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What’s New: Week of March 23

– Sarthak Gupta, Advocate and Researcher (Supreme Court of India and Columbia University)

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 Constitutional Court of Italy upheld Law 74/2025 (Tajani Decree), confirming limits on citizenship by descent and ruling that many foreign-born individuals with another nationality were never legally Italian citizens.
  2. The Supreme Court of India struck down a statutory provision restricting maternity benefits for adoptive mothers to those who adopt children under the age of three months as violating the rights to equality and life. Adoptive mothers can now claim maternity benefits without regard to the age of the child adopted.
  3. The Constitutional Court of South Africa held that the state’s failure to assist 29 residents of Qumbu town after a 2022 storm was unlawful and unconstitutional, emphasising the government’s constitutional duty to protect vulnerable communities.
  4. The Constitutional Court of Uganda has struck down multiple provisions of the Computer Misuse Act, holding that they violate constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and access to information.
  5. The Constitutional Court of Thailand voted 6–3 to review a petition questioning the validity of the February 8, 2026 general election over concerns that barcodes and QR codes on ballot papers could compromise voter secrecy.
  6. The Constitutional Court of Armenia upheld laws enabling the nationalisation of Electric Networks of Armenia, ruling that amendments allowing license revocation and state control comply with the Constitution.

In the News

  1. The President of Kazakhstan has signed a newly approved constitution following a referendum in which over 87% of voters backed sweeping political reforms. The new constitution, effective July 1, 2026, introduces a unicameral parliament, restores the vice presidency, and creates a presidentially-appointed People’s Council, further strengthening executive authority.
  2. The House of People of the Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) introduced the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, proposing major changes to the 2019 law, including redefining who qualifies as transgender and adding stricter procedures for legal recognition.
  3. The Parliament of Belgium approved the nomination of Frank Fleerackers as a judge to the Constitutional Court, securing the required two-thirds majority in a cross-party vote.
  4. The 13th Parliament of Bangladesh has convened for its inaugural session following its first widely credible election in over 15 years, initiating key constitutional processes including the election of a Speaker and presidential address.
  5. The Parliament of El Salvador has approved a constitutional amendment allowing life imprisonment for serious crimes such as murder, rape, and terrorism.
  6. The Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea will hold an urgent session to consider constitutional revisions, reflecting efforts by Kim Jong Un to formalise key state policies.

New Scholarship

  1. Michael Pal and Sujit Choudhry, The Application of the Charter to Legislation Unilaterally Amending the Constitution of Canada under Section 44 of the Constitution Act, 1982, (2026) Constitutional Forum [argues that legislation used to amend the Constitution under section 44 must remain subject to the Charter, as exempting it would create a gap in rights protection; the authors emphasise that allowing Charter-free amendments risks enabling governments to alter core democratic structures, such as electoral representation, without constitutional accountability].
  2. Philip Hamburger, Campbell’s Constitution, (forthcoming 2026) Columbia Public Law Research Paper, [challenges originalist claims that natural rights were historically subordinate to legislative authority, contending instead that such rights were understood as enforceable legal limits on government; Hamburger warns that accepting the contrary view would effectively strip core freedoms, like speech, of meaningful judicial protection].
  3. Erika Rackley and Sharon Thompson, Feminist Constellations in Legal History, (2026) Oxford Journal of Legal Studies [develops a “feminist constellations” methodology that maps relationships, networks, and collective struggles rather than isolated figures; the authors argue this approach not only reshapes how legal history is written but also strengthens contemporary feminist activism and law reform by linking past and present struggles].
  4. Notes, Liberty of Conscience, Political Process Theory, and Founding-Era Free Exercise, (2026) 139 Harvard Law Review 1118 [argues that the original meaning of the Free Exercise Clause lies in protecting “liberty of conscience,” understood as freedom from religious coercion, combined with a focus on politically disempowered minorities; the Note contends that courts should grant exemptions from general laws primarily to such minorities, thereby reconciling historical intent with modern doctrine and providing a clearer, more principled framework for free exercise jurisprudence]
  5. Eleni Frantziou, Horizontal by Design: A Systematic Analysis of the Application of Human Rights to Private Actors in the Text of World Constitutions, (2026) International Journal of Constitutional Law [argues, based on a study of 195 constitutions, that the traditional view of rights as only binding the state is empirically flawed, as 76% of constitutions impose obligations on private actors; Frantziou contends that human rights are “horizontal by design,” particularly in newer and post-authoritarian constitutions, and should be understood as shaping both public and private relationships].
  6. Robert F. Steiner, On Standing, Sovereignty, and Constitutional Awkwardness, (forthcoming 2026) 112 Virginia Law Review [argues that extending “sovereign standing” to the District of Columbia is doctrinally flawed because D.C. lacks true constitutional sovereignty, possessing only revocable autonomy delegated by Congress].

Calls for Papers and Announcements

  1. The Critical Approaches to International Law Interest Group invites paper submissions for its ESIL 2026 pre-conference workshop on “Conflict and International Law: Beyond the Promise of Peace,” to be held on 2 September 2026 in Malaga, Spain. Abstracts should be submitted by April 1, 2026.
  2. The LGBT+ Rights Discussion Group at the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, is currently accepting expressions of interest from scholars and researchers to present their work on LGBT+ rights during Trinity Term 2026 (27 April–20 June 2026). Abstract should be submitted by 31 March 2026.
  3. The Global Centre for Democratic Constitutionalism at UCL invites expressions of interest for its workshop on “Constitutional Recovery: The Problem of Authoritarian Holdover Appointments,” scheduled for 25–26 June 2026. The deadline for expressions of interest is 10 April 2026.
  4. The Faculty of Law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong invites applications for a Full-time/Part-time Research Assistant position on a project on privacy and data protection law reform in Hong Kong, with appointments for at least six months.
  5. The Association of Human Rights Institutes invites submissions for its 2026 Annual Conference on “Enduring Contributions and Challenges: The 60-Year and 20-Year Legacies of the International Covenants and the Human Rights Council,” to be held in Geneva from 4–6 November 2026. Proposals for papers and panels should be sent by 25 April 2026.
  6. Public Law invites proposals for Guest Editors for its Annual Themed ‘Analysis’ Section (April 2027 issue), featuring a curated set of 4–6 short papers on a unifying public law theme. Proposals (500 words with contributors) should be submitted by 3 April 2026.

Elsewhere Online

  1. Roberto Gargarella, Arguments from Failure, Judicial Intervention and Democracy, (American Society of Comparative Law, 16 March, 2026)
  2. Sara Bonato, Italy Referendum 2026: What the Judicial Reform Means for the Rule of Law, (The JURIST: Commentary, 17 March, 2026).
  3. Kash Radocha, Losing Liberal Democracy: V-Dem’s Warning for the United States, (Verfassungsblog, 18 March 2026).
  4. Ivan Eland, Williamson Evers, and Graham Walker, Is the Constitution the First Casualty of the Iran War? (Independent Conversations, 18 March, 2026).
  5. Nomfundo Ramalekana, Uses of Ubuntu under the South African Constitution, (IACL-AIDC, 19 March, 2026).
  6. Lara Torbay, What’s Law Got to Do With It? The Law of German (Feminist) Development, (JuWissBlog, 19 March, 2026)

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