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 recalled that every person deprived of liberty has the right not to be subjected to extreme temperatures, since that circumstance implies cruel and undignified treatment.
2. The Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) ruled that birth certificates issued by hospitals must use inclusive terms to encompass the transgender population that are identified as the parents of the child.
3. The Supreme Court of India ruled Section 6A of the Citizenship Act being constitutional on the grounds that it establishes rules for obtaining citizenship beyond the scope of articles 6 and 7 of the Constitution.
4. The Constitutional Court of Italy declared a portion of Puglia regional law no. 27 of 2023 unconstitutional for imposing compensation measures on gas plants, on the grounds of exceeding regional authority by applying those measures to plants with existing construction authorizations, in contradiction of Article 117 – Paragraph 3 of the Constitution.
5. The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation of Mexico ruled that procedural formalities should not constitute a barrier in deciding the substance of a case, on the grounds that it is a constitutional duty to prioritize justice, especially when the rights of minors are involved.

In the News

1. The United States Supreme Court will hear arguments challenging Tennessee’s ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors on December 4th.
2. The Roman Court has ruled that migrants sent by Italy to Albania cannot be detained, on the grounds that their countries of origin could not be designated as “safe,” leading to the likely return of these migrants to Italy and halting the implementation of the migrant processing scheme.
3. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights calls for States to guarantee reproductive health for rural women, girls and adolescents.
4. Kenya’s Deputy President was impeached from office by the Senate as a result of facing eleven charges, making him the first deputy president to be removed from office since the adoption of Kenya’s constitution.
5. Key constitutional amendments have been approved in the Dominican Republic, most recently one that prohibits the president from seeking re-election or running for vice presidency.

New Scholarship

1. Thorning Christian, The Danish EU Opt-Outs, Bloomsbury Publishing (2024).
2. Groves Matthew, Thomson Stephen, Weeks Greg, Administrative Tribunals in the Common Law World, Bloomsbury Publishing (2024).
3. McGinniss Michael, Declaring Independence to Secure Integrity: The Supreme Court Justices’ Code of Conduct, Federalist Society Review, Volume 25.
4. Pin Andrea, Common Law, Civil Law, and Supranational Law: Clashes of Interpretation, Fordham International Law Journal.
5. Cabral Tiago Sérgio, Costa Ines Maria, Coelho Araújo Coelho, Silviera Alessandra, The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: A Commentary, JusGov/ UMinho Law School | Escola de Direito da Universidade do Minho

Calls for Papers and Announcements

1. The Department of Constitutional Law of the Universidad Externado de Colombia invites all interested people to participate in the Jornadas constitucionales contra la corrupción: ¿El diseño constitucional del Estado colombiano propicia la corrupción?.
2. The 5th number for the Spanish number of the International Journal of Constitutional Law (ICON) is currently receiving contributions. Deadline: April 1^st, 2025.
3. The Law and Development Institute and the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, William S. Richardson School of Law will co-host the 2025 Law and Development Conference. Deadline for proposals: May 1^st, 2025.
4. The Global Summit on Constitutionalism will be held between March 20 and March 22, 2025 at the University of Texas at Austin. Submissions are currently open until November 4^th, 2024.
5. The Peruvian Journal of International Law is accepting submissions for its 179^th number (January-April 2025). Deadline for proposals: January 30^th, 2025.

Elsewhere Online

1. Kim Jack, North Korea calls South Korea ‘hostile state’ indicating constitution change, The Star (2024).
2. Anzures Gurría José Juan, The Right to Freedom of Association in Mexico, IACL-AIDC Blog.
3. Szepelak Katarzyna, Taking Locus Standing of International Actors Seriously, Verfassungsblog.
4. Šajkaš Marija, Interview with Viviana Krsticevic on Violations of Women’s Rights in Iran, Global Freedom of Expression – Columbia University.
5. Gupta Sarthak, Red-Tagging in the Philippines: The Modern McCarthysm Threatening Freedom of Expression, Global Freedom of Expression – Columbia University.