—Claudia Marchese, Research Fellow in Comparative Public Law at the University of Sassari, Italy
Developments in Constitutional Courts
- By its decision no. 2023-850 DC of 17 May 2023, the French Constitutional Council gave its opinion on the law relating to the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Constitutional Council stated that the use of large-scale, real-time camera systems supported by algorithms to spot suspicious behaviour for the Olympics does not infringe privacy rights.
- With the decision no. 87 of 2023 the Constitutional Court of Colombia ordered the National Electoral Council to introduce within a maximum of three months a bill that could regulate a mechanism for complaints of online violence by political parties.
- On 9 May 2023 the Spanish Constitutional Tribunal declared the appeal brought against the Law on voluntary termination of pregnancy unfounded. The Court considers this discipline in conformity with the Constitution in that it recognizes to the pregnant woman a reasonable area of self-determination.
- The U.S. Supreme Court has declined a request from gun rights groups to temporarily block laws in Illinois that ban the sale of certain semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines.
- On 3 May 2023 the French Constitutional Council has rejected a bid to organize a referendum on President Emmanuel Macron’s contested pension reform.
In the News
- As a result of the presidential and parliamentary elections held on 14 May 2023 in Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his rival, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, will go head-to-head in a runoff election. Indeed, the president Erdoğan scored 49.51% against Kılıçdaroğlu’s 44.88%.
- On 9 May 2023, the members of the European Parliament agreed to fast track legislation to boost EU production of ammunition and missiles, the so-called Act in Support of Ammunition Production(ASAP)
- On 9 May 2023 the Internal Market Committee and the Civil Liberties Committee adopted a draft negotiating mandate on the first ever rules for Artificial Intelligence.
- In Poland a group of MPs from the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party have tabled a bill to reduce the minimum number of judges required to rule on cases which must be heard by the full bench of the Constitutional Tribunal from 11 to nine.
- On 2 May 2023 the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary debated how to address concerns involving Supreme Court justices, including whether they should apply ethical guidelines to the court.
New Scholarship
- Antti Lepistö, The Rise of Common-Sense Conservatism: The American Right and the Reinvention of the Scottish Enlightenment (2023) (This book examines the origin and the evolution of the American neoconservative thought).
- Matthias Klatt (ed.), Constitutionally Conforming Interpretation – Comparative Perspectives (forthcoming 2023) (This volume presents national reports from 22 jurisdictions to shed light on the canon of constitutionally conforming interpretation structural background, the conditions of its application, and its critical reception).
- Michael Gordon, Adam Tucker (eds.), The New Labour Constitution. Twenty Years On (forthcoming 2023) (This book brings together essays from leading academics in UK public law and politics which assess different aspects of the ‘New Labour Constitution’ 20 years on).
- Shreya Atrey, Sandra Fredman (eds.), Exponential Inequalities. Equality Law in Times of Crisis (2023) (This book offers an understanding of ‘exponential inequalities’ or inequalities as they arise and are exacerbated by crises such as pandemics, wars, democratic crises, recessions, and climate disasters).
- Charles M. Fombad, Nico Steytler (eds.), Constitutionalism and the Economy in Africa (2023) (This book examines whether the quest for constitutionalism in Africa has resulted in economic growth).
Calls for Papers and Announcements
- Applications for Eurac’s Federal Scholar in Residence Program are open, and close on 1 July 2023. The Program gives a scholar the opportunity to undertake a three-week research stay at EURAC in Bolzano, Italy.
- In view of the fourth conference of the Italian Chapter of the International Society of Public Law (ICON·S), which will take place in Milan at Bocconi University on 13 and 14 October 2023, scholars of all areas of law as well as of the other social sciences are invited to submit paper and panel proposals addressing the de facto transformations of public law. Interested scholars are invited to submit an abstract, in English or Italian, of a single paper (max. 500 words) or a fully-formed panel by filling out the online form by 15 July 2023.
- As part of the activities organized by the Chair of International Law of Institutions at the Collège de France in Paris a cycle of doctoral seminars will take place. This edition will have as its theme “The international law of science“. The participation is open to doctoral students and young doctors, in law, philosophy, political science, sociology, history or anthropology. Applications can be submitted until 1 October 2023.
- The Foundation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH) offers mobility aid for stays in France of 1 to 3 months to researchers of all nationalities facing obstacles to academic freedom in their countries. This mobility aid is intended to carry out research work in France: field surveys, work in libraries and archives. Applications can be submitted until 30 June 2023.
- The Anglo-German Law Journal is looking for authors for its 2023 edition. The academic articles (max. 6000 words excl. footnotes) should focus on topics of comparative law issues or current developments in Germany and the UK but can also deal with European law. Deadline for submission is 31 July 2023.
Elsewhere Online
- Vanessa Mak, The Contractual Rights and Obligations of Prosumers on Social Media Platforms, Verfassungsblog
- Omri Ben-Shahar, Personalized Law and Social Media, Verfassungsblog
- León Castellanos-Jankiewicz, Melanie Schneider, Including the Arms Sector in the EU Corporate Due Diligence Directive, Verfassungsblog
- Jack Newman, David Richards, Andy Westwood, Patrick Diamond, Local democracy is essential for effective decentralisation in England, LSEblog
- Michael Cox, Can China bring peace to Ukraine?, LSEblog
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