What’s New: Week of July 27

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

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. Germany’s Constitutional Court ruled that the government cannot revoke previously promised resettlement places for Afghan nationals through a blanket decision. The Court held that each case must be assessed individually, finding that the mass cancellation of admissions violated the constitutional prohibition of arbitrary state action. The ruling requires authorities to reconsider the applicants’ cases and continue supporting them until a lawful decision is reached.
  2. The Supreme Court of India temporarily barred the recording, editing, and circulation of livestreamed court proceedings on social media without prior judicial approval. The Court cited concerns over misleading clips, AI-generated manipulation, and the commercial exploitation of hearings, while clarifying that the order does not restrict news reporting. It also directed high courts to report on the implementation of livestreaming guidelines and sought the government’s response on a broader regulatory framework.
  3. Italy’s Constitutional Court referred a challenge to the country’s new citizenship-by-descent law to the Court of Justice of the European Union, suspending proceedings in the case. The referral asks whether applying the law’s stricter eligibility rules to people born before its enactment is compatible with EU law. While the law remains in force, the ruling opens EU-level scrutiny over its retroactive effects and the recognition of Italian citizenship by descent.
  4. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement’s use of a geo-fence warrant to obtain Google location data constitutes a “search” under the Fourth Amendment. The Court held that individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their location history and sent the case back to determine whether the warrant was constitutionally reasonable. The decision marks a significant ruling on digital privacy and the limits of police access to location data.
  5. Peru’s Constitutional Court struck down legal provisions criminalizing logistical and financial support for social protests, holding that they violated the principles of legality and legal certainty. The ruling invalidates ongoing cases brought under those provisions while reaffirming that peaceful protest is constitutionally protected, although acts involving violence or serious harm remain subject to criminal penalties.

In the News

  1. South Africa’s 2026 Judiciary Conference adopted a set of resolutions calling for a unified, institutionally independent judiciary, including reforms to judicial governance, appointments, funding, and accountability. The resolutions also promote the responsible use of artificial intelligence in the courts, greater digitalization, enhanced judicial support and training, and the development of a comprehensive judicial wellness framework.
  2. Nicaragua’s National Assembly is considering legislation that would bar opposition parties from participating in elections, following President Daniel Ortega’s declaration that the opposition should no longer be allowed to contest power. The proposal has drawn international criticism, with the UN warning that all political groups must be free to vote and run for office.
  3. Malta’s Parliament began debating a constitutional amendment to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the grounds of disability. The proposal would align the Constitution with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and strengthen access to constitutional remedies, while lawmakers from both government and opposition stressed the need to ensure effective implementation of disability rights.
  4. Hungary’s Parliament approved a constitutional amendment ending President Tamás Sulyok’s term after Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s government accused him of losing public confidence. Sulyok agreed to step down while denouncing the measure as a violation of the rule of law. The amendment also removes the Constitutional Court’s president and imposes term limits on lawmakers, marking a major institutional overhaul following the change in government.
  5. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Commission of Jurists warned that recent reforms in Nepal threaten judicial independence by increasing political influence over judicial appointments and pressuring senior Supreme Court justices to resign or face impeachment. The organizations urged the government to ensure transparent, merit-based appointments and to protect the judiciary from political interference.  

New Scholarship

  1. Andreas Buser, Planetary constitutionalism: Can (German) constitutional law save the planet? International Journal of Constitutional Law (2026) (This article argues that constitutional law should address the full range of planetary boundaries, rather than focusing solely on climate change. Drawing on constitutional reform proposals and German constitutional doctrine, it explores how constitutional rights and environmental provisions can establish legal limits on states’ planetary footprint while highlighting the limits of existing approaches.)
  2. Rafał Mańko, Adam Sulikowski. Postliberal Constitutionalism: The Challenge of Right Wing Populism in Central and Eastern Europe, International Journal of Constitutional Law (2026) (This book review offers a juridico-philosophical analysis of post-liberal constitutionalism in Central and Eastern Europe. Rather than focusing on doctrinal developments, it examines the rise of right-wing populism through the lens of critical legal theory and the region’s distinctive constitutional and political context.)
  3. Paul Craig (ed.), Vilija Vėlyvytė (ed.), The UK Regulatory Framework Post-Brexit: Law Unbound, Oxford University Press (2026) (This edited volume examines how Brexit has reshaped the UK’s regulatory framework and the extent to which regulatory autonomy has been achieved. It assesses the constitutional, institutional, and policy consequences of post-Brexit legal change across key areas of governance.)
  4. Chris Thornhill, Rustamjon Urinboyev, Tolibjon Mustafoev, Public Law in a Hybrid State: Legal Reform and Global Sociology in Uzbekistan, University of California Press (2026) (This book analyzes legal and constitutional reform in Uzbekistan to explain why hybrid regimes pursue public law modernization. It highlights the role of administrative law in state-building and situates these reforms within the country’s post-imperial and postcolonial development.)
  5. Nik de Boer, Making Sense of Democracy’s Distress, European Constitutional Law Review (2026) (This review essay examines three recent books on democratic backsliding, comparing competing explanations for democratic decline and the rise of authoritarian populism. It explores the roles of political elites, constitutional safeguards, and informal democratic norms, and assesses whether institutional reform can strengthen democratic resilience.)
  6. Virginia Mantouvalou, Debating Social Rights with Conor Gearty European Human Rights Law Review, special issue in honour of Conor Gearty (2026) (This essay revisits the debate on social rights developed in Debating Social Rights, reflecting on the book’s central arguments, the authors’ exchange, and its contribution to contemporary human rights scholarship in tribute to Conor Gearty.)
  7. Tainá Garcia Maia, Judging Poverty and Inequality in Brazil (Oxford University Press 2026) (offering an empirical examination of the judicialization of poverty in Brazil, and exploring how equality law is deployed to tackle persistent socio-economic disparities).
  8. Christoph Bezemek, Michael Potacs and Alexander Somek (eds), Vienna Lectures on Legal Philosophy, Volume 4: Constitutional Disagreements (Bloomsbury 2026) (bringing together scholars of contemporary jurisprudence and constitutional theory to explore who has the authority to decide and act when constitutional law is uncertain or fundamentally disputed).

