What’s New in Public Law

---

—Benjamin Nurkić, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Law University of Tuzla and a member of the Constitutional Committee of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

---

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 Bosnian Constitutional Court suspended legislation proposed by Serb leader Milorad Dodik rejecting the authority of the central authorities such as the police and judiciary over the territory of the Republika Srpska.
2. On April 4, the Constitutional Court of South Korea upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
3. At the sitting of 27 March 2025, the Constitutional Court, in the context of the a priori constitutionality review, by unanimity: Dismissed, as unfounded, the objections of unconstitutionality raised by Senators and Deputies belonging to the S.O.S. Romania Parliamentary Groups, the Alliance for the Unification of Romanians and the Young People’s Party, and found that the provisions of Articles 7 (2) and (3), 23, 25, 26 (1) and (2) of the Law on the control of the use of national airspace were constitutional in the light of the criticisms raised.
4. On Monday, 31 March 2025 at 10h00, the Constitutional Court handed down a unanimous judgment authored by Rogers J in five consolidated applications for leave to appeal concerning the interpretation and application of section 105 of the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 (TAA).
5. The Court of Justice of the European Union confirms that Poland must pay a total amount of approximately €320,200,000 in respect of the penalty payment decided upon by the Court of Justice during the infringement proceedings.

In the News

1. Jamaica’s Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte has dismissed claims that Jamaica’s next general elections are constitutionally due by September 2025.
2. In Vietnam, national assembly debate on constitutional amendments will be broadcast live.
3. In Germany, fiscal reform package loosening constitutional restrictions passes lower house of parliament.
4. Romania is facing a period of political upheaval as the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL) have formed a surprising alliance, triggering fears of a constitutional crisis and a rollback of democratic norms.
5. The Iranian government has just three months to finally implement Article 64 of the constitution which mandates an increase in the number of parliamentary seats, forcing better representation for Iranians in underrepresented regions.

New Scholarship

1. Nisan Alıcı (2025) Confronting the Shadows: Transitional Justice and the Armenian Genocide in Turkey (this chapter examines the Armenian Genocide through the framework of transitional justice, with a particular focus on truth recovery mechanisms. Despite substantial historical evidence, the Republic of Turkey has persistently denied the Genocide, engaging in state-sponsored efforts to minimize and rationalize the atrocities).
2. Rebeka Kiss and Miklós Sebők Thoms (2025) The concept of tailor-made laws and legislative backsliding in Central–Eastern Europe  (this article examines the concept of tailor-made laws and their empirical implications in the process of legislative backsliding).
3. Jens T. Theilen (2025) Framing Migration in Human Rights: How the Reasoning of the European Court of Human Rights Legitimises Border Regimes (this article seeks to trouble the idea that human rights provide a progressive standard in matters of migration).
4. Natalie Alkiviadou (2025) Hate Speech and the European Court of Human Rights (this book argues that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) should reconsider its approach to hate speech cases and develop a robust protection of freedom of expression as set out in the benchmark case of Handyside v. the United Kingdom).
5. Andrea Neira-Cruz and Marisol Ortiz-Acosta (2025). Masculinities and transitional justice: a feminist reflection on Colombia’s truth commission final report (this article argues the relevance of using a critical perspective of masculinities in the development of transitional justice, particularly in truth commissions, and contributes to updating previous studies in this field).

Calls for Papers and Announcements

1. At the University of Sarajevo, on April 28, 2025, will be held an international conference which aims to provide insights into understanding how constitutional changes can promote coexistence and reconstruction of the social fabric, crucial for establishing solid foundations for sustainable peace after conflict or the experience of an authoritarian regime.
2. The IACL Roundtable 2025 seeks to critically examine the implementation of human rights frameworks within constitutional systems, envisioning a future where human rights are strengthened through empowerment and solidarity. The discussion will explore the role of the constitutional and international institutions as well as emerging actors, in advancing —or impeding—the realization of human rights. Applicants are required to submit their short CVs and abstracts in English or French (not exceeding 500 words) by 31^st May 2025 (GMT+9/Japan time).
3. The American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA) is pleased to invite panel proposals for International Law Weekend 2025 (ILW 2025)—the premier international law event of the fall season. ILW 2025 will take place October 23-25, 2025 in New York City. The ILW Organizing Committee (Committee) invites panel proposals to be submitted online by April 20, 2025 through this Google form.
4. The Latin American Society of International Law (SLADI/LASIL) Interest Group on International Courts and Tribunals is pleased to invite submissions for a pre-conference workshop on ‘Narratives in International Courts and Tribunals’. The workshop will take place online on 25 June 2025, 2pm (CET) /10am (GMT-3). Applicants are requested to submit an abstract, not exceeding 300 words, and a résumé (CV) of no more than two pages to cejm.direitorio@fgv.br. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is April 30th. Applicants will be notified of the selection results on May 9th. Selected participants will be required to submit discussion papers of no longer than 3000 words by June 9th.
5. Journal of Constitutional Law is announcing call for papers for scholars, researchers and experts in the field of law for Volume 1, 2024. About the Journal: The Journal is issued by the Constitutional Court of Georgia (www.constcourt.ge) with support of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and Grigol Robakidze University The Journal aims at engaging academic discussion around the constitutional law.

Elsewhere Online

1. Harun Išerić, Crossing the Rubicon: What is Next for the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina?, IACL-IADC Blog.
2. Anton Moiseienko, Frozen Russian State Assets, Verfassungsblog.
3. Tolga Şirin, Judicial Harassment in Turkey, Verfassungsblog.
4. Sophie Bols, In the footsteps of Darboe and Camara – Age assessment of unaccompanied minors in A.C. v. France: between procedure and protection, Strasbourg Observes.
5. Violetta Sefkow-Werner, Individual vs. representative applications or environment vs. climate issues – The ECtHR’s Cannavacciuolo and Others v. Italy judgment, Strasbourg Observes.