic conflicts and controlling coercive behaviour in family relationships: The role of religious authorities and rights, part of the VII Annual Conference of the European Academy of Religion ‘Paradigm Shifts’, Pontificia Facoltà Teologica di Sicilia, Palermo (IT); https://www.europeanacademyofreligion.org/program-2024

Jan. 2024, 11–12
Conference paper – Il corpo e la vita nascente: etica medica islamica, nascituri e genitori intenzionali, conference: ‘Il corpo nell’Islam e nelle società islamiche’, University of Napoli “L’Orientale”, Napoli (IT).

December 2023, 4–5
Conference Paper - ‘Il corpo nell’Islam e nelle societá islamiche’, Universitá degli Studi di Naopli, “L’Orientale”, Naopli, TBA

July 2023, 12–15
Conference Paper – “The Daily Laws” - Muslim intended parents dealing with childlessness and (in)fertility’, International Society of Family Law, XVIII (Golden Jubilee) World Conference, ‘Rethinking Law’s Families & Family Law?’, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Law, Antwerp (BE) – https://www.uantwerpen.be/ISFL2023, https://medialibrary.uantwerpen.be/files/553598/d5a9ec8d-f758-4718-bcdd-e497c8495f56.pdf (pp. 139–140)

April 2023, 20
Workshop paper, title ‘Unilateral Repudiation or Divorce? Talāq Betwixt and Between Diverse (Extra-)Judicial Environments’, Series ‘Afternoon Talk on Islamic Law’, Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht/Max Planck Institute for Comparitive and International Private Law in Hamburg (DE).
See https://www.mpipriv.de/events/34274/1135500 and https://events.mpipriv.de/afternoon-talk-federica-sona-20-04-2023.

January 2023, 23
Roundtable, ‘Marriage, pluralism and human rights in Europe’, Jagiellonian University, Kraków (PL).

December 2022, 8–9
Conference paper - Accelerating the digital transition – The ECFR in (post) pandemic times, ‘ECMI Workshop on Digital Minority Religion: Methodologies, Trends and Patterns’, European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI), Flensburg (DE).

November 2022, 28
Roundtable, ‘Marriage, pluralism and human rights in Europe’, Jagiellonian University, Kraków (PL).

November 2022, 24–27
Conference paper - Il paziente musulmano, ‘Il paziente multiculturale e la sua spiritualità’, Palazzo Patrizi, Siena (IT), https://festivaldellasalute.it/programma/

November 2022, 17–18
Conference paper – Lost in translation or solidarity? Illustrations from sharīʿah-compliant nuptial dissolution forms, ‘Solidarity and Multiperspectivity in Law, Society and Legal Research’, at Max Planck Law Annual Conference, Harnack House, Berlin (DE), https://law.mpg.de/event/max-planck-law-annual-conference-2022/

September 2022, 19–22
Conference paper - Muslim marriages: Polygamy before the Italian and the Spanish judiciary- ‘Human Dignity, Law, and Religious Diversity: Designing the Future of Inter-Cultural Societies’, VI ICLARS Conference, Cordoba (ES), https://iclars2022cordoba.org/pdf/updated/Parallel_Sessions_para_web_1592022_corregido.pdf

September 2022, 5–8
Conference paper - Tying the knot in Civil Law and Common Law countries, ‘Marriage, pluralism and human rights in Europe’, First International Conference, Krakow (PL).

July 2022, 10–12
Conference paper – (In)direct effects of polygamy in Italy, CuReDi Annual Workshop, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Berlin (DE).

June 2022, 23
Conference paper – Moroccan women and the Italian judiciary. Intersectional narratives between religious and secular law, ‘A case study of Islamic heterogeneous autonomous legal orders: Feminist narratives navigating Muslim family law in Shari’a Councils and Human Rights’, School of Law, Birkbeck University of London (UK).

May 2022, 23
Conference paper – Islamic and Muslim Marriages in Common Law and Civil Law, PLSMW Seminar, Harvard Law School, Harvard University, Cambridge (USA).

March 2022, 21
Roundtable, ‘Marriage, pluralism and human rights in Europe’, Jagiellonian University, Kraków (PL).

February 2022, 7
Roundtable, ‘Marriage, pluralism and human rights in Europe’, Jagiellonian University, Kraków (PL).

January 2022, 27
Harvard International Office, Conversation for International Scholars, Harvard University, Cambridge (USA).

January 2022, 10
Roundtable, ‘Marriage, pluralism and human rights in Europe’, Jagiellonian University, Kraków (PL).

