Sanna Mustasaari
Associate Professor
Associate Professor
Law School, Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies
sanna.mustasaari@uef.fi | +358 50 476 6763
LL.D Sanna Mustasaari is Associate Professor of family law at the Center of Law and Welfare, UEF Law School. Her on-going research project Children Abroad: A Relational Analysis of Finnish Child Protection and Welfare in Transnational Contexts [CARELA], Academy of Finland 2020-2024) adopts an interdisciplinary approach to study children’s rights to protection in various transnational settings. She is the PI of the NOS-HS exploratory workshop series Transnational Childhoods, Transnational Rights (https://uefconnect.uef.fi/en/group/nos-hs-workshop-series-transnational-childhoods-transnational-rights-nordic-responses-to-global-challenges-in-the-field-of-child-protection/ ) and leads a subproject in a Consortium that focuses on cross-border child protection (SUOJATIE, 2022-2024).
Mustasaari’s PhD “Rethinking recognition: Transnational families and belonging in law” (2017) studied the diverse forms of the legality and recognition of family relationships in different normative systems. Her main research interests include religion and family law, human rights law, private international law, migration law, children’s rights, trans rights, relational legal theory, feminist legal theory, rights in context, and migration and transnationalism studies.
Research groups
Publications
Peer reviewed articles
- Kivioja, N. & Mustasaari, S. Rights-based social work as a practice. The role of child welfare social work in the repatriations of Finnish children from the camps in north-eastern Syria. European Journal of Social Work. Open access https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13691457.2024.2358354
- Mustasaari, S. 2024. ‘”We are here to put the past behind us”: Violence and welfare governmentality in Nordic family laws’ Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law. Open access: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09649069.2024.2345478
- Mustasaari, S. 2024. ‘Cross-border child protection cases between Finland and Central-Eastern Europe including Russia’, in K Duden and D Wiedemann (eds), Changing families, changing family law in Europe, Intersentia, 195-2016. The free eBook is available at https://www.larcier-intersentia.com/en/changing-families-changing-family-law-europe-9781839703805.html.
- Kolehmainen, A. & Mustasaari, S. 2023. Osituksen viivästyminen ja asumiskorvaus osituksessa. [Delays in divorce settlements and the compensation for the use of the home owned by the ex-spouse] Defensor Legis 4 /2023, 410-429.
- Vähäsavo, V., Hiitola, J., Innola, T., Rönkä, A., Louhela H., Mustasaari, S. ja Jalagin, S. 2023. ’Syljen jäljistä varjosukupuihin: tutkimus kaupallisten DNA-teknologioiden vaikutuksista monimuotoisiin suhteisiin’ [From traces of saliva to shadow-trees: a study on the impact of commercial DNA testing on a diversity of relations] Sosiologia 3-4/2023, 195-2011.
- Mustasaari, S. 2022. ‘Children abroad: A relational analysis of cross-border child protection cases in the Finnish Central Authority’, Child and Family Law Quarterly 34:4. I am the main editor of the special issue, which is fully available at: https://erepo.uef.fi/handle/123456789/30168 .
- Al-Sharmani, M. & Mustasaari, S. 2022. Islamic Family Law(s) in Finland: Reflections on Freedom of Religion from the Perspective of Well-being’, Available at https://journal.fi/temenos/article/view/113886 .
- Al-Sharmani, M. & Mustasaari, S. 2022. ‘Nuoret somalitaustaiset muslimit ja islamilainen perheoikeus.’ [Young Somali Muslims and Islamic Family Law] In: Johanna Konttori & Teemu Pauha (eds.). Suomalaiset muslimit. Helsinki: Gaudeamus.
- Mustasaari, S. 2023. ’Bileet! Feministinen teoria, relationaalinen autonomia ja nuorten seksuaalioikeudet’. [Party! Feminist theory, relational autonomy and sexual rights of adolescents] Teoksessa Maija Aalto-Heinilä, Anna Mäki-Petäjä-Leinonen & Paul Tiensuu (toim.) Itsemääräämisoikeus. Vastapaino. Available at https://blogit.vastapaino.fi/oa-kirjat/itsemaaraamisoikeus .
