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What’s New: Week of June 1

— Silvia Talavera Lodos, Ph.D., Member of Sant’Anna Legal Studies.

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 Colombian Constitutional Court rejected petitions from anti-vaccine families, ruling that parental authority over children’s health is not absolute and must yield to strict public health limits.
  2. In a significant ruling on centre–periphery constitutional relations, the Italian Constitutional Court accepted Sardinia’s claim and annulled six ministerial environmental decrees, ruling that the Ministry of the Environment acted illegitimately by bypassing a regional law on grounds of alleged unconstitutionality.
  3. The French Constitutional Council censured several provisions of the economic simplification bill, asserting that the automatic removal of Low Emission Zones (ZFE) and certain urban planning exemptions (ZAN) is unconstitutional, while strictly enforcing parliamentary procedural rules.
  4. The Spanish Constitutional Court voided parts of Catalan energy poverty law over conflict with national utility rules.
  5. The Constitutional Court of South Korea unanimously overturned a prosecutor’s decision, ruling that an individual walking slightly outside a crosswalk is still legally protected as a pedestrian if hit by a car.

In the News

  1. The Colombian Constitutional Court ratified the urge to the Government and Congress to create a public policy on the right to care without further delay.
  2. South African President Ramaphosa challenged an independent panel corruption report in court, seeking to clear his name after the “Farmgate” scandal findings allege constitutional misconduct over hidden cash.
  3. The Japanese Justice Ministry announced a comprehensive “Zero Illegal Foreign Residents Plan,” therefore asserting that unmonitored visa fraud on social media is not acceptable, while stepping up crackdowns on local employers facilitating illegal employment.
  4. The U.S. Supreme Court declined, in a brief unexplained order, to hear Meta’s appeal of a lower court ruling allowing Vermont’s Attorney General to proceed with a lawsuit accusing the company of deliberately designing Instagram to be addictive to young users.
  5. In the U.S., a federal judge declined to block President Trump’s executive order restricting voting by mail.

New Scholarship

  1. Brian Lipshutz,  ‘Administrative Self-Constitutionalism‘ (University of Chicago Law School, Public Law & Legal Theory Research Paper 26-7, 2026) (challenges the long-standing assumption that federal agencies cannot rule on the constitutionality of statutes, arguing that agencies possess both the structural power and the normative duty to address these constitutional challenges)
  2. Daniel Sarmiento, The Law of the European Union (Bloomsbury, 2026) (provides a comprehensive and practical guide to modern EU law, balancing foundational constitutional principles with contemporary economic and digital market realities post-Brexit)
  3. Bijal Shah, Envisioning a Protective Administrative Law Framework (Boston College Law School Legal Studies Research Paper, 2026) (proposes a new “protective administrative law paradigm” that uses tools from the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)—such as notice-and-comment rulemaking and arbitrary and capricious review—to shield individuals from harmful or intrusive agency actions, particularly in immigration enforcement.)
  4. Armin von Bogdandy, EU Law’s Future in a Fraying International Legal Order (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law & International Law (MPIL) Research Paper No. 2026 – 06, 2026) (examines the future of EU law amidst the decline of the post-1945 international legal order, utilizing the concept of a “horizon of expectation” to distinguish legal continuity from disruption)
  5. Amy J. Wildermuth,The Brave New World of Administrative Law (Minnesota Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2026-26, 2026) (argues that the Supreme Court’s recent, profound transformation of administrative law can be understood by dividing its decisions into formalist constitutional cases and text-bound APA cases.)

Calls for Papers and Announcements

  1. The Young Belgian Association for European Union Law (Young BEDER) invites early-career scholars and practitioners to submit abstracts by 15 June for its upcoming workshop, “Belgian Public Law and European Union Law: Interactions, Challenges and Perspectives,” which will take place in Brussels on 27 November 2026. Applications are due by 15 June 2026.
  2. The European Criminal Law Network welcomes applications for the 22nd edition of the ECLAN Summer School, titled “The EU Area of Criminal Justice: EU Procedural Rights in the Digital Age,” which will take place in person in Brussels and online from 29 June to 3 July 2026.
  3. The European Review of Public Law and the European Public Law Organization (EPLO) invite proposals on the theme of their 2026 Conference: International Law, European Union Law, Constitutional Law. Submissions must be sent by 31 July 2026.
  4. The Law School of the University of Minho invites scholars, practitioners, and advanced graduate students to submit proposals for the international congress “Constitutionalism, identity and sovereignty,” which will take place in Braga on 7 and 8 October 2026. Interested participants should submit an abstract by 30 June 2026.

Elsewhere Online

  1. John Morijn & Kim Lane Scheppele, Unfreezing EU Funds Without Melting the Rule of Law, Verfassungsblog (25 May 2026)
  2. Mark Elliott, The Prime Minister as an MP: A postscript on historical precedent and constitutional convention, Public law for Everyone (26 May 2026)
  3. Renáta Uitz, Out of Illiberal Christian Democracy: Hungary’s Prospects for Constitutional Resettlement, Constitution.net (26 May 2026)
  4. Simon Butt, Constitutional Disobedience by Statute, Verfassungsblog (28 May 2026)
  5. Tímea Drinóczi, Constitutional Reconstruction and Removal of Veto Players,  IACL-AIDC Blog (26 May 2026).
  6. Olívia de Q. F. Pasqualeto, Life Beyond Work as a Constitutional Issue in Brazil ICONnect Blog (28 May 2026).

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