What’s New in Public Law

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—Juan Sebastián López, researcher in international human rights law and constitutional law, J.D. Universidad Externado de Colombia.

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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 iconnecteditors@gmail.com.

Developments in Constitutional Courts

1. The Colombian Constitutional Court warned that the deprivation of liberty as a consequence of a criminal sanction or compliance with a preventive measure should not nullify the capacity of people to be holders of fundamental rights and Human Rights as universal guarantees while reviewing a writ of protection presented by 578 women for low quality in their meals.
2. The Constitutional Court of Hungary ruled that parts of the Gardening Act did not meet the requirement of normative clarity, affirming that the uninterpreatability of the rule is an error of legislative nature.
3. The Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled in favor of overturning a decision made by Pakistan’s election body that would have kept the Tehreek-e-Insaf Party from holding at least 20 seats in the parliament.
4. The Constitutional Court of Perú ruled that the prolonged duration of over thirteen years in legal proceedings violated the defendant’s fundamental right to a timely trial, particularly noting that there was a lack of consistency between the case’s complexity and the duration of the case.
5. The European Court of Human Rights held unanimously that Latvia violated articles 3 and 8, in conjunction with article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights due to the State fostering a sense of impunity for hate-motivated offences that could result in normalizing hostility towards LGBTI individuals. 

In the News

1. Two States have requested the United States Supreme Court to review rulings that blocked the enforcement of state laws prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in sports.
2. Protests have taken place in the Dominican Republic as a result of the initial approval received by the new criminal code bill that would include a clause criminalizing abortion without exceptions.
3. The French president accepted the resignation of the Prime Minister, officially starting a transition period while a new executive is appointed.
4. The Burkina Faso military junta has adopted the draft of a family code that criminalises homosexuality amidst growing repression of the LGBTQ people in the region.
5. Protests in Bangladesh over government job quotas have escalated, with thousands participating. Students demand merit-based hiring, while others defend existing quotas.

New Scholarship

1. Çınar, Esat, A Comparative Analysis of EU Merger Control, Verlag Dr. Kovac, 2024.
2. Zieglar, Mary; Siegel, Reva, Abortion’s New Criminalization—A History-And-Tradition Right to Healthcare Access After Dobbs and the 2023 Term, Yale Law School (2024).
3. Bailly, Jessy; Rondiat, Coline; Augé, Anaïs, Reuchamps, Min, Populism as a centrist strategy for disqualification: The use of ‘populism(s)/populist(s)’ in Belgian, French and Spanish Parliaments, Parliamentary Affairs (2024).
4. Blitt, Robert, The Constitution of the Russian Federation: A Contextual Analysis, The American Journal of Comparative Law (2024).
5. Rezadoost, Vahid, Unveiling the ‘author’ of international law — The ‘legal effect’ of ICJ’s advisory opinions, Journal of International Dispute Settlement (2024).

Calls for Papers and Announcements

1. The 1^st Peruvian Congress on International Law will be held on the7th and 8^th of November, 2024. Find more information on their website.
2. The 6^th Seminar of the Colombian Chapter of the International Society of Public Law ICON-S “Resignifying the Territory: Human Rights, Constitutional Democracy and People-centered Justice” will take place on the 18^th, 19^th and 20^th of September, 2024. Get ready to attend and obtain more information.
3. Call for Papers: Ecocide, Human Rights, and Environmental Justice, Special Issue of the International Journal of Human Rights. Submit your proposals by July 26^th in no more than 300 words and a brief bio (100 words) to editors@ecocidelaw.com
4. Registrations are open for the Max Planck Law Annual Conference 2024, taking place in Berlin on October 21^st and 22^nd. Deadline for submissions: August 30^th.
5. The Universidad Complutense de Madrid, in collaboration with the Spanish chapter of ICON-S will be holding the International Congress on Artificial Intelligence, Elections & Justice. Submissions can be sent until the 25^th of July.

Elsewhere Online

1. Natalia Ángel-Cabo, “Displacemente due to environmental factors is one of the great tragedies of our time”, Verfassungsblog.
2. Carla Di Martino, What Social Assistance for Foreigners in Italy? A clash between the Legislature and the Courts, IACL-AIDC Blog.
3. Ayush Kumar, SEB Status to Gender Minotiries? – Pragmatic Interpretation from the Madras High Court over the NALSA Verdict, The Society for Constitutional Law Discussion.
4. International Court of Justice, Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
5. Maryluz Barragán & Sindy Castro present reflections in regards to “The Right to defend rights in Colombia and Latin America”, on Agenda Estado de Derecho.