- Nieminen, K., Hurri, S., Soirila, U. & Mustasaari, S., 2021, ’Uusi oikeustapausanalyysi’ [New case analysis] in Nieminen, K. & Lähteenmäki, N. (eds.) Empiirinen oikeustutkimus. Helsinki: Gaudeamus, 233-224.
- Al-Sharmani, M. & Mustasaari, S. 2021. ‘Governing Divorce Practices of Somali Finnish Muslims: Does Religious Literacy Matter?’ in T. Sakaranaho, T. Aarrevaara and J. Konttori (eds.) Challenges of Religious Literacy. Springer.
- Mustasaari, S. 2021 ‘Best Interests and Joint Governance: Tracing Slowly Emerging Diversity in Finnish Family Law’ in M. Foblets & N. Yassari (eds.) Family Law and Cultural Diversity. Springer.
- Mustasaari, S. 2020. ‘Affective constructions of justice: ISIS-families and the law in the Finnish public debate,’ Oñati Socio-Legal Series 11(4), pp. 1036–1065. Available at: https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/1198
- Mustasaari, S. 2020 ‘Finnish Children or “Cubs of the Caliphate”? Jurisdiction and State ‘Response-ability’ in Human Rights Law, Private International Law and the Finnish Child Welfare Act,’ Oslo Law Review 1/2020, 22-45. Available at https://www.idunn.no/doi/full/10.18261/ISSN.2387-3299-2020-01-03
- Mustasaari, S. & Vora, V. 2019. ‘Muslim marriages, wellbeing and the law’, in Marja Tiilikainen, Mulki Al-Sharmani, & Sanna Mustasaari (eds.) Wellbeing of Transnational Muslim Families: Marriage, Law and Gender, pp. 39-58. London, New York: Routledge. Equal contributions, see endnote 1. Open access at: https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/312101/Wellbeing%20of%20Transnational%20Muslim%20Families.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
- Tiilikainen, M., Al-Sharmani, M. & Mustasaari, S. 2019. ‘Introduction: Wellbeing, family life, and transnational Muslims in the West’ in Marja Tiilikainen, Mulki Al-Sharmani & Sanna Mustasaari (eds.) Wellbeing of Transnational Muslim Families: Marriage, Law and Gender, pp. 1-21. London, New York: Routledge.
- Nieminen, K. & Mustasaari 2019. ‘Narratives of Belonging: Religion, Gendered body and claims of autonomy and authenticity,’ in Anne Macduff & Dorota Gozdecka (eds.) Beyond the Gendered Subject – The Provocation of the ‘Post’ in Law and Feminist Thought, 48-59. London, New York: Routledge. ISBN: 978-1.138-48834-2
- Mustasaari, S. & Al-Sharmani, M. 2018. ‘Between ‘Official’ and ‘Unofficial’: Discourses and Practices of Muslim Marriage Conclusion in Finland’, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion 7:3, 455–478. https://doi.org/10.1093/ojlr/rwy029
- Al-Sharmani, M., Mustasaari, S. & Ismail, A. 2018.’Uskonnollinen perheriitojen sovittelu suomalaisissa moskeijoissa: kehittyviä rooleja ja muovautuvia käytäntöjä,’ in Johanna Hiitola, Merja Anis & Kati Turtiainen (eds.) Maahanmuutto, palvelut ja hyvinvointi. Kohtaamisissa kehittyviä käytäntöjä. [Migration, services and welfare. Evolving practices in encounters] Finnish translation of previously published article ’Faith-based Family Dispute Resolution in Finnish Mosques: Unfolding Roles and Evolving Practices’.
- Mustasaari, S. 2017. ‘Ruling on belonging: Transnational marriages in Nordic immigration laws,’ Migration Letters 14:1, pp. 25-37.
- Al-Sharmani, M., Tiilikainen, M. & Mustasaari, S. 2017. ‘Editorial: Transnational Migrant Families: Navigating Marriage, Generation and Gender in Multiple Spheres,’ Migration Letters 14:1, pp. 1-10.
- Al-Sharmani, M., Mustasaari, S. & Ismail, A. 2017. ‘Faith-based Family Dispute Resolution in Finnish Mosques: Unfolding Roles and Evolving Practices,’ in Samia Bano (ed), Gender and Justice in Family Law Disputes: Women, Mediation, and Religious Arbitration, pp. 270-291. Waltham, MA, USA: Brandeis University Press.
