What’s New In Public Law

–Mikołaj Wolanin, Master’s student, University of Warsaw (Poland)

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. Professor Simina Tănăsescu has been elected as the President of the Constitutional Court of Romania.
2. The Constitutional Court in Uganda ruled that polygamous marraiges are constitutional.
3. The new justices in the German Constitutional Court have not been elected yet due to the lack of the political support for one of the candidates.
4. According to the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, the requirement that a fixed number of justices need to be present to rule en banc is unconstitutional.
5. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action of Jean-Marie Le Pen and his heirs in the case of his improperly invoiced expenses. 

In the News

1. Yulia Svyrydenko has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Ukraine.
2. Czech President signed and promulgated a statute criminalizing the promotion of communist propaganda.
3. On July 20^th 2025, Japanese citizens will elect half of the members of the House of Councillors.
4. The Senate of Cambodia unanimously approved a constitutional amendment that allows for revocation of citizenship.
5. The Polish Minister for Foreign Affairs issued a formal démarche to the Holy See in reaction to the controversial remarks of two Catholic bishops.

New Scholarship

1. Soto Barrientos F., Suárez O., Alemparte B., The Citizen Initiative in Chile’s Constitution-Making (2021–2023): Lessons from a Participatory and Digital Mechanism in Comparative Perspective, “Global Constitutionalism” 2025, first view (considering the role of citizen’s initiatives to make proposals during both failed Chilean constitution-making processes).  
2. Albert R., Frazier K., Should AI Write Your Constitution?, “U of Texas Law, Legal Studies Research Paper” 2025, online pre-print (arguing that AI, with proper safeguards, could be a useful tool in constitutional drafting).
3. Havelková B., Boková T., Berdisová L., The non-constitutionalization and avoidant constitutionalization of gender in Czechia and Slovakia, “International Journal of Constitutional Law” 2025, online first (reflecting on techniques that the Czech and Slovak courts use to avoid adjudicating gender-based issues).
4. Kosař D., Šipulová K., Judicial empowerment of chief justices in Central Europe through supranational means: Judicial self-defense or judicial self-dealing?, “International Journal of Constitutional Law” 2025, online first (documenting the phenonemon of chief justices relying on supranational support to resist pressure from domestic politics, and also noting consequent risks of abuse of power).
5. Bradley C., Siegel N., The Supreme Court Under Threat: Early Lessons in Judicial Self-Protection, Duke Law School Public Law & Legal Theory Series” 2025, No. 2025-36 (reflecting on how the US Supreme Court resisted historical political attacks in a variety of ways in the early period after constitutional adoption).

Calls for Papers and Announcements

1. “Seen and Heard: Young People’s Voices and Freedom of Expression” – this is the title of the international conference that will take place in Valletta, Malta, in February 2026. The paper proposals may be sent up to September 1, 2025.
2. The Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main organises the conference entitled “Reconsidering Legal Subjectivity In and Through the Anthropocene.” Interested scholars are welcomed to submit their abstracts up to August 31, 2025.
3. This year’s edition of the Critical Legal Conference (Exeter, UK) is open for abstracts up to the end of July 2025.
4. The Association of Law and Political Economy will organize its inaugural conference in Richmond, Virginia. The call for papers will be open from August 15 to September 15, 2025.
5. The next World Congress of Constitutional Law will take place in Bogota, Colombia, in July 2026. If you are interested in organizing a workshop during the Congress, you should send a proposal up to the end of September 2025.

Elsewhere Online

1. Various authors, Symposium on PMSCs, “OpinioJuris”.
2. Auz J., The Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ Advisory Opinion on the Climate Emergency: A Global South Contribution to Climate Governance, “EJIL:Talk!”.
3. Bauer B., Progressives and the Supreme Court. The Case for Disengagement Is Misguided, “Verfassungsblog”.
4. Stage Jarlner A.S., Scott Ford S., The End of an (Unlawful) Era. On the Danish Supreme Court´s judgement concerning the non-penalization of refugees, “Verfassungsblog”.
5. Heller K.J., The New STCoA: The Good, the Bad, the Curious, and the Terrible, “OpinioJuris”.