What’s New in Public Law

—Alan Mauricio Jiménez Díaz, PhD. Candidate, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain.

—Sumit Kumar Ganguly, Visiting Faculty, Amity University, Kolkata, 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 US Supreme Court ruled agencies must assess only the environmental impact of the project at hand, not unrelated ones. Justice Kavanaugh emphasized deference to agency judgment. Justice Sotomayor, joined by Kagan and Jackson, concurred but criticized the policy-driven reasoning. Justice Gorsuch recused after pressure over ties to an oil and gas firm involved in the case.
2. The Madras High Court in India has stayed the state laws of Tamil Nadu that got “deemed assent” through a Supreme Court verdict earlier. The 10 Amendment Acts notified by the State Government took away the power of the Governor to appoint Vice-Chancellors of the State Universities. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed which challenged the constitutional validity of the legislation on 56 grounds.
3. The Constitutional Court of Italy has held that two women can register themselves as parents of the child in case of same-sex female parents. It held that the parental rights cannot be limited to the biological mother but also will extend to the woman who consented to the medically assisted reproduction. The judgment is being hailed as a great step towards LGBTQ+ rights.
4. The Jamaican Supreme Court has held that the Government’s use of rolling States of Public Emergency (SOEs) as unconstitutional and void. As per Section 20 of the Constitution, the SOEs need to be passed by two-third majority in Parliament for it to continue beyond 14 days. The Government bypassed the Parliament by promulgating rolling SOEs which violated the doctrine of separation of powers. 
5. The Fiji Cabinet has made a reference to the Supreme Court to seek its opinion on the constitutional amendment process. One of the questions is whether the 1997 Constitution is still valid and applicable in light of the 2013 Constitution. Moreover, whether the provisions on constitutional amendment and transition period in the 2013 Constitution are applicable to the people of Fiji, Parliament and Supreme Court.
6. The Supreme Court of Ghana has rejected the application by its Chief Justice Getrude Sackey Torkornoo to stay her suspension and removal proceedings. She was earlier suspended by the President John Dramani Mahama which was followed by forming a Committee of Inquiry. Article 146 of the Ghana Constitution of 1992 deals with the removal of judges of the superior courts.

In the News

1. Mexicans will vote to elect Supreme Court justices and over 2,600 judges, shifting from appointments to direct elections. The reform, pushed by López Obrador and Sheinbaum, aims to fight corruption but raises concerns over politicization and cartel influence. Critics warn voters face thousands of unknown candidates with little guidance. Results will be finalized after June 15.
2. Justice William Young, former judge of the New Zealand Supreme Court, has been appointed as a non-permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong. It is subject to endorsement from the Legislative Council as per the Basic Law, the mini-Constitution. The court has lost several foreign judges after China imposed a national security law in 2020. 
3. A federal judge extended the order blocking the Trump administration from revoking Harvard’s authority to enroll foreign students. The administration paused its action for 30 days, but the court insisted on protections amid ongoing visa delays and legal uncertainty. Harvard claims it’s being unfairly targeted; over 7,000 foreign students could be affected.
4. The Presidential Council in Libya has promulgated a decree to annul the law passed by the House of Representatives to establish a Supreme Constitutional Court. However, a decree is void if the decision is not taken collectively by the Presidential Council. The Council also declared the establishment of the National Commission for Referendum and Public Consultation.
5. The Kenyan High Court, which is the apex court, has refused to stop the Parliament from sending a constitutional amendment bill to the President. The Bill proposes to amend the Constitution to formally entrench the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF). However, the judge directed the parties to file their submissions and appear in court for further directions.
6. The President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has appointed a legal team of ten lawyers to draft a new Constitution. Under the current Constitution, he cannot contest the Presidential polls again unless the election is called untimely or the legal structure is changed. His opponents believe that this an effort to circumvent constitutional term limits, allowing him to get re-elected.

New Scholarship

1. The Centre for Transparency and Accountability in Governance, National Law University, Delhi, India, Between Authority and Accountability: Reimagining Judicial Integrity in Contemporary India (exploring the institutional crisis of judicial accountability in India, focusing on opaque transfer mechanisms, the failures of the in-house procedure, and the unchecked discretion of the collegium. Drawing from comparative constitutional practices, the book calls for reforms like statutory codification, independent oversight, and greater transparency to restore public trust and ensure judicial integrity in a democracy.)
2. Saúl López Noriega & Javier Martín Reyes (eds.), The Judicial Storm: Implications of Mexico’s 2024 Reform (offering a critical examination of the sweeping 2024 judicial reform in Mexico, analyzing its effects on judicial independence, constitutional justice, and democratic institutions. Featuring contributions from leading scholars, the book contextualizes the reform within broader debates on separation of powers, populism, and democratic erosion in Latin America.)
3. David Kosař & Katarína Šipulová, Judicial empowerment of chief justices in Central Europe through supranational means: Judicial self-defense or judicial self-dealing? (examining how chief justices in Central Europe have resisted democratic backsliding by leveraging supranational protections of judicial independence, and highlighting both the potential and the risks of such strategies, offering insights for regions without comparable safeguards.)
4. Daniel Deacon & Leah Litman, Legalistic Noncompliance (identifying and analyzing the phenomenon of legalistic noncompliance, whereby the executive branch uses legalistic reasoning to mask defiance of court orders. Focusing on the second Trump administration, the authors warn that such practices obscure resistance to judicial oversight and risk normalizing deeper forms of institutional noncompliance.)
5. William D. Araiza, Constitutional Law: Cases, Approaches, and Applications. Third Edition. (presenting a curated selection of constitutional law cases and political branch materials, emphasizing precedent analysis and doctrinal application. Organized thematically and topically, it features extended excerpts, explanatory notes, and appellate-level case problems to help students bridge theory and practice. The third edition includes expanded coverage of standing, presidential immunities, abortion rights, and affirmative action.)