- Mustasaari, S. 2016. ‘Best interests of the child in family reunification – A citizenship test disguised?’ in Griffiths, A., S. Mustasaari & A. Mäki-Petäjä-Leinonen, (eds.) Subjectivity, Citizenship and Belonging in Law: Identities and Intersections, pp. 124-145, Abingdon: Routledge.
- Mustasaari, S. 2015. ‘Law, Agency and the Intimate Relationships of Young People: from Rights to Duties and Back?’ in Dorota Gozdecka & Magdalena Kmak (eds.) Europe at the Edge of Pluralism, pp. 133–146. Cambridge: Intersentia.
- Mustasaari, S. and Koulu, S. 2015. ‘State Curriculum and Parents’ Convictions under the European Convention on Human Rights,’ in M. Jänterä-Jareborg (ed.) The Child’s Interests in Conflict: The Intersections between Society, Family, Faith and Culture, pp. 55–72. Intersentia.
- Mustasaari, S. 2015. ‘The “nuclear family paradigm” as a marker of rights and belonging in transnational families,’ Social Identities 21:4, pp. 359–372.
- Mustasaari, S. 2008. ’Islamilainen perheoikeus Suomen oikeusjärjestelmässä’ [Islamic Family Law in The Finnish Legal System]. Teoksessa Oikeustiede-Jurisprudentia 2008:XLI, 187-266.
Non-refereed scientific articles
- Mustasaari, S. 2024. KKO 2023:66: Lapsen palauttaminen – Haagin sopimus. [Return of the child – Hague 1980 Child Abduction Convention. Case commentary.] In Korkeimman oikeuden kommentein 2023: II. Alma Talent.
- Mustasaari, S. 2022. ‘Editorial – Transnational Child Protection’, Child and Family Law Quarterly 34:4. https://erepo.uef.fi/handle/123456789/30168
- Mustasaari, S. & Nieminen, K., 2021, ‘Law and emotions – new paths for research?’ No Foundations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Law and Justice 18, i-x.
- Mustasaari, S. 2019. ‘Extra-Judicial Muslim Divorces and Family Mediation in the Nordic Countries: What Role is There for the Welfare State?’ in K. Boele-Woelki (ed.) Plurality and Diversity of Family Relations in Europe, pp. 285-312. Cambridge: Intersentia.
- Nieminen, K., & Mustasaari, S. 2019. Editorial: Good Judgment? No Foundations : An Interdisciplinary Journal of Law and Justice, (16).
- Karjalainen, K., Mikkilä, T., Mustasaari, S., Salminen, K. & Mäki-Petäjä-Leinonen, A. 2018. Lainopillinen ja yhteiskuntatieteellisesti painottunut tutkimus: Yhtä perhettä. [Legal-dogmatic research and socio-legal research: One family] Lakimies 6/2018.
- Mustasaari, S. 2016. ‘CEDAW and the Riddle of Diversity: Can Culture, Traditions or Religion Justify Economic Inequalities Embedded in Family Laws?’ in M. Jänterä-Jareborg & H. Tigroudja (eds.) Women’s Human Rights and the Elimination of Discrimination / Les droits des femmes et l’élimination de la discrimination, pp. 391-420. Leiden: Brill.
- Mustasaari, S., A. Mäki-Petäjä-Leinonen & A. Griffiths. ’Identities and Intersections: Critical Perspectives on the Person of the Law,’ in Griffiths, A., S. Mustasaari & A. Mäki-Petäjä-Leinonen, (eds.) Subjectivity, Citizenship and Belonging in Law: Identities and Intersections, pp. 3-23, Abingdon: Routledge.
- Mustasaari, S. 2013. ‘Nahkatakkisia tyttöjä ja neitsythäkkejä – “normaalius” nuorten seksuaalioikeuksien määrittäjänä,’ [Girls in leather jackets and caged virgins – Defining the sexual rights of adolescents through “normality”] in S. Hakalehto-Wainio & L. Nieminen (eds.) Lapsen oikeudet murroksessa. Lakimiesliiton kustannus.
