What’s New in Public Law

---

—Silvia Talavera Lodos, PhD Candidate, School of Advanced Studies Sant’Anna

---

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. Hungary’s Constitutional Court upholds a newly passed constitutional amendment banning Pride events and tightening restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights, prompting condemnation from EU officials and rights advocates.
2. The UK Supreme Court rules that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex, not gender identity.
3. The Constitutional Court of Lithuania declares that the definition of partnership in the Civil Code—limiting partnerships to unions between a man and a woman—is unconstitutional.
4. Italy’s Constitutional Court rules that asylum seekers are not entitled to child allowance benefits, but affirmed their fundamental right to education for minors and access to employment.
5. The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, a case that could limit access to preventive health care under the Affordable Care Act.

In the News

1. The Georgian Parliament approves, in a first reading, a legislative amendment that would empower the Constitutional Court to ban political parties.
2. Gabon held elections for its Constitutional Court, a key step in the country’s post-coup political transition.
3. The Constitutional Court of Montenegro advances its human rights jurisprudence through an expert meeting held in Podgorica, reinforcing regional cooperation and legal capacity-building.
4. Leyla Lemús assumed her position as the new President of Guatemala’s Constitutional Court.
5. Colombian President Gustavo Petro nominates his personal lawyer for a seat on the Constitutional Court, a move that has sparked political debate over judicial independence.

New Scholarship

1. Karel Klíma, The Development of Vertical and Horizontal Division of Power in the European Union as a Composite Supranational Power Sui Generis (2025) (explores the unique structure of the EU as a composite supranational entity, examining its evolving vertical and horizontal power divisions and the constitutional implications for both member states and EU institutions).
2. András Koltay, The scope of freedom of expression and the notion of ‘expressive conduct’ in the practice of the Hungarian Constitutional Court (2025) (reviews and critiques several key judgments by the Hungarian Constitutional Court since 2018 regarding symbolic speech and ‘expressive conduct’).
3. John K.M Ohnesorge, Impeachment and the Constitution: South Korea and the United States. (2025) (examines the constitutional frameworks and political dynamics surrounding impeachment in South Korea and the United States).
4. Nathan B. Oman, That Principle of Freedom…Belongs to All Mankind: The United States Constitution and Religious Freedom in the Latter-day Saint Tradition (2025) (explores how members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have historically interpreted and embraced the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of religious freedom).
5. Jamal Riad, The Evolution of Constitutional Control of Laws in Morocco and Its Impact on the Referential Question. (2025) (traces the development of constitutional control mechanisms in Morocco and their influence on the referential question within the legal system.)

Calls for Papers and Announcements

1. The European Law Unbound Society (ELU-S) invites scholars  to its Inaugural Conference with the topic „“European Law Unbound: What Kind of Europe Can We Reach For?” that will be held in Prague (Czech Republic) from 25-27 September 2025.
2. The Editors of Hart Studies on Judging and the Courts welcome proposals from emerging scholars to participate in the Symposium ‘Fresh Perspectives on Judging’ on Friday 20th June 2025.
3. The UK Constitutional Law Association invites submissions for the Early Careers Researchers Workshop ‘In the Name of National Security – The Fragility of Human Rights’. The deadline has been extended to 25 April 2025.
4. The Católica Law Review announces a call for papers for a Special Issue on Public Law, covering topics in Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, EU Law, International Law, and Tax Law. The deadline for submissions is 31 July 2025.
5. The Department of Law at the University of Ferrara (Italy) invites young scholars to the XXII Conference of Young Scholars of International Legal Studies, dedicated to the topic “The Principle of Good Faith in International and European Union Law,” which will be held in Ferrara on 4–5 December 2025. The deadline for submissions is 22 June 2025.
6. The Center for International Studies at TU Dresden and Leipzig University encourages applications to the 4th Edition of the Summer School „Human Rights in Theory and Practice“, which will take place from 25–29 August 2025. The deadline is 30 June 2025.
7. The European Law and Governance School welcomes applications for their 2025 Summer School “Migration Pathways: Rethinking socio-economic mobility in contemporary migration governance” in 21-25 July 2025 in Athens and Sounion. Deadline: June 30, 2025.

Elsewhere Online

1. Alon Harel, Governing in the Shadow of Indictments, Verfassungsblog.
2. Marek Domin, Current proposals to amend the Constitution of the Slovak Republic: constitutional amendment as a political tool?, IACL -AIDC Blog.
3. Daan Kingma,“Hey ChatGPT, Please Write My Plea”: AI’s Arrival in Dutch Courts, European Law Blog.
4. Nikolaus von Bernuth, The Premise of Good Faith in Platform Regulation, Verfassungsblog.
5. Mark Deng, The ‘Intermestic’ Transitional Constitution of South Sudan, I-CONnect Blog.