The SIG is delighted to announce that Dr Leontine Bruijnen has been awarded the ELI Family & Succession Law SIG Prize for Best Doctoral thesis of 2024/2025 for the thesis on ‘How can private international law bridge the gap between the recognition of unknown family relations such as kafala and child marriage for family law and migration law purposes?’ defended on 5 June 2025 at the University of Antwerp (Belgium).

Dr Bruijnen will receive ELI SIG’s Certificate of Distinction and the opportunity to present her research in a dedicated Webinar to be held on 5 March 2026 at 15:00 CET.

The Selection Committee has decided to award a special mention for the originality and innovation of the theses of Doctors Antonio Jesús Calzado Llamas and Rachele Zamperini.

Doctor Calzado Llamas defended a thesis on ‘Los derechos del cónyuge viudo y la pareja supérstite en Derecho civil comparado e Internacional Privado’ on 4 April 2025 at the University of Seville in cotutorship with the Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna.

Doctor Rachele Zamperini defended a thesis on ‘Defining the Best Interests of The Child in Family Law Disputes: from Theoretical Analysis to Practical Application’ on 14 March 2024 at the Università di Pisa, Italy.

The Family and Successions Law SIG wishes to thank all participants for submitting their very valuable and enriching research, the University of Graz for its generous support, and Prof Denise Wiedemann, Max Planck Institute for Comparative and Private International Law, Hamburg, for her invaluable commitment in our selection committee.

More on the motivations for the prize and the two special mentions here.