- Koulu, S. & Mustasaari, S. 2012. Kansainväliset lapsen huoltoa koskevat velvoitteet ja Suomen käytäntö,’ [International obligations of the state and Finnish praxis regarding children’s care and custody] in M. Mikkola and O. Khazova (eds.) Riita lapsen huollosta Suomessa ja Venäjällä. University of Helsinki, Forum Iuris, s. 35-55.
- Mustasaari, S. 2019. ‘Law relating to foreign nationals’, book review of Ulkomaalaisoikeus edited by Kallio et al (2018), Nordic Journal of Migration
Research , vol. 9 , no. 3 , pp. 413-416. https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/307217/Mustasaari.pdf?sequence=3 - Mustasaari, S. 2012. Book review of Sörgjerd, Caroline: Reconstructing Marriage. The Legal Status of Relationships in a Changing Society (2012), Lakimies 4/2012, 614–617.
- Mustasaari, S. 2014. Book review of Maclean, Mavis – Eekelaar, John (eds.): Managing Family Justice in Diverse Societies (2013), Lakimies 4/2014, 625–630.
- Mustasaari, S. 2012. ‘KKO 2012:11 Isyyslain siirtymäsäännösten kanneaika,’[Case commentary] in P. Timonen (ed.) KKO:n ratkaisut kommentein 2012:1. Helsinki: Talentum.
Scientific books (monographs)
- Mustasaari, S. 2017. Annotated Legal Documents on Islam in Europe: Finland, Leiden: Brill.
- Edited Journal Special Issue. 2022. ‘Transnational Child Protection,’ Child and Family Law Quarterly 34:4, available at: https://erepo.uef.fi/handle/123456789/30168
- Edited Journal Special Issue. 2017. ‘Transnational Migrant Families: Navigating Marriage, Generation and Gender in Multiple Spheres,’ Migration Letters 14:1, guest edited by Mulki Al-Sharmani, Marja Tiilikainen & Sanna Mustasaari.
- Edited Journal Special Issue. 2021. ‘Law and emotions – new paths for research?’ No Foundations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Law and Justice 18, edited by Sanna Mustasaari & Kati Nieminen.
- Edited volume: Subjectivity, Citizenship and Belonging in Law: Identities and Intersections. 2016. Abingdon: Routledge. Edited by A. Griffiths, S. Mustasaari & A. Mäki-Petäjä-Leinonen.
- Edited volume: Wellbeing of Transnational Muslim Families: Marriage, Law and Gender. 2019. Routledge. Edited by M. Tiilikainen, M. Al-Sharmani & S. Mustasaari.
Publications intended for the general public
- Mustasaari, S. ja Sillanpää, S. 2024. ’Lakiuudistus ei riitä auttamaan avioliittoon pakotettuja ihmisiä’ [Op-ed: Amendments to the Marriage Act are not enough – more support is needed for people who have been forced to marry] Helsingin Sanomat, 17 January 2024.
- Mustasaari, S. 2022. ‘The issue of extraterritorial jurisdiction in the repatriation of children detained in Syrian camps: shortcomings in the ECtHR judgment in H.F. and Others v. France’ Strasbourg Observers blog, available at https://strasbourgobservers.com/2022/11/01/the-issue-of-extraterritorial-jurisdiction-in-the-repatriation-of-children-detained-in-syrian-camps-shortcomings-in-the-ecthr-judgment-in-h-f-and-others-v-france%EF%BF%BC/
- Mustasaari, S. 2022. ’Koillis-Syyrian leireillä olevien lasten ja äitien oikeudet esillä Euroopan ihmisoikeustuomioistuimessa – H.F. ja muut vastaan Ranska’ [The rights of children and mothers in camps in North-East Syria are presented at the European Court of Human Rights – H.F. and others against France] Perustuslakiblogi 9.2022 https://perustuslakiblogi.wordpress.com/2022/09/20/sanna-Mustasaari-koillis-syyrian-leireilla-olevien-lasten-ja-aitien-oikeudet-esilla-euroopan-ihmisoikeustuomioistuimessa-h-f-ja-muut-vastaan-ranska/
- Mustasaari, S. 2019. ’Al-Holin suomalaisnaiset ja -lapset kansainvälisen yksityisoikeuden näkökulmasta’ [Finnish women and children in the al-Hol camp from the perspective of private international law] Perustuslakiblogi12.2019 https://perustuslakiblogi.wordpress.com/2019/12/17/sanna-Mustasaari-al-holin-suomalaisnaiset-ja-lapset-kansainvalisen-yksityisoikeuden-nakokulmasta/
- Mustasaari, S. & Al-Sharmani, M. 2018. ’Sharia-laki ymmärretään usein väärin – Vastakkainasettelu islamin normien ja Suomen lain välillä perustuu yksinkertaistuksiin’ [Op-ed: Sharia law is often misunderstood – The confrontation between Islamic norms and Finnish law is based on simplifications] Helsingin Sanomat6.2018. https://www.hs.fi/mielipide/art-2000005719849.html
Theses
- Mustasaari, S. 2017. Doctoral dissertation (article-based): Rethinking recognition: Transnational families and belonging in law. Helsinki: University of Helsinki.* Available at https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/225021/RETHINKI.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
- Mustasaari, S. 2008. Master’s Thesis in Law. Islamilainen perheoikeus Suomen oikeusjärjestelmässä’ [Islamic Family Law in The Finnish Legal System] Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki.
