Dr Fabrizia Cesarano
Dr. Fabrizia Cesarano is a Research Fellow in Law and Organizational Studies for the Promotion of Diversity and Inclusion (LOSPD) at the Scuola Superiore Meridionale (Italy). She holds a Doctor Europaeus Ph.D. in Private Law, awarded for a Spanish-language dissertation on social parenthood, completed during a visiting research period at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain).
Her research focuses on the theme of inclusion, explored through an interdisciplinary lens and grounded in both theoretical and practical dimensions. It is structured around several interconnected areas that frame inclusion in its multiple facets: from the collective management of commons, to the right to housing, and to social parenthood.
At the School of Law and Social Justice (SLSJ) at the University of Liverpool, she has further developed her research on parenthood through the lens of the best interests of the child. In particular, she has been working on her first monograph, dedicated to social parenthood in Italy, with the aim of rethinking legal institutions such as adoption, medically assisted reproduction, and surrogacy in light of a more effective and concrete interpretation of the child’s best interests.
This work was almost completed during her time at SLSJ, where she is also a member of the European Children’s Rights Unit (ECRU). She took part in the ECRU Summer Research Writing Workshop, during which she finalised a paper on the inadequacy of the Italian adoption framework, which she presented at the ECRU – Children’s Rights Lab Showcase on 15 September 2025. She will continue to collaborate with the Unit on future projects.
In addition, she is co-authoring a comparative article with Dr. Zaina Mahmood on the Italian Constitutional Court's judgment no. 68/2025. The paper focuses on the terminology used in the Court’s legal reasoning and the role of consent in parenthood projects in both Italy and the United Kingdom.
She has had the opportunity to present her research at the annual conferences of both the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) and the Society of Legal Scholars (SLS).
“These months in Liverpool have been more than just a visiting research period.
I want to thank Zaina Mahmoud for being such an incredible guide, and Nico Brando and Helen Stalford for welcoming me into the ECRU group and for all the time, care, and attention they — along with all the members of the ECRU Unit — dedicated to my research.
The people I’ve shared this time and space with (especially on the third floor) made me feel at home — welcomed, included, and part of a community. They taught me what collaborative and truly interdisciplinary research really means.
Liverpool wasn’t just a place where I worked; it was a place where I lived.”
Dr Fabrizia Cesarano's Honorary Fellowship runs from 15 May 2025 - 15 November 2026.