Erik Mägi
About Erik Mägi
About me
I am a doctoral candidate in private law at the Department of Law, School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg. My research examines how the Swedish parenthood legislation addresses the diversity of family formations, with a particular focus on motherhood. I have published a textbook on family law as well as scholarly and opinion-based articles. My teaching primarily concerns family law, but also includes labour law, anti-discrimination law, and theoretical perspectives on law.
Research
My doctoral project examines how the law determines who is regarded as a parent, with a particular focus on motherhood. The study traces legal developments from the 1734 Code of Law to the current regulatory framework and analyses how fundamental principles interact with a growing number of exceptions. The project aims to contribute to the understanding of contemporary parenthood law and to a discussion on how the regulation can become more functional, equal in treatment, and better oriented towards the best interests of the child.
A central conclusion is that motherhood is largely taken for granted in law, despite the fact that it is not always self-evident who should be regarded as the mother. Assisted reproduction, same-sex relationships, legal gender recognition, surrogacy arrangements, and migration challenge this order. My research shows how such situations are addressed legally through a pattern of norm and deviation, in which core rules remain implicit and new cases are resolved through exceptions, often without the underlying principles being clearly articulated.
My principal supervisor is Ulf Petrusson, Professor of Legal Science. Co-supervisors are Torbjörn Odlöw, Senior Lecturer in Private Law, and Sari Kouvo, Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in International Law. The project is funded by the Fru Mary von Sydows, née Wijk, Donation Fund. I have presented papers at several international conferences.
Together with Elin Jonsson, Senior Lecturer at Umeå University, I published a scholarly article in 2021 in Swedish: Ändrad könstillhörighet och rättsligt föräldraskap (Legal Gender Recognition and Legal Parenthood).
Teaching and pedagogy
I primarily teach family law at both undergraduate and advanced levels of the law programme. I also teach labour law, anti-discrimination law, and theoretical perspectives on law. I have previously taught at Stockholm University as well as on the social work and work science programmes at the University of Gothenburg.
Together with Lina-lea Zimmerman, I am the author of the textbook Stjärnfamiljejuridik (Family Law and Diversed Families) (Gleerups 2015), which is now freely available online. In 2016, we were awarded the Jörn Svensson Prize for our work on the rights of LGBTQ people.
On behalf of the Department of Law, I conducted a norm-critical review of exercise materials in the law programme in Gothenburg in 2018. I have also published an article in English summarising the report and elaborations on norm-critical pedagogy in legal education: Lessons from a Study of Diversity and Equality in Legal Education.
Collaboration and outreach
I actively participate in public debate, see for example DN Debatt (2018): ”Nya förslaget om regler för adoptioner redan omodernt” (“The New Proposal on Adoption Rules Already Outdated”) and SvD Debatt (2022): ”Lagstifta mot surrogatindustrin” (“Legislate Against the Surrogacy Industry”). I have also authored consultation responses and been invited as an expert in several governmental inquiries on parenthood. I served as an appointed expert in the Swedish Government Official Report Alla tiders föräldraskap – ett stärkt skydd för barns familjeliv (SOU 2022:38).
I have given lectures for public authorities, civil society organisations, and in public forums, including the Ministry of Justice, the Equality Ombudsman (DO) and the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (RFSL). See a recorded lecture from the School of Business, Economics and Law Knowledge Lunch (2019): Why Do Children in LGBTQ Families Face More Complicated Laws?
Other
My previous professional experience includes work within the values-based civil society sector and municipal administration, as well as a political adviser in the Government Offices of Sweden.
I have participated in the following networks:
- Nordic Centre for Comparative and International Family Law (NorFam)
- Swedish Network for Family and Kinship Studies
- Family Law, Practices and Policies (FaMLAPP)
- Forskarnätverket för hållbar utveckling
- Familjepolitiska nätverket
External profiles: