Publications

The Construction of Fatherhood: The Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (Cambridge University Press, 2019)

The book critically investigates how the European Court of Human Rights deals with and makes sense of shifting practices and ideas of fatherhood. By tracing values and assumptions underpinning the Court’s caselaw, it engages in timely conversations about the role of men as fathers, and explores the importance attached to care when attributing legal status and parental rights to fathers. The book also delves into the Court’s use of its doctrines of interpretation, revealing the intricate interplay between doctrinal and moral forces in shaping the emerging (re)conceptualisation of fatherhood.

(Selected) Reviews

• “This book is an exemplary piece of scholarship. It provides a nuanced critical analysis of case law of the European Court of Human Rights, focused on its construction of fatherhood. In doing so, the book simultaneously offers theoretical depth and the solid grounding in realities that is characteristic of excellent socio-legal scholarship. A valuable addition to human rights law, family law, and law and gender studies.” (Eva Brems, University of Ghent)
• “Margaria sets a standard for further interdisciplinary research and delivers an outstanding example of socio-legal research that meets the demands of our time.” (Petra Sußner, ECHR Law Review)
• “Striking in its methodological and theoretical ambition, Margaria’s The Construction of Fatherhood will advance reflection and debate on critical questions in family law and judicial methodology.” (Robert Leckey, Social & Legal Studies)

Nuove Forme di Filiazione e Genitorialità: Leggi e Giudici di fronte alle Nuove Realtà (Il Mulino, 2018) – translated into English by Katherine Clifton, Laws and Judges vis-à-vis New Realities in Filiation and Parenthood

• ‘Trans Parents and the Gendered Law: Critical Reflections on the Swedish Regulation’ 2023 21(1) International Journal of Constitutional Law 603 – 624, with Daniela Alaattinoglu
• Trans Identities and the Law 2023 21(1) International Journal of Constitutional Law, symposium edited with Daniela Alaattinoglu and Stefano Osella
• ‘When the Personal Becomes Political: Rethinking Legal Fatherhood’ 2022 20(3) International Journal of Constitutional Law
• ‘Re-reading Neulinger and Shuruk v Switzerland: Bringing the Religious Dimension into View 2022 23(7) German Law Journal 1029 – 1050
• ‘Fathers, Childcare and COVID-19’ 2021 29(1) Feminist Legal Studies 133 – 144
• ‘Trans Men Giving Birth and Reflections on Fatherhood: What to Expect?’ 2020 34(3) International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family 225 – 246 – among the 5 most read articles on IJLPF
• ‘Parenthood and Cross-Border Surrogacy: What’s ‘New’? The ECtHR’s First Advisory Opinion’ 2020 28(2) Medical Law Review 412 – 425

‘Trans(forming) Fatherhood? European Legal Approaches to ‘Seahorse Fatherhood’, in K. Duden and D. Wiedemann (eds.), Changing Families, Changing Family Law in Europe (Intersentia) 177–194 

Book Chapters

• ‘Surrogacy before European Courts: The Gender of Legal Fictions’, in M.-L. Öberg and A. Tryfonidou (eds.), The Family in EU Law (Cambridge University Press)
• ‘Another Side of Gender Equality: Fathers before the European Court of Human Rights’ in E. Brodeală, I. Jelić and S. Suteu, Women’s Human Rights Under European and International Law (Springer, forthcoming)

Edited Collections

• Leading Works in Law and Anthropology (edited with Larissa Vetters), Analysing Leading Works in Law Series (Routledge, forthcoming 2024)