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What’s New: Week of December 29

—Silvia Talavera Lodos, PhD Candidate, School of Advanced Studies Sant’Anna.

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 Italian Constitutional Court struck down Sardinia’s 2025 health reform, ruling that it was unconstitutional. The law allowed a blanket takeover of the regional health system and the politically motivated replacement of health authority managers.
  2. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Trump, finding that he did not have the legal authority to federalize and deploy the National Guard in Illinois without the governor’s consent. The Court held that the situation did not fall within the narrow constitutional exceptions that allow the military to enforce civilian law.
  3. The Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan ruled that any attempt to reintroduce the death penalty would violate the constitutional right to life and the country’s international obligations.
  4. The UK Supreme Court ruled that a lawsuit against six banks over alleged FX market manipulation cannot go ahead as a mass “opt-out” claim, because the case was too weak. This makes it much harder for the lawsuit to proceed.
  5. Peru’s Constitutional Court clarified that it has not formally recognized surrogacy in the country, stressing that a recent ruling applies only to a single, specific case. The decision merely ordered a change of surname to protect a child’s right to identity and does not create binding precedent or legalize surrogacy more broadly.

In the News

  1. The Colombian Constitutional Court announced that it will review the constitutionality of the government’s decree declaring a state of emergency after the judicial recess ends on 13 January.
  2. Chile’s Constitutional Court declared an environmental provision inserted in the 2026 Budget unconstitutional, setting the stage for ongoing legislative and executive responses to constitutional budgetary limits.
  3. Georgia’s public ombudsman announced plans to challenge a suite of 2025 repressive laws in constitutional or high court venues, highlighting institutional tensions over human rights protections and constitutional guarantees.
  4. India’s Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot deny passport renewal to a convict or accused person if a court has issued a no-objection certificate, reinforcing constitutional due process and balancing state authority with individual rights.
  5. A Malaysian High Court has found former Prime Minister Najib Razak guilty of abuse of power in a major case linked to the 1MDB corruption scandal. The ruling adds to his earlier conviction and leaves him facing further charges in ongoing proceedings.

New Scholarship

  1. Bojan Bugaric, The Constitution Against the People: The Political Economy of Neoliberal Constitutionalism and Populist Reaction (2025) SSRN (an essay on the rise of neoliberal constitutionalism, its effects on democracy, and populist responses, arguing that populism can, in some contexts, strengthen democratic governance and point toward popular constitutionalism).
  2. David Capper, Conor McCormick, Norma Dawson (eds.), Law and Constitutional Change (Cambridge University Press, 2025) (a collection of papers from the 25th British Legal History Conference examining law’s role in major constitutional changes, historical transformations in Britain, Ireland, and beyond, and contemporary debates such as Brexit).
  3. Orfeas Chasapis Tassinis, A Theory of International Organizations in Public International Law (Cambridge University Press, 2025) (A monograph analyzing international organizations as distinct legal entities with recognized public authority, exploring their legal personality, obligations under customary international law, and theoretical frameworks beyond traditional member-based models).
  4. David Freeman Engstrom, Nora Freeman Engstrom (eds.), Rethinking the Lawyers’ Monopoly: Access to Justice and the Future of Legal Services (Cambridge University Press, 2025) (A collection exploring the U.S. legal profession’s historical monopoly, challenges from AI and access-to-justice issues, and proposals for reform drawing on international experiences and other professional sectors).
  5. Ronald J. Krotoszynski, Jr., András Koltay, Charlotte Garden (eds.), Disinformation, Misinformation, and Democracy: Legal Approaches in Comparative Context (Cambridge University Press, 2025) (A comparative study of legal and regulatory responses to disinformation worldwide, analyzing national regulation, civil-society strategies, and policy measures that balance free speech with democratic protection).
  6. Giuseppe Martinico, The Wounds of Constitutionalism: An Editorial, 10(2) Bologna Law Review (2025) (Reflects on the challenges facing liberal constitutionalism amid the rise of illiberal populism, attacks on courts, and the instrumental use of constitutional law by populist movements).
  7. Madhav Khosla, The Authoritarian Argument, 36 Journal of Democracy 47 (2025) (considers cases of populism and military takeovers to understand how authoritarianism is an argument)

Calls for Papers and Announcements

  1. Oxford Studies in Private Law Theory, Volume V invites scholars to submit papers on private law theory, including contract, property, tort, fiduciary law, equity, unjust enrichment, and remedies. Submissions of approximately 12,000 words are due by 1 August 2026, with provisionally accepted papers workshopped at the University of Cape Town on 21–22 January 2027 and published open access by Oxford University Press.
  2. “Reinforcing the Union of Values” – Jean Monnet Dubrovnik Seminar on Advanced Issues of European Law, 19–22 April 2026, Dubrovnik, Croatia, welcomes submissions of abstracts (up to 500 words) with a CV on topics related to advanced European law. Submissions should be emailed to jmseminar.dubrovnik@gmail.com by 31 January 2026.
  3. EuCML Award for the Best Paper on Consumer and Market Law invites submissions for its 2026 edition on the theme “Private and Public Enforcement of Consumer and Market Law.” Scholars are invited to submit papers of up to approximately 10,000 words by 15 May 2026, in accordance with the EuCML Submission Guidelines, addressing recent and pressing issues in consumer and market law with a focus on enforcement mechanisms.
  4. “Escaping Accountability: EU Law and Comparative Administrative Law Perspectives”, Aix-en-Provence, 3–4 September 2026, welcomes submissions from young European researchers of abstracts up to 500 words on topics related to the Forum’s theme. Abstracts should be emailed to realaw@maastrichtuniversity.nl by 15 November 2025; acceptances will be notified by 15 December, with draft papers due by 1 August 2026.
  5. Summer School “Multiple Migrations and Transnationalism: Legal, Social, Linguistic and Educational Implications”, 29 June – 3 July 2026, Venice, Island of San Servolo, welcomes applications from MA and PhD students in Sociology, Human Rights, Law, Cultural Studies, Sociolinguistics, Education, and Migration Studies. Applications, including all required materials, should be submitted via the VIU website by 5 March 2026.

Elsewhere Online

  1. Kuan-Wei Chen, Taiwan’s Xiaohongshu Ban and the Trilemma of Platform Governance, ICONnectblog (23 December 2025)
  2. Margarita S Ilieva, Tampering with the ECtHR: Holding States Accountable for Contempt of Courts, Verfassungsblog (24 December 2025)
  3. Masoom Sanyal, The First Fatalities of the Kant Court in India: Right to Religion, Speech, and Reasons ICONnectblog (24 December 2025)
  4. Bruno Biazzatti, The Crime of Persecution in Yekatom and Ngaïssona: An Intersectionality-Based Critique, Opinio Iuris (23 December 2025)
  5. Heybatollah Najandimanesh, Between Sovereignty and Universality: Iran’s Draft Bill on International Crimes in Comparative Perspective, Opinio Iuris (22 December 2025)

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