What’s New in Public Law

---

—Vini Singh, Assistant Professor & Doctoral Research Scholar, National Law University Jodhpur, India.

---

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 Constitutional Court of South Africa directed the parliament to amend the Correctional Services Act to ensure the independence of prison oversight body.
2. The Constitutional Court of South Africa declared the law on incitement as violative of freedom of expression and unconstitutional.
3. The ECtHR ruled that Iceland violated Article 6 of the ECHR in appointment to the judges of the Court of Appeal.
4. The Supreme Court of India stayed the Gujarat High Court order directing persons not wearing masks to do community service at COVID 19 centres.
5. The Constitutional Court of Thailand rejected the petition to disqualify Prime Minister Prayuth Chan – Ocha.
6. The US Supreme Court restrained the authorities from enforcing severe restrictions on religious services during the pandemic.

In the News

1. Egypt releases three members of Egyptian Initiative for personal rights amidst international criticism.
2. The Supreme Court of Pakistan seeks records of “10 Billion Tree Tsunami” initiative of the incumbent government.
3. UK Prime Minister is set to declare one of the most ambitious targets in the world to tackle climate change.
4. The Parliament of Ukraine restores accountability for false asset declaration.
5. Ethiopian immigrants receive a warm welcome in Israel.

New Scholarship

1. Mark D. Walters, A.V. Dicey and the Common Law Constitutional Tradition: A Legal Turn of Mind (re-examines Dicey’s Law of the Constitution)
2. Adam Bonica & Maya Sen, The Judicial Tug of War: How Lawyers, Politicians, and Ideological Incentives Shape the American Judiciary (discusses the relationship between politics and judicial appointment)
3. Ian Loveland, British and Canadian Public Law in Comparative Perspective (analyses the current human rights controversies in UK law in the light of the way they have been dealt with in Canada)
4. Joshua C. Gellers, Earth System Law and the Legal Status of Non-humans in the Anthropocene (2020) Earth System Governance (using case law on the rights of nature to argue that both natural and artefactual entities are eligible for legal rights, a move integral to obtaining socio-ecological justice)
5. Robert C. Post & Jennifer E. Rothman, The First Amendment and the Right(s) of Publicity, Yale Law Journal, Vol. 130 (Suggests a framework for harmonizing the right of publicity with First Amendment)
6. Adam Ploszka, A Homeless Bill of Rights as a New Instrument to Protect the Rights of Homeless Persons, 2020 European Constitutional Law Review 1 (analyses the measures adopted by FEANTSA as a model for a European Homeless Bill of Rights)

Calls for papers and announcements

1. Contributions for the Baxter Family Competition on Federalism organized by the McGill University Faculty of Law can be submitted by February 1, 2021. The theme of the competition is Federalism, Identity and Public Policy in Challenging Times. 
2. The University of Birmingham is organizing a workshop on Constituent Power in the Commonwealth Constitutional Legal Systems in April 2021. The deadline for abstracts is January 22, 2021.
3. The South African Society for Critical Theory invites contributions to Acta Academia for its special issue on Pandemic Politics. The papers can be submitted by February 28, 2021.
4. The Centre for Law and Policy Research is organizing the 4^th International Conference on Transgender Rights and the Law on December 5-6, 2020. The event will be live-streamed.
5. The Indian Journal of Constitutional Law invites submissions for its Volume X. Submissions may be submitted by January 17, 2021.
6. The Bocconi University is organizing a webinar featuring Rosalind Dixon on Democracy and Constitutional Courts: Toward a Responsive Theory of Judicial Review on December 15, 2020.
7. The book launch for Icelandic Constitutional Reform: People, Processes, Politics will be held on December 10, 2020. The Prime Minister will start the event, and the President of the Republic will open the panel in remembrance of Agust Thor.

Elsewhere Online

1. Hans Petter Graver, A New Nail in the Coffin for the 2017 Polish Judicial Reform, Verfassungsblog
2. John Morjin, A Momentous Day for the Rule of Law, Verfassungsblog
3. Simon Drugda, On Collision Course with the Material Core of the Slovak Constitution: Disabling Judicial Review of Constitutional Amendment, Verfassungsblog
4. Gautam Bhatia, Notes from a Foreign Field – The South African Constitutional Court on the Rights of Domestic Workers, Indconlawphil
5. Gauri Pillai, Notes from a Foreign Field – Developing Indirect Discrimination: Bringing Fraser to India, Indconlawphil
6. Elliot Bulmer, A Scottish Constitution: Should it be devised before or after Independence? The Constitution Unit