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What’s New: Week of February 16

—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. In Germany the Constitutional Court rejected a challenge seeking to block arms exports to Israel over alleged individual rights violations.
  2. The United Kingdom Supreme Court issued a landmark decision clarifying the patentability of AI‑generated software.
  3. Following the abolition of the Sunday trade ban, Montenegro’s Constitutional Court prompted the president to propose a constitutional guarantee of non‑working Sundays and holidays.
  4. The Supreme Court of the Philippines ruled that same‑sex couples living together may be recognised as co‑owners of property under the Family Code, provided there is proof of their contribution.
  5. A challenge to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s interim guidance on single‑sex toilet facilities was dismissed by the UK High Court, which concluded the guidance was lawful.

In the News

  1. The Constitutional Court of Romania postponed its decision on a contested reform of magistrates’ pensions for the fifth time, with a new hearing scheduled for 18 February.
  2. High‑stakes elections for the Guatemalan Constitutional Court have begun amid controversy and prosecutors raiding voting sites, raising concerns about judicial independence and democratic checks, with international observers monitoring the process.
  3. Thailand held a referendum on 8 February 2026 on whether to begin drafting a new constitution to replace the existing 2017 text.
  4. Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Commission put forward proposals to expand constitutional guarantees for property and housing.
  5. Bangladesh concluded polling on 12 February 2026 for a general election that included a referendum on major constitutional changes.

New Scholarship

  1. Alejandra Cárdenas Cerón, Ona Flores Montero, Rosario Grimà Algora, The Role of Courts in Abortion Decriminalization: The Unmet Potential of Proportionality (International Journal of Constitutional Law, 6 Feb 2026) (This contribution analyses the deployment of proportionality reasoning by constitutional and human rights courts in abortion litigation. It evaluates whether proportionality has fulfilled its promise as a structured method of adjudication in this field and reflects on the broader implications for rights-based constitutional review).
  2. Jock Gardiner, Unknown, Unchecked, Unchallenged–How the European Parliament Uses its Rules of Procedure to Effect Constitutional Change, (SSRN, 2025) (An article examining how the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure have been used to effect informal constitutional change, acquiring powers beyond what is formally in the Treaties, and considering the potential oversight role of the Court of Justice in shaping whether EU constitutional change will be legally or politically driven).
  3. Michaela Hailbronner, The Failures of Others: Justifying Institutional Expansion in Comparative Public and International Law (Cambridge University Press, 2026) (Hailbronner offers a comparative account of how narratives of institutional failure are mobilised to legitimise the expansion of public and international legal authority. Through cross-jurisdictional case studies, the book advances a normative critique of this justificatory strategy and its consequences for constitutional ordering).
  4. Dr Serkan Koybasi, Green Constitutionalism: An Anti-Capitalist Legal Framework to Tackle Climate Change (2026) (This monograph advances a transformative vision of constitutional law oriented toward sustainability and climate justice. Drawing on judicial practice in ten jurisdictions—including the German Neubauer judgment and the KlimaSeniorinnen decision—it argues for a reconfiguration of rights, governance structures, and economic assumptions in support of a degrowth-oriented constitutional paradigm).
  5. Sindiso Mnisi, Alter‑Native Constitutionalism: Common‑ing ‘Common’ Law, Transforming Property in South Africa (Cambridge University Press, 2026) (An interdisciplinary volume examining alternative constitutional approaches to property and common law in South Africa, highlighting community‑centred frameworks that challenge dominant liberal property paradigms and constitutional interpretations).
  6. Elisabeth Perham, Maartje De Visser and Rosalind Dixon (eds), Small State Constitutionalism (Bloomsbury) (addressing the effect of the size and scale of states on constitutionalism, with contributions from several jurisdictions including Tonga, Mauritius, the Seychelles, and so on)
  7. Matilda Gillis, Sovereignty Intact: The UK Parliament, Foreign Courts and Immigration (Bloomsbury) (considering the relationship between the UK Parliament and the ECHR in the context of immigration, and arguing that ECHR’s work, despite claims to the contrary, has not hindered Parliament’s functioning or UK’s sovereignty).

Calls for Papers and Announcements

  1. The European Group of Public Law invites scholars to submit full papers on international law, EU law, and constitutional law. Selected papers may be published in the European Review of Public Law. Submissions are due by 31 July 2026.
  2. The Católica Law Review – Public Law Thematic Issue seeks original submissions in administrative, constitutional, EU, international, and tax law, with all manuscripts due by 31 July 2026
  3. RCSL 2026 – The Democratic Rule of Law in World Society, taking place in Santiago, Chile, requests abstracts and final papers addressing law and justice sociology. Abstract submissions closed on 18 January 2026, but final papers may still be submitted by 17 August 2026 for conference presentation.
  4. The IACL‑AIDC Roundtable on Constitutionalism and Global Ecological Challenges invites contributions exploring ecological and constitutional law intersections. The roundtable is scheduled for 5–6 June 2026; interested participants should reach out to organizers for submission guidance.
  5. Voelkerrechtsblog is accepting submissions on international law, constitutional law, and legal philosophy, including topics in International Legal History and Philosophy (due 15 March 2026) and EU Sanctions Law (due 30 April 2026).
  6. The University of Luxembourg, in cooperation with the International Journal of Parliamentary Studies (Brill) and Széchenyi István University invites academics, researchers and practitioners to the 5th Global Conference on Parliamentary Studies. The deadline for paper proposals is 28 February 2026.
  7. The Center for Parliamentary Research, Széchenyi István University, invites submissions by 15 March 2026 for Parliaments Then and Now, a conference in Pannonhalma Archabbey, Hungary, that explores the evolution of Parliaments as institutions.

Elsewhere Online

  1. Georgios Athanasiou, Burden‑Shifting Precedent and Its Implications for FM v Frontex, Verfassungsblog (10 February 2026)
  2. Aleksandra Dzięgielewska, A Prematurely Hailed Victory, Verfassungsblog (11 February 2026)
  3. Mohit Khubchandani & Jason Rudall, Counting the Cost of Climate Change: Hits, Misses, and the Future of Environmental Compensation after the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion, Opinio Juris (13 February 2026)
  4. Parisa Zangeneh, Reflections on the Failure of the International Community Regarding Protests in Iran, Opinio Juris (12 February 2026)
  5. Ashish Bharadwaj &  Agustín Ruiz Robledo, India and Spain: Two Democracies, One Constitutional Challenge, ICONnectblog (9 February 2026)
  6. Hüseyin Yildiz, Citizenship, the Kurdish Peace Process in Türkiye, and Constitutional Reform, ICONnectblog (10 February 2026)

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