What’s New in Public Law

—Gonen Ilan, Ph.D Candidate, Bar-Ilan University, Israel

—Sarthak Sahoo, Undergraduate Student of Law, Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab

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 Italy has ruled that a nonbiological mother in a same-sex union is entitled to paternity leave. A 2001 decree that did not recognize the same was struck down.
2. The Supreme Court of Russia has declared that the International Satanism Movement is an ‘extremist organization’. It can no longer operate on Russian soil.
3. The Constitutional Court of Korea has declared that a livestock law that prevents owner-companies from culling compensation has been adequately amended to bring it in line with a 2023 ruling that held it was against property rights.
4. The High Court of Malawi has held that a provision of the Malawi Penal Code awarding criminal consequences for defamation is unconstitutional.
5. The Supreme Court of India has awarded compensation of 50,00,000 INR to a police constable who suffered custodial torture. It has also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to conduct an inquiry into the events.

In the News

1. The United States Congress has passed the first of three bills recognizing and regulating ‘stablecoins’, cryptocurrencies pegged to a stable asset. Presidential assent is due.
2. India’s Vice President resigned from office citing medical reasons. Subsequent reports indicate that the resignation was due to a difference with the ruling government on accepting an impeachment motion against a sitting High Court judge.
3. Brazil’s Congress has passed a law that allows polluting projects below a certain threshold to get licenses by self-declaration without prior impact assessment. Presidential assent is due.
4. Kosovo’s President has asked the constitutional court to clarify the consequences of a parliament not being constituted within the prescribed period due to a deadlock between elected parties.
5. Ukraine passed a law that places its anti-corruption bodies under Presidential supervision. This move has led to immediate protests, violating martial law and prohibiting mass gatherings.

New Scholarship

1. Ramon Feldbrin, ‘The Federal Rules of Constitutional Procedure’ UC Law SF (2024) (arguing that constitutional litigation operates off of different procedural rules than other civil litigation).
2. Laura Higson-Bliss ‘The Online Safety Act 2023 and the sending of threatening or false communications’ Statute Law Review (2025) (critically examining provisions of the UK’s Online Safety Act of 2023).
3. David Vitale, ‘Reimagining The Trust Conception Of Legitimate Expectations’, Cambridge Law Journal (2025) (drawing on scholarship on trust outside of law to build up a conception of legitimate expectations based on trust).
4. Stephen E. Sachs and William Baude, ‘Yes, The Founders Were Originalists’ Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities (forthcoming 2025) (responding to Jonathan Gienapp’s Against Constitutional Originalism).
5. MP Ram Mohan and others, ‘Reimagining Legal Practice Under The Advocates Act 1961’ IIMA Working Paper  (2025) (critiquing the Indian Advocates Act 1961 as ill suited to realities of modern practice, and proposing reforms).
6. Julian Scholtes, ‘The Venice Commission and the Mental Map of European Constitutionalism’ Hague Journal on the Rule of Law (2025) (arguing that the Venice Commission works off of a mental map that distinguishes between “core” and “peripheral” European states, and examining problems caused by this map).

Calls for Papers and Announcements

1. Digital Constitutionalism, AI and Sustainability workshop. Participants in the workshop are invited to address these challenges at the intersection between digital constitutionalism, AI, and sustainability. Constitutional democracies are called to ensure these technologies contribute to sustainability while protecting fundamental rights. This workshop will examine how constitutional systems can promote sustainability while balancing the protection of fundamental rights with the governance of AI technologies.
2. Call for Papers: 2026 Legal Philosophy and Constitutional Theory Junior Scholar Conference. This conference will take place from Thursday, March 19, 2026, to Friday, March 20, 2026, at the Georgetown University Law Center.
3. Call for Papers: Searching for Constitutional Limits on Environmental & Natural Resources Law. Pacific Legal Foundation and the Catholic University Law Review seek papers for a symposium on “Searching for Constitutional Limits on Environmental & Natural Resources Law,” to be held in spring 2026 at the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C. 
4. The Pacific Legal Foundation seeks papers for a scholarly research roundtable in the fall of 2025 or early 2026 on the theme of ‘The Colorblind Constitution’. It invites proposals for academic papers by 5 September 2025. Papers must be submitted at least two weeks before the roundtable. Accepted authors will receive an honorarium of $4,000; travel and accommodation will be covered.
5. The Irish Jurisprudence Society invites proposals for its workshop series on legal philosophy. It invites proposals by 8 August 2025. The authors can indicate a preference for their presentation to be held in either October-December 2025 or January-April 2026. Papers must be submitted at least two weeks before the seminar.

Elsewhere Online

1. Leonid Sirota, ‘Motte and Bailey Unreasonableness’ (Double Aspect 21 July 2025)
2. Jonathan H. Adler, ‘Universal Injunctions Are Dead, Long Live Universal Remedies?’ (Civitas Institute, 23 July 2025).
3. Celeste Lo, ‘Overlapping Sabotage Provisions in Hong Kong’s National Security Laws: Risks and Implications on Prosecution Decisions’ (Oxford Human Rights Hub 23 July 2025).
4. Alberto Godioli and Jennifer Young, ‘Humor and the Meaning of ‘Context’: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on ECtHR Jurisprudence’ (Global Freedom of Expression h/t Strasbourg Observers 23 July 2025).
5. Tom Fleming, ‘Reviewing the Modernisation Committee’s first year’ (The Constitution Unit, 24 July 2025).