Calls for Papers and Announcements

1. The UK Constitutional Law Association is calling for submissions of abstracts for papers exploring the theme of constitutional resilience through a multi-layered protection of human rights. The call focuses on the UK and European contexts, including the role of the ECHR and the Human Rights Act. Broader analyses of how the rule of law and human rights values fortify constitutional resilience—whether within national frameworks or in international contexts—are also welcome. Deadline: 4 June, 2025. Submission details here. 
2. The Centre for Transparency and Accountability in Governance (CTAG) at National Law University, Delhi (India), invites original, high-quality research papers for a forthcoming Special Edited Book on “Legal Education Governance”, scheduled for publication in 2026 by a reputed international publisher with an ISBN. Deadline for submission: 31st October, 2025. Submission details here.
3. The Washington University Law Review invites paper proposals for its upcoming symposium, “Taxing, Spending, and the Constitution,” to be held on Friday, September 26, 2025, at WashU Law. Papers presented will be published in the symposium issue (Volume 103, Issue 6) the following summer. Proposal deadline: June 2, 2025. Submission details here.
4. The Católica Law Review welcomes submissions for its upcoming issue. Articles in the fields of Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, European Union Law, International Law, and Tax Law are invited. Deadline: 31 July, 2025. Submission details here.
5. The Interamerican Academy of Human Rights (AIDH) is calling for papers on “Judicial Reform” for Volume VIII of its International & Comparative Human Rights Law Review. Contributions focusing on national, regional, or international perspectives are welcome. Deadline: 1 September, 2025. Submission details here.
6. NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad (India), invites authors to contribute scholarly work to the upcoming issue of NALSAR Law Review. Last date for submission is June 09, 2025. Submission details here.
7. The Università degli Studi di Trieste and Forte di Bard invite submissions for their upcoming initiative on “Il diritto dei ghiacciai” (The Law of Glaciers). Scholars are encouraged to contribute papers addressing the legal, environmental, and geopolitical dimensions of glacier protection. Deadline: 10 June, 2025. Submission details here.
8. The HPNLU Journal of Disability Studies, Shimla (India), invites scholarly contributions from academicians, scholars, professionals, and policymakers for its Volume II (2025). The journal solicits scholarly contributions relating to legal as well as other developments in the field of disability laws and related jurisprudence. Extended deadline is 30th June, 2025. Submission details here.
9. The University of Texas at Austin invites submissions for the Inaugural AI Innovation and Law Writing Contest. This competition encourages current and incoming law students at participating institutions (Texas Law, Miami Law, Vanderbilt Law School, WashU Law, and the University of Minnesota Law School) to propose legal reforms that support AI innovation. The contest seeks to engage future legal scholars and practitioners in shaping the governance of emerging technologies. Deadline: 31 August, 2025. Submission details here.

Elsewhere Online

1. Amy Howe, Supreme Court allows DHS to end parole for a half-million noncitizens, The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end humanitarian parole for over 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, pausing a lower court’s block on the move. Justice Jackson, joined by Justice Sotomayor, dissented, warning of severe harm to lawful parolees. Critics argue the categorical revocation bypasses required case-by-case review and threatens community stability. The legal challenge continues, but the Court’s emergency order enables immediate policy change.
2. South Koreans eye constitutional change to president’s power after martial law: Following the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea faces growing bipartisan calls to reform presidential powers. Ahead of the June 3 snap election, candidates Lee Jae-myung and Kim Moon-soo support a two-term presidency and other structural changes. While public support for reform is strong, debate continues over timing and priorities.
3. The Sikkim National Law University (SNLU), India, is inviting applications for the post of Professor, Associate Professor and Assistant Professor in Law. Apart from Law, SNLU is inviting Guest Lecturers for English, Political Science and Sociology.  Moreover, the university is seeking to recruit Registar and Librarian. Details here.
4. Peter Hilpold, Challenging Strasbourg, Nine EU politicians have called for reinterpreting the European Convention on Human Rights to allow greater national discretion in expelling criminal migrants. Critics warn this challenges the ECtHR’s “living instrument” doctrine and could undermine core rulings like Soering v. UK. The Council of Europe defended the Court’s independence, stressing that reform must not politicize human rights.
5. Prathiksha Ullal, Benching rights: Inordinate delay in hearing Constitution Bench Cases. This article discusses the constitution of Constitution Benches in India which involve five or more judges. One of the most important functions of the Supreme Court is to adjudicate substantial questions of law relating to the Constitution.