Publications
18/18 items-
'We are here to put the past behind us': violence and welfare governmentality in Finnish family law
Mustasaari, Sanna. 2024. Journal of social welfare and family law. [Epub ahead of print 28 April 2024]: 1-20 A1 Journal article (refereed), original research -
KKO 2023:66 Kieltäytymisperusteet lapsen palauttamista koskevassa asiassa
Mustasaari, Sanna. Teoksessa: Hoffrén, Mia(toim.) , 2024. KKO:n ratkaisut kommentein II/2023. s. 131-145. Alma Talent B2 Book section -
KKO 2024:18 Asiavaltuus adoptioasian muutoksenhaussa
Mustasaari, Sanna. Teoksessa: Hoffrén, Mia(toim.) , 2024. KKO:n ratkaisut kommentein I/2024. s. 140-151. Alma Talent B2 Book section -
KKO 2024:33 Espanjassa tehdyn testamentin tiedoksiantoon sovellettava laki sekä laillisen tiedoksiannon edellytykset
Mustasaari, Sanna. Teoksessa: Hoffren, Mia(toim.) , 2024. KKO:n ratkaisut kommentein I/2024. s. 272-278. Alma Talent B2 Book section -
KKO 2024:8 Lapsen elatusta sijaishuollon aikana koskeva täytäntöönpanoriita
Mustasaari, Sanna. Teoksessa: Hoffrén, Mia(toim.) , 2024. KKO:n ratkaisut kommentein I/2024. s. 65-70. Alma Talent B2 Book section -
Rights-based social work as a practice. The role of child welfare social work in the repatriations of Finnish children from the camps in north-eastern Syria
Kivioja, Noora; Mustasaari, Sanna. 2024. European journal of social work. [Epub ahead of print 31 May 2024]: 1-12 A1 Journal article (refereed), original research -
Bileet! Feministinen teoria, relationaalinen autonomia ja nuorten seksuaalioikeudet
Mustasaari, Sanna. Teoksessa: Tiensuu, Paul; Aalto-Heinilä, Maija; Mäki-Petäjä-Leinonen, Anna(toim.) , 2023. Itsemääräämisoikeus : Teoriasta käytäntöön. s. 209-231. Vastapaino A3 Book section, Chapters in research books -
Osituksen viivästyminen ja asumiskorvaus osituksessa
Kolehmainen, Antti; Mustasaari, Sanna. 2023. Defensor legis. 104: 410 - 429 A1 Journal article (refereed), original research -
Syljen jäljistä varjosukupuihin: tutkimus kaupallisten DNA-teknologioiden vaikutuksista monimuotoisiin suhteisiin
Vähä-Savo, Valtteri; Hiitola, Joa; Innola, Tuuli; Rönkä, Anna Reetta; Lounela, Helena; Mustasaari, Sanna; Jalagin, Seija. 2023. Sosiologia. 60: 195-211 A1 Journal article (refereed), original research -
Children abroad: a relational analysis of cross-border child protection cases in the Finnish central authority
Mustasaari, Sanna. 2022. Child and family law quarterly. 34: 1-20 A1 Journal article (refereed), original research