What’s New in Public Law

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—Matteo Mastracci, PhD Researcher, Koç University, Istanbul

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In this weekly feature, I-CONnect publishes a curated reading list of developments in public law. “Developments” may include a selection of links to news, high court decisions, new or recent scholarly books and articles, and blog posts from around the public law blogosphere. To submit relevant developments for our weekly feature on “What’s New in Public Law,” please email contact.iconnect@gmail.com.

Developments in Constitutional Courts

1. Human Rights Committee adopted a statement on derogations from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic clarifying the fulfilment of the requirements and conditions laid down in Article 4 of the Covenant.
2. US Supreme Court dismissed landmark gun rights case.
3. German Federal Constitutional Court struck down a provision of the Criminal Code criminalizing commercial assisted suicide.
4. The Constitutional Court of Turkey ruled for the cancellation of security checks of public employees due to violation of their right to privacy.
5. The Moldovan Constitutional Court blocked the disbursement of a 200 million euro ($214.94 million) loan from Russia.
6. Slovakia’s Constitutional Court rejected the request for election annulment.
7. The Constitutional Court of Korea ruled against banning teachers from joining political groups.

In the News

1. The European Commission launched a new infringement procedure against Poland regarding the attack on the independence of judiciary.
2. Vladimir Turcan, president of the Constitutional Court of Moldova, has been dismissed from his post.
3. Kyrgyz MP, former judge Kurmankul Zulushev, has initiated a draft law to hold a referendum to amend the Kyrgyzstan’s Constitution of 2010.
4. UK, in the post-Brexit scenario, might risk a formal rejection of the application to remain part of the Lugano convention.
5. Lesotho amended its Constitution narrowing the prime minister’s powers to dissolve the Parliament and call new elections. 

New Scholarship

1. Sofia Ranchordás and Yaniv Roznai (eds.), Time, Law, and Change: An Interdisciplinary Study (2020) (offering a unique perspective on the relationship between time, change, and law-making processes)
2. Matej Avbelj and Jernej Letnar Černič, The Impact of European Institutions on the Rule of Law and Democracy: Slovenia and Beyond  (2020) (arguing that the Slovenian EU dream might be seen as a misleading conception in the EU accession discourse)
3. Cora Chan and Fiona de Londras (eds.), China’s National Security: Endangering Hong Kong’s Rule of Law? (2020) (exploring how to protect national security while preserving the rule of law in the China-Hong Kong context)
4. Mark Elliott and Kirsty Hughes (eds.), Common Law Constitutional Rights (2020) (inquiring on both the content and role of individual common law constitutional rights in the legal reasoning of UK Supreme Court)
5. András Jakab and Sebastian Schmid (eds.), ZöR Festausgabe 100 Jahre B-VG (2020) (analysing the history, doctrinal features and efficacy of the 100 years old Austrian Federal Constitution of 1920)
6. Jorge Roa Roa, The Role of Constitutional Courts in Latin American Transformative Constitutionalism, (2020) (arguing for the existence of a transformative constitutionalism model in Latin America)

Call for Papers and Announcements

1. IACL December Roundtable: Submission Deadline Extension and Update. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have extended the submission deadline to 1 June and we are reviewing the format for the IACL Roundtable scheduled for 10-11 December: ‘Democracy 2020: Assessing Constitutional Decay, Breakdown and Renewal’. The Update Announcement is here. 
2. COVID-DEM: How is COVID-19 Impacting Democracy? On 3 April the global research platform DEM-DEC launched the COVID-DEM Infohub, which aims to help democracy analysts worldwide track, compile, and share information on how State responses to COVID-19 are impacting on democracy. It contains curated information including databases, academic research, a ‘super blog’ providing access to analysis on over 30 blogs, policy analysis podcasts, and webinars. You can submit your own work and suggestions to feature on the Infohub, reaching an audience of thousands across over 100 countries.
3. The International Forum on the Future of Constitutionalism invites all to join a free live online seminar on “How to Write a Book in Constitutional Law–and Get it Published: Advice from Scholars around the World,” on May 15, 2020.
4. University of Oslo, Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX), invites applications for a PhD Research Fellow to work on the project “Comparing Histories of Antisemitism in Contemporary Europe”.
5. The International Forum on the Future of Constitutionalism invites participants to register for the course “Modern Challenges in Constitutionalism: Perspectives from the World’s Leading Experts”. The eight-week course will be held on Zoom starting on May 20, 2020.
6. Sant ’Anna Pisa, School of Advanced Studies, invites applications for admission to the PhD in Law. Deadline for submission is June 5, 2020.
7. WATER, open access journal on water science and technology, invites submission for the special issue “Water Resources Management, Policy and Governance”. The deadline is January 15, 2021.
8. The IACL-AIDC research group on “Gender and Constitutions” invites scholars, practitioners and activists to contribute for the ‘Observatory on COVID-19 effects on gender equality’.
9. The City Law School Jean Monnet Chair of Law & Transatlantic Relations, the Institute for the study of European Law (ISEL) and the International Law and Affairs Group (ILAG) will host a webinar on “The Law of Facebook: Borders, Regulation and Global Social Media” the next 15 May (UK Time).
10. Publius: The Journal of Federalism invites scholars to submit article proposals for the special issue, “Federalism and the Coronavirus Pandemic.” The deadline is May 20, 2020.
11. The University of Belgrade Faculty of Law and the Serbian Association for Legal and Social Philosophy are organizing the 7th annual Student conference in theory and philosophy of law on the following subject “International Tribunals and the Rule of Law”. Abstracts should be sent by September 1, 2020.

Elsewhere Online

1. Jack Balkin, Symposium on Richard Albert, Constitutional Amendments: Collected Posts, Balkinization
2. Juan Auz, Global South climate litigation versus climate justice: duty of international cooperation as a remedy?, Vöelkerrechtsblog
3. Jorge Contesse, The Downfall of a Constitutional Court, Verfassungsblog
4. Asylai Akisheva, Presidential Immunity v. Equality before the Law: the Case of the Kyrgyz Constitutional Chamber, cogitoIXVII
5. Lucia Serena Rossi, A ‘new course’ of the Bundesverfassungsgericht in the context of constitutional complaints: the balancing of conflicting rights and the application of Union law, EU Law Analysis
6. Irina Criveț, Improving domestic compliance with UN treaty body decisions, Küremer
7. Max Steuer, Slovak Constitutionalism and the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Implications of State Panic, IACL-IADC Blog
8. Stephen M. Griffin, American Federalism, the Coronavirus Pandemic, and the Legacy of Hurricane Katrina, ConstitutionNet
9. Ali Yurtsever, Legal Effects of COVID-19 on Rent Payments and Employment, Turkish Law Blog
10. David R. Cameron, European Council approves Eurogroup’s €540 billion package, agrees to establish recovery fund  , Yale MacMillan Center