— Olumide Opeyemi Toyinbo, Legal Practitioner (Nigeria) and Researcher in Public Law and the Law of the Digital Economy
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 Seoul District Court dismissed former South Korean President, Yoon Suk-yeol’s constitutional challenge to the application of the Insurrection Act in criminal charges relating obstruction of arrest. In doing so, the Court upheld the statute’s constitutionality and rejected Yoon’s claim that it violated constitutional protections.
2. The Constitutional Court of Albania ruled that the house arrest of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha was excessive and unconstitutional. The Court found that the measure lacked sufficient and proportionate justification for restricting his personal freedom.
3. The High Court of Zambia overturned the conviction of Violet Zulu, a young mother who had been sentenced to seven years in prison for procuring her own abortion, citing multiple procedural and constitutional violations in her trial.
4. The Canadian Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the federal government unreasonably invoked the Emergencies Act to address the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa. The court found that the protests did not meet the threshold of a national security threat, and the government’s actions infringed on protesters’ Charter rights.
5. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Trump administration violated the Constitution’s equal protection requirements by cancelling millions of dollars in federal grants for clean energy and transportation projects in states that voted for Democrats in the 2024 elections. The court found that the cancellation discriminated against these states and lacked a legitimate governmental justification.
In the News
1. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada in Democracy Watch v Attorney General of Canada Case to argue that administrative decisions must meet a constitutional standard of reasonableness. They contended that laws attempting to prevent courts from reviewing such decisions are unconstitutional.
2. The Nigerian Federal High Court set February 16, 2026, to hear a constitutional suit seeking the deregistration of the Africa Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties, on the basis that they allegedly failed to meet the constitutional and electoral performance requirements for registered parties.
3. The Malaysian Attorney General’s Chambers dropped its bid to review the Federal Court’s ruling that it is unconstitutional to impose criminal penalties on organisers of peaceful assemblies for failing to notify authorities in advance.
4. Nicaragua’s National Assembly ratified a constitutional amendment that ends the right to dual citizenship, meaning Nicaraguans will lose their nationality if they acquire another citizenship. The reform amends Articles 23 and 25 of the Nicaraguan Constitution.
5. The President of Botswana, Duma Boko assured citizens that the planned Constitutional Court will not be used to abolish the death penalty or to legalise same-sex marriage, stating that any such changes would require compliance with existing legal procedures and constitutional requirements.
6. The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany (Bundesverfassungsgericht) announced that it will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2026 with a series of events, including an official ceremony in Karlsruhe on 28 September, 2026 to be attended by the Federal President, Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who will deliver a speech.
New Scholarship
1. Peter Atudiwe Atupare & Abdul Baasit Aziz Bamba, ‘The Proportionality Test Jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Ghana‘ 9(1) Journal of Constitutional Law and Jurisprudence (2026) 39–60 (Examines how Ghana’s Supreme Court uses the proportionality test to protect constitutional rights in administrative decisions).
2. Nick Robinson & Jyotika Randhawa, ‘Deciding How Many Judges Should Decide: The Question of Constitution Benches at the Indian Supreme Court‘ International Journal of Constitutional Law, moaf057 (2026) (Analyzes how the size of benches at India’s Supreme Court affects constitutional interpretation, consistency of judgments, and institutional functioning).
3. Valentina Rita Scoctti, Constitutional Law and Politics in Türkiye: From Atatürk to Erdoğan (1st edn, Routledge 2026) (A monograph providing a critical examination of Türkiye’s constitutional history, tracing its trajectory from the late Ottoman Empire to the presidential regime under Erdoğan and exploring the tension between democratic aspirations and authoritarian consolidation under Kemalism and Erdoğanism).
4. Tresor Muhindo Makunya & Jonas Kakule Sindani, ‘Leveraging constitutional review to combat retrogressive communication surveillance laws in Francophone Africa‘ 25(2) African Human Rights Law Journal (2025) (Examines how constitutional review can prevent intrusive digital surveillance laws in Francophone Africa and the potential role of judges and civil society in enforcing rights).
5. Bernardo Cantú & Lius Ernesto Prieto Amaro, ‘The Right of Exit and its Temporal Limits: A Critique of Unqualified Approaches‘ 5(1) Philosophy and Global Affairs (2025) (Critiques prevailing theories on the right of exit and proposes a model based on fair play and Indigenous law to justify temporal limits on exit rights).
Calls for Papers and Announcements
1. ICON-S International Society for Public Law (Central and Eastern European Chapter) Annual Conference 2026 invites scholars to submit papers on the theme “Constitutional Courts x Scholarship in Central and Eastern Europe”. Abstracts are due by 31 January 2026, and accepted papers will be presented at the conference held at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Law, on 14–15 May 2026, with no participation fee.
2. The Christ University Law Journal invites submissions of abstracts (up to 175 words) on topics related to theroretical foundations, judicial trends, institutional practices and comparative perspectives that reflect how constitutional systems across nations adapt to contemporary challenges. Submissions should be made by 15 June 2026.
3. “BILC 2026 – International Economic Law in a Fractured Global Order,” 13–14 June 2026, Bogazici University, Istanbul, calls for submissions of abstracts (up to 500 words) on topics related to international law, international relations, and germane fields exploring the future of international economic law. Abstracts should be emailed to the conference organizers by 15 March 2026.
4. The International Journal of Legal Research and Governance invites submissions of abstracts (up to 250 words) with a cover letter and author profile on topics related to public and private international law, constitutional law, and comparative law. Submissions should be emailed to editorijlrg@gmail.com by 30 January 2026.
5. The Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town announced that the 2026 Public Law Conference will take place from 1-4 July 2026. The conference will be held on the theme “Public Law and the Future of Constitutional Democracy”, a theme that is particularly timely in the light of the 30th anniversary of South Africa’s democratic Constitution of 1996.
6. The Comparative Constitutions Project welcomes submissions to its workshop on new concepts for constitutional challenges in democracies and pathways for more sustainable constitutionalism. Abstracts are due by 23 January 2026.
Elsewhere Online
1. Bill Kramer, Wyoming Abortion Ruling Hinges on Health Care Freedom Amendment, MultiState (16 January 2026)
2. Collins Mtika, Malawi’s Constitutional Standoff, Mail and Guardian (16 January 2026)
3. Riedl Benedikt, No Elegy for Ultra Vires: Why We Must Continue to Institutionalise Ultra Vires Review Even After Egenberger, VerfBlog (16 January 2026)
4. Matthew Cavedon, Congress or the Constitution? Yesterday’s Double Jeopardy Decision Raises Questions, Cato Institute (15 January 2026)
5. Kristof Heidemann, Mark Carney, Floor Crossings, and the Danger of an Oligarchical Governmental Overthrow, ICONnectblog (14 January 2026)
6. Nicholas Opoku, Third Time Could Be a Charm: Ghana’s Constitution Review Committee’s Plan to Fix Governance Deficits, Constitution Net (14 January 2026)