Calls for Papers and Announcements

  1. The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) invites proposals for open submission programs at its 2027 Annual Meeting, to be held in New York City on 5–8 January 2027. Submissions are due on 7 August 2026 (most program types) and 13 November 2026 (hot topic programs).
  2. The Friedrich Schiller University Jena invites applications for a part-time Research Associate position in Public Law at the Chair of Public Law, International Law and European Law. The position offers the opportunity to pursue a doctoral or other academic qualification while contributing to research and teaching in areas including international law, constitutional theory, and European democracy. The deadline is 15 August 2026.
  3. The Indiana International & Comparative Law Review invites publication proposals for its Fall 2026 symposium issue on democratic resilience. Submissions remain open until the issue is filled.
  4. The Irish Yearbook of International Law invites article submissions for its next volume on contemporary issues in international law. The deadline for articles is 16 October 2026, and proposals for book reviews are due by 31 August 2026.
  5. Lund University invites paper proposals for a conference on cross-border regions and European integration, to be held on 19–20 November 2026 in Sweden. The deadline for abstracts is 10 September 2026.
  6. The Spanish Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies (CEPC) invites applications for three García-Pelayo Research Fellowships under its 2026 research programme. The application period is 22 July–4 August 2026.
  7. The Osnabrück European Legal Studies Institute invites submissions for the 2026 Young Research Forum on European Legal Studies, to be held at Osnabrück University on 3–4 December 2026. The abstract deadline is 31 July 2026.
  8. ICON·S Spain invites submissions for its Third Annual Congress, to be held at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid on 12 November 2026, under the theme “Academia and Public Policy Design: Public Law as a Tool for Social Transformation.” The submission deadline is 20 September 2026.
  9. Carbon & Climate Law Review (CCLR) invites abstracts for the international conference “Shaping the Climate Regime in Southeast Asia through International Law,” to be held on 30 October 2026 at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, in collaboration with the National University of Singapore. The abstract deadline is 15 August 2026.
  10. The DFG Research Unit “The Legal and Social Consequences of Artificial Decision Making” at the University of Münster invites early-career researchers to submit papers for its first international conference, to be held on 11–12 March 2027. The abstract deadline is 30 September 2026.
  11. The Centre Bentham (Sciences Po Law School), Law and Humanities (Université Paris Panthéon-Assas), and CEThicS (Institut Catholique de Lille) invite submissions for an interdisciplinary conference on counter-surveillance, to be held in Paris on 3–4 December 2026. The title deadline is 1 September 2026, and abstract deadline is 15 October 2026.
  12. The Lisbon Environmental Law Cluster at the University of Lisbon School of Law invites abstracts for the international conference “Marine Biodiversity: Emerging Challenges in a Changing Ocean,” to be held on 18 November 2026. The abstract deadline is 15 September 2026.
  13. Política: Revista de Ciencia Política at the University of Chile invites original article submissions for Volume 64, Issue 2 (2026). The manuscript deadline is 23 October 2026.
  14. Jindal Global Law School and the Centre for Asian Legal Studies at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore invite submissions for the 2nd Asian Law Schools Association (ALSA) Public Law Conference 2027 to be held at Jindal Global Law School, India, on 26-27 February 2027. Abstracts are due by 15 September 2026.

Elsewhere Online

  1. Pedro Marques Neto, Lest Democracy Degenerate into Pedantocracy? Challenges in Regulating Truth in Electoral Contexts, A View from Brazil, (I•CONnect, 21 July 2026).
  2. Christopher Armitage, Impeaching a Judge for Federalist Society Membership, (Verfassungsblog, 24 July 2026).
  3. Nqobani Nyathi, Constitutional Circumvention and the Limits of Amendment Power: Reflections on Zimbabwe’s Constitution Amendment No. 3 Bill, (I•CONnect, 25 July 2026).
  4. Nicholas Aroney, Renato Costa & Bruno Santos Cunha, Federalism as a Tool of Autocratic Consolidation, (IACL-IADC Blog, 23 June 2026).
  5. Zachary Shemtob, The Constitutional Court of South Africa, (SCOTUSblog, 24 July 2026).

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