December 2021, 8–9
Conference paper - Sharīʿah compliant divorces in Western legal systems: The power of magic words, ‘German Law Journal project’ coordinato da M.C. Foblets (DE), J.F. Gaudreault-Desbiens (CA), e M. Graziadei (IT), online meeting.

December 2021, 2–3
Conference paper – Comparative perspectives on polyamory, polyandry and polygyny, ‘CUREDI Annual Conference’, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, https://www.eth.mpg.de/5713411/curedi Halle (DE).

May 2021, 17
Roundtable, International Arbitration Working Group (IAWG), Max Planck Law.

March 2021, 15
Roundtable, International Arbitration Working Group (IAWG), Max Planck Law.

Jan. 2021, 18
Roundtable, International Arbitration Working Group (IAWG), Max Planck Law.

September 2020, 24–25
Conference paper
Anthropologists and lawyers think differently, given at the Workshop “Lawyers drawing on and from anthropology”, Department ‘Law & Anthropology’, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle (Germany).

September 2020, 18
Conference paper
(In)formal polygamy and Muslim communities in Western countries, given at Workshop “A shared interest in family legal pluralism: The potential of constructive alliances between religious and queer groups”, University of Trento Faculty of Law and Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Center for Religious Studies.

April 2020, 23
Conference paper
Presentation of the following self-authored monographs New parenthood and childhood 4/8patterns. Principles and praxes in Muslim realities, and Nuove forme di genitorialità e filiazione. Principi e prassi nelle realtà musulmane. Searching for models of intercultural management of social conflict, Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna (Italy).

March 2020 – Postponed due to pandemic
Conference paper
Muslim families interacting with Common Law and Civil Law legal systems to be given at the ‘A Case Study of Islamic Heterogeneous Autonomous Legal Orders: Feminist Narratives Navigating Muslim Family Law in Shari’a Councils and Human Rights’, School of Law, Birkbeck University of London (UK).

November 2019, 22
Roundtable Panelist
Annual meeting of the Osservatorio Nazionale sul Diritto di Famiglia (ONDiF) on ‘La Famiglia Migrante’, Firenze (Italy).

October 2019, 28–29
Conference paper
Are religious and traditional male circumcision practices compatible with the Italian legal system? Commentary to Cassation Court, Sez. VI, 22 June 2011, No. 43646, given at the ‘CUREDI international annual workshop’, Department of Law & Anthropology (MPI of Social Anthropology), Halle (Germany).

May 2019, 10–11
Book launches
Presentation of the following self-authored monographs New parenthood and childhood patterns. Principles and praxes in Muslim realities, and Nuove forme di genitorialità e filiazione. Principi e prassi nelle realtà musulmane. Collegio Carlo Alberto, University of Turin (Italy). See https://www.carloalberto.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Locandina-Laboratorio-Diritti-Fondamentali-def-A3-1.pdf.

October 2018, 4
Conference paper
Intended mothers copying with intersectionality and Islamically compliant reproductive rights, given as invited speaker at the ‘Women’s Rights, Gender and Religion’, European Network on Religion and Belief (ENORB), Brussels (Belgium).

August 2018, 27
Conference paper
Unmet desire for offspring – Islamic and Italian approaches to assisted reproduction, given as invited speaker at the symposium entitled ‘Nouvelles réalités sociales et enjeux éthiques: les défis de l’encadrement juridique de la procréation médicalement assistée. Regards européens et québécois’, Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal (CA).

August 2018, 23
Conference paper
Managing Muslims’ old-new patterns of filiation, given at the International conference of the Commission on Legal Pluralism entitled “Citizenship, Legal Pluralism and Governance in the Age of Globalization”, in collaboration with the University of Ottawa Chair on Legal Diversity and Indigenous Peoples and the Human Rights Research and Education Centre, co-sponsored by Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Ottawa (CA).

April 2018, 16–18
Conference paper
Invited speaker to Europe’s New Migrants: Marriage Practices and Policies, at the University of Birmingham (UK).

March 2018, 20–21
Conference paper
Sailing between law and sharīʿah, across the Mediterranean sea, given at the conference “Religious Marriages in the Mediterranean” as invited speaker at Mediterranean Institute, University of Malta, Msida, Malta. See https://www.um.edu.mt/newspoint/events/umevents/2018/03/religiousmarriagesinthemediterranean.

October 2017, 26–28
Conference paper
Muslim partners as norm entrepreneurs: The interplay between shariʿah and the Italian legal system, given at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Comparative Law (ASCL), Comparative Law, “Faith and Religion: The Role of Faith in Law”, American University, Washington College of Law, Washington D.C. (USA). See https://www.wcl.american.edu/index.cfm?LinkServID=D7335CCB-961D-1040-D6111F039EE918B4.

