What’s New in Comparative Public Law

–Angelique Devaux, French Licensed Attorney (Notaire)

In this weekly feature, I-CONnect publishes a curated reading list of developments in comparative 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 comparative public law blogosphere.

To submit relevant developments for our weekly feature on “What’s New in Comparative Public Law,” please email contact.iconnect@gmail.com.

Developments in Constitutional Courts

1. The Constitutional Court of Turkey ruled that postponing a strike is a violation of the right the strike.
2. Costa Rica’s Constitutional court ruled that a child born in the U.S. who lost his birth certificate may be granted Costa Rican nationality based on DNA test.
3. The Russian Constitutional Court ruled that Russian law supersedes international treaties and conventions.
4. The Constitutional Court of Turkey published a decision regarding essential elements of court decisions.

New Scholarship

1. Richard Albert, The Theory and Doctrine of Unconstitutional Constitutional Amendment in Canada, Queen’s Law Journal (forthcoming 2016) (tracing the origin of the theory and doctrine of unconstitutional constitutional amendment, and suggesting a framework for evaluating the constitutionality of constitutional amendments in Canada)
2. Paul Daly, A Supreme Court’s Place in the Constitutional Order – Contrasting Recent Experiences in Canada and the United Kingdom, Queens’ Law Journal, forthcoming (comparing the position of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in their respective constitutional orders)
3. Joshua C. Gellers and Christopher Jeffords, Procedural Environmental Rights and Environmental Justice: Assessing the Impact of Environmental Constitutionalism (finding that the right
   to information in environmental matters is associated with improved
   access to clean water and sanitation)
4. Gail J. Hupper, Educational Ambivalence: The Rise of a Foreign-Student Doctorate in Law, 49 New England Law Review 319 (2015) (examining the evolution of the foreign-student doctorate in law in the U.S.)
5. Tariq Modood, Multiculturalism and Moderate Secularism, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Research Paper (discussing three multiculturalist approaches and moderate secularism)
6. Angela Huyue Zhang, The Faceless Court (examining the behavior of judges and their law clerks at the Court of Justice of the European Union)

In the News

1. In Canada, civil rights groups challenged changes to the Citizenship Act.
2. The European Regulation on Successions has entered into force as of August 17, 2015.
3. Illinois banned gay conversion therapy for minors.
4. The U.S. Justice of Department decided that gay couples are eligible for Social Security Benefits.
5. The Tennessee Supreme Court is considering changing rules about media access to court room.

Calls for Papers and Announcements

1. The Indian Journal of Constitutional Law invites submission for its 2016 issue.
2. The Research Unit in Law of the University of Luxembourg has issued a call for papers for junior scholars for a roundtable at a conference to be held on 12-13 November 2015 on the settlement of tax disputes under international law.
3. The Lisbon Centre for Research in Public Law has issued a call for papers for its “II Lisbon International Workshop on Global Administrative Law: Unity and Diversity of Global Administrative Regimes”, which will take place on December 4th at the University of Lisbon School of Law.
4. The International Journal on Consumer Law and Practice welcomes submissions for its Volume IV to be launched in 2016.
5. The Law & Economics Center is considering applications for three new LEC Workshops for Law Professors.
6. The Central States Law Schools Association 2015 invites submissions of proposals for its conference to be held on October 9-10, 2015 at The University of Toledo College of Law.

Elsewhere on the Internet

1. Humphrey Sipalla, To achieve transformation, Kenyan law needs to shun a hierarchy of sources, AfricLaw.com
2. Term limits and the Supreme Court: Is it bad to have a bunch of old judges? The Economist
3. Amaury A. Reyes-Torres, Olairi v. Italy: The First Step to Equal Marriage in Europe?org
4. Sasha Volokh, Judicial Non-Delegation, Part 3, The Washington Post
5. Steven D. Schwinn, Missouri Court Upholds Ban on Felon Gun Possession, Constitutional Law Prof Blog
6. Shawn Marie Boyne, German Prisons and Human Dignity, Comparative Law Prof Blog