The University of  Udine (www.uniud.it)  is a state university based on Udine (Italy) and it was founded in 1978. Ten faculties are active and one School which provides advanced courses additional to traditional university courses.The University of Udine is divided into various departments.

The Department of Legal Sciences of the University of Udine promotes, coordinates and organizes scientific research, theoretical and applied sciences, related to legal and political analysis. The purpose of the Department is to work in the various fields of basic research and those most closely apply, including applied research carried out in conjunction with external to the University.

The Department operates in the following research areas:

• Private disciplines
• Public disciplines
• Historical and Legal disciplines
• Political and Philosophical disciplines

The Department consists in:

• the Director
• the Board
• the Council

The Department guarantees every teacher and researcher linked to it, the effective exercise of freedom of research in the scientific areas and it gives them in relations to needs and availability: space, funds, equipment and staff collaboration. It contributes, in collaboration with the Council of Degree, Diploma, Specialization and Advanced, to teaching the classes related to it and it coordinates the use of educational facilities and services attached.

The Department encourages the research of teaching activities. It carries out its research program also thanks to the research and advice activity with institutions and public and private bodies. 

The Department organizes scientific seminars, conferences and symposia, often through the links with similar facilities in Italy and abroad. It promotes and encourages the publication and dissemination of research results.

Staff

Alexander Schuster, Ph.D. (Strasbourg, Trento).

Alexander is the project coordinator at the European level and the scientific director of the Lenford Research Centre in Florence. He is a post-doc researcher at the University of Udine and a lecturer in law at the University of Trento. He holds a dual doctorate with a thesis on gender-neutral family institutions. He recently coordinated a major interdisciplinary research for the Italian government on LGBT discrimination in the South of Italy. He is an Italian attorney as well as an independent legal expert of the EU Commission. He is the legal counsel of the two couples in the same-gender marriage case that ended up to the Italian Constitutional Court in 2010.

Francesco Bilotta, Ph.D. (Trieste)

Francesco is a researcher in private law at the University of Udine and the scientific supervisor for the applicant of the Equal Jus project. He has written extensively in the field of private law, civil damages and LGBT rights and was editor of the book Le unioni fra persone dello stesso sesso (Same-Sex Unions, Milan 2008). Francesco is a lawyer in Trieste and is the national coordinator of the Italian litigation campaign for the right to marry of same-sex couples. He triggered the first preliminary ruling to the Italian Constitutional Court in Venice in March 2009. He is one of the founders of Avvocatura per i diritti LGBT – Rete Lenford.

Silvia Bolognini, Ph.D.

Silvia is a researcher in agrarian law at the University of Udine. She is involved in the project as a senior researcher and contributes to the projects with researches on sexual orientation, gender identity and the law. She has published on several issues in the field of Italian civil law and EU law.

Osman Bashir Ahmed, Ph.D. (Udine).

Bashir is the co-financial officer of the Equal Jus project and works closely with the coordinator for an effective financial implementation of the project.

Former Staff