June 2017, 14–16
Roundtable Panelist
Roundtable: Challenges and crossroads, comparative borrowing, at the Annual Conference “(Re)designing Justice for Plural Societies: Accommodative Practices Put to the Test”, Department ‘Law & Anthropology’, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle (Germany).

April 2017, 24–25
Conference Paper
Mosque marriages and nobody’s Muslim wives, given at the symposium “Unregistered Muslim Marriages – Regulations and Contestations”, De Montfort University, Leicester (UK).

January 2017, 18-20
Workshop Discussant
Comments upon ‘Amid ‘divine’ and man-made norms: how are ‘Muslims’ in Britain coping with diverse norms?’ by Sham Qayyum, Retreat of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Department ‘Law & Anthropology’, Dresden (Germany).

June 2016, 4
Seminar Paper
Transnational Muslim families: Kinships at the cross-roads of law, religion and culture, Legal Anthropology Seminar Series, Department ‘Law & Anthropology’, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale (Germany).

June 2016, 12–13
Workshop Discussant and Contributor
Country reports - Italy, Database of Case Law: Religious and Cultural Diversity, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Harnack-Haus, Berlin (Germany).

March 2016, 21–22
Conference paper
Interculturalismo e migranti musulmani (Interculturalism and Muslim migrants), given at the International conference “Lo Stato interculturale: la nuova eutopia? – The Intercultural State: a new Eutopia?”, at the University of Ravenna and the University of Bologna (Italy).

December 2015, 14–16
Conference paper
Sharīʿah in the shadow of official laws, at the International Conference of the Commission on Legal Pluralism, “Normative Interfaces of Globalization and High-Tech Capitalism: Legal Pluralism and the Neo-Liberal Turn”, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay/Mumbai (India).

November 2015, 26–27
Roundtable seminal discussion
PRA-funded university research project entitled ‘Corte costituzionale tra diritti e doveri in tempi di crisi economica e di rischi per la sicurezza’, Law Department, University of Pisa, Pisa (Italy). See http://www.federalismi.it/convegni/SEMINARIO%2027%20novembre%20bis.pdf.

October 2015, 26–27
Conference paper
Hybrid pathways to (in)justice: Muslim families in Italy, at the “International conference on legal pluralism and human rights within family disputes in Europe”, jointly organised by the Human Rights Centre, Ghent University and the Centre d’histoire du droit et d’anthropologie juridique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, hosted by Ghent University, Ghent (Belgium). See https://hrc.ugent.be/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Final-Program_Legal-PluralismHuman-Rights.pdf. The participation to this international conference has been supported by Ghent University, Ghent (Belgium).

July 2015, 27
Roundtable discussion
London Working Group on ROM (Register Our Marriage), meeting and roundtable, Duncan Lewis, Chancery Lane, London (UK).

June 2015, 15
Book review
Comments upon Muslim Families, Politics and the Law: A Legal Industry in Multicultural Britain, a book authored by Ralph Grillo, given at Queen Mary, University of London, London (UK).

May 2015, 28–30
Conference paper
Comparing Civil Law and Common Law responses: Ţalāq issues in Italy and in the UK, given at the “2015 Programme on Culture and the Law”, jointly organised by the following institutions: School of Oriental and African Studies - University of London, Seconda Università degli Studi in Napoli, Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, and Department of Comparative Law at the School of Law in Lucerne; hosted by the Seconda Università degli Studi in Napoli and Fondazione G.B. Vico, Naples (Italy).

February 2015, 23–26
Conference paper
Reshaping intersectionality and traditional sharīʿah discourses: Muslim divorcées in the Italian legal system, given at the “Governance and Management of Gender Relations: A Comparative Study of Law and Society”, as part of the Researcher Link Workshop, University of Dhaka, Law Faculty, Dhaka (Bangladesh).

November 2014, 14-15
Conference paper
Islām as legal (dis)-empowerment: The dynamic interplay between Italian legal provisions and sharīʿah-compliant norms, given at the “Programme on Culture and the Law”, as part of the Network of Transnational Doctoral Research, Swiss Institute for Comparative Law, University of Lucerne, Lausanne (Switzerland).

March 2014, 5 – October 2014, 9–11
Conference paper
Beyond the black letter law: Muslim legal cultures hidden in the folds of European legal systems, selected and discussed at the “Seventh Stanford International Junior Faculty Forum”, Stanford University, Stanford Law School, Stanford (CA, USA). The paper was selected by the Academic Committee headed by Lawrence M. Friedman (Marion Rice Kirkwood Professor of Law, Stanford University) and it was commented upon by a number of esteemed scholars - amongst the others, Gillian Hadfield (Richard L. and Antoinette Kirtland Professor of Law and Economics, University of Southern California); Amalia Kessler (Lewis Talbot and Nadine Hearn Shelton Professor of International Legal Studies, Stanford University); Mavis Maclean (Senior Research Fellow and Director, Oxford Center for Family Law and Policy, Oxford University, UK).

June 2013, 27
Conference paper
European Muslims: A discourse on religious minorities and migrant communities, given at the Congress of the Swiss Sociological Association (SSA) “Inequality and Integration in Times of Crisis”, University of Bern (Switzerland).

June 2010, 3–4
Conference paper
Defending the family chest: Navigating Muslim families and secured positivistic islands of European legal systems, given at the conference on “Legal Practice and Accommodation in Multicultural Europe”, at the Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law, Oñati (Spain). My participation to this conference was supported by the IMISCOE network.

March 2010, 18
Roundtable discussion
Roundtable Discussion “Religious Courts in the UK”, organised by Samantha Knights at the Matrix Chamber, London (UK).

March 2010, 12
Workshop paper
Muslims getting married in Italy and in the UK: Rites and rights, given at the workshop “The Place of Religion in Family Law”, held at the School of Law, University of Glasgow, Glasgow (UK).

September 2009, 3
Ministry of Justice research meeting
Sharia Councils in England and Wales, Ministry of Justice, London (UK).

June 2009, 11
Ministry of Justice research meeting
Sharia Councils in England and Wales, Ministry of Justice, London (UK).

May 2009, 18
Roundtable discussion
How do family law courts deal with religious consent orders and mediated agreements?, organised by the Lawyers’ Secular Society (LSS) in collaboration with Southall Black Sisters, at the Chambers of David Barnard, London (UK).

April 2009, 6–7
Conference paper
Temples and mosaics. Restructured post-secular religions and European Muslim tessellated identities, given at the “The Collective Context of Islamic Identities: Intersections between Community, Religion and Gender”, at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), University of Cambridge (UK). See http://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/events/23455/.

January 2009, 20
Ministry of Justice discussion meeting
Sharia Family Law, Ministry of Justice, London (UK).

January 2009, 14
Seminar paper
Families and individuals facing religions in Europe: New marriages and divorces, given at the School of Law Seminars, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, London (UK).

July 2008, 9–12
Conference paper
Identity and otherness in a re-Oriented Eurocentrism. Is Islam the “other” or are we all new Europeans?, given at the 2008 Research Committee on Sociology of Law (RCSL) annual meeting, “Law and the justice in the risk society”, University of Milano and University of Como (Italy).

January 2008, 6–10
Conference paper
Muslim migrants in Europe: Identities at the crossroads, given at the eleventh International Association for Studies in Forced Migration (IASFM) conference “Refugee and Forced Migrants at the cross Roads”, International Association for the Study of Forced Migration and Forced Migration (IASFM) and Refugee Studies Program of the American University in Cairo, Cairo (Egypt).

June 2007, 12–13
Conference paper
A home for our own. The reassertion of religious-ethnical identity in European diaspora Islamic communities, given at the Centre for Research on the European Matrix (CRONEM) Annual Conference “Nationalism and National identities: Multidisciplinary Perspectives”, University of Surrey, Centre for Research on Nationalism, Ethnicity and Multiculturalism, London (UK).

March 2006, 9–12
Conference paper
Muslim families in Europe: Integration or assimilation?, given at the Fifth Marie-Curie Conference “The European and National Management of Immigrants. Exclusion and Integration”, of the series “From Immigration Politics to Migration Management Changes in Migration Governance”, Bled (Slovenia).

30 September – 8 October 2005
Roundtable discussion
International conference 'Islam and Europe. Mixed or Separated’ and pre-event ‘The Role of Women in the Islamic Society’, AEGEE and Council of Europe, Bucharest (Romania).

Other Academic Activities

November 2020 – present
Invited commentator
Visiting Fellows academic workshops, Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World,
Harvard Law School, Harvard University, Cambridge (USA).

February 2019 – present
Invited speaker
Session charing and talk given at the CUREDI Meetings. Sharing experiences with other
legal databases and socio-legal web-platforms, reviewing and commenting templates.
Department ‘Law & Anthropology’, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle
(Germany).

November 2018, 30 – December 2018, 2
Invited expert
Charing and contributing to the session entitles ‘Anthropology in law and legal practices’, at the conference Oxford Handbook of Law & Anthropology, organised by the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology Department 'Law & Anthropology’, at Harnack-Haus, Berlin (Germany).

November 2018, 30
Invited team member
Contributing to the Consultative Committee meeting, Harnack House, Berlin (Germany).

November 2018, 22
Invited team member
Contribution to the meeting entitled Preparation of an international network on Muslim family and divorce law. Department ‘Law & Anthropology’, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle (Germany).

November 2018, 20–21
Invited team member
Session charing at the CUREDI Workshop. Mapping cultural and religious diversity in domestic jurisdictions: Exploring how to fill in case-law templates. Department ‘Law & Anthropology’, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle (Germany).

July 2018, 12–13
Invited lecturer
Lecture on ‘Content of the templates: Explanatory examples’ with Alice Margaria, given at the CUREDI Database: Presentation and Methodology, Department ‘Law & Anthropology’, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle (Germany).

June 2017
Invited team member
Contributing to the Consultative Committee meeting, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle (Germany).

June 2015
Invited team member
Daimon, Discussing the topics to be addressed by the journal and identifying potential contributors. Bologna (Italy).

Membership in Professional Associations

Editorial Boards
Daimon, Annuario di diritto comparato delle religioni
Review of Social Studies
South Asia Research

Academic Memberships
LDF Alumni
Renato Treves Alumni
SOAS Alumni

Professional Groups and Academic Networks

International Arbitration Working Group (IAWG) – Max Planck Law
Observatory on Religious Freedom in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights
Accomodation in Pluri-Legal
Commission on Legal Pluralism (CLP)
CuReDi
ECPR standing group on Religion and Politics
Euroislam Bucuresti
Europe-Islam
European Academy of Religion (EuARe)
European Judicial Training Network (EJTN)
Global Human Rights Education
International Association for the Study of Forced Migration
International Network of Scholars Researching Unregistered Marriages
LSA-Legal Pluralism and Non-State Law CRN
Migration Law Network
Netherlands Inter-university School for Islamic Studies - NISIS senior members
Network on Muslim Family and Divorce law
Register Our Marriage (ROM) National Working Group - UK
Research Committee on Sociology of Law (RCSL)

Professional Bodies
Law Bar, Turin, Practitioners Section
European Judicial Trainer, as listed via EJTN in the Scuola Superiore della Magistratura

Awards / Grants / Scholarships

2020
Harvard Law School, PLS, Visiting Fellowship.

2020
Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS), Visiting Research Fellowship.

2018
European Network on Religion and Belief, conference participation grant.

2017
Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Law and Anthropology Department, individual research stipend.

2016
Fundamental Rights Laboratory (LDF), IUSE and CCA, individual research grant.

2016
Max Planck Institute, two visiting researcher grants.

2016
Higher Education Innovation Fund and ERC Project 2013-AdG-324180 in collaboration with De Montfort University, conference participation grant.

2015
Incoming Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship, BDR 04/2015, Faculty of Law, University of Turin, individual research grant.

2015
Progetti di Ricerca di Ateneo, University of Pisa, contribution to the PRA academic activities.

2015
Human Rights Centre, Ghent University, conference participation grant.

2015
British Council, conference participation grant in Dhaka.

2014
Stanford Law School, Stanford University, prize and grant awarded to the Seventh Stanford International Junior Faculty Forum.

2007
CNR, National Research Council of Italy, Promozione della ricerca 2005, Settore Progetto Giovani, 511/862, individual research grant.

2007
Princeton University and Ethica, James Madison Program, fellowship.

2006
International Ambassador Scholar, Rotary Foundation and Université d'Alger, Algiers, fellowship.

2006
Renato Treves, International doctoral scholarship.

2006
Gratianus-Socrates, University of Paris Sud XI, University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas, Institut Catholique de Paris, University of Florence, University Sacro-Cuore of Milan, University Complutense of Madrid, Catholic University of Leuven, University Aristote of Thessalonique, University of Tübingen, in collaboration with the Institute of Oriental Canon Law of Rome and Cardiff University, scholarship.

2006
RD 157/29.04.02, University of Oriental Piedmont, individual grant.

2005
Euro-Islam, Association des Etats Genereaux des Etudiants de l’Europe (AEGEE), academic grant.

2005
Marie-Curie and European Research Forum on Migration and Ethnic Relations (EUROFOR), Fifth M-C courses participation and contribution grant.

2004
Law Dissertation European Prize 'Stefano Borgia', Junior section.