The International Society of Public Law (ICON-S), founded in Florence, Italy, in 2014, is the largest global scientific society in the field of public law, encompassing administrative law, constitutional law, and international law. Its members include academics from all areas of law, as well as the humanities and social sciences, across all academic levels, from students to emeritus professors. It is directly connected to the International Journal of Constitutional Law (ICON), the most prestigious constitutional law journal today, and the International Journal of Constitutional Law Blog (I-CONnect), a highly impactful academic blog, both published by Oxford University Press.
ICON-S Global is led by two co-Presidents (Sergio Verdugo, IE University, and Michaela Hailbronner, University of Münster), a Secretariat (headed by Erin Delaney, University College London), and an Executive Committee, along with governance bodies such as the Council, which is elected every three years. Gender balance and geographical diversity are crucial for ICON-S and are observed in electoral processes. Another important body is the Committee on Community and Engagement. Its purpose is to create opportunities for ICON-S members to build and deepen relationships, engage in fruitful academic collaborations, and multiply interactions and connections across disciplinary boundaries. The Committee organizes various programs on networking, academic writing, research methods, and career opportunities aimed at empowering young scholars and professionals.
In addition to ICON-S Global, there are ICON-S Chapters in various countries or groups of countries: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Georgia, Germany, Israel, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Nigeria, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Australia and New Zealand, Belgium and Luxembourg, Great Britain and Ireland, and Central and Eastern Europe.
ICON-S BRAZIL
The Brazilian Chapter of ICON-S has existed since 2019 and its board consists of renowned professors from major academic institutions: USP, UFMG, UnB, UERJ, UFPR, UFBA, PUC/Paraná, Insper, FGV Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and Mackenzie.
Since 2023, Professors Juliano Zaiden Benvindo (UnB) and Juliana Cesario Alvim Gomes (UFMG and Central European University) have been the co-directors of the Brazilian Section of ICON-S, and Emílio Meyer (UFMG) serves as its Executive Secretary.
ICON-S Brazil aims to fulfill the mission of the ICON Society by forming a forum for interdisciplinary debate on the development of public law, serving as a bridge between local and international academia in relevant fields of public law.
The Brazilian Section seeks to provide a space for local legal research to deepen its involvement in public law debates occurring at both local and global levels, thereby encouraging dialogue with scholars from diverse legal traditions. It welcomes young academics and professionals from law and other social sciences to participate in what is expected to be a fruitful academic exchange within and beyond the Chapter’s boundaries.
THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The Annual Conference of the International Society of Public Law (ICON-S) is possibly the largest public law event in the world. Linked to the most prestigious constitutional law journal, the International Journal of Constitutional Law (ICON), ICON-S brings together professors, researchers, professionals, and students from different parts of the world to intensely discuss the major contemporary public law themes over three days.
Divided into lectures presented by prominent figures in global public law and various panels on different topics, the discussions are characterized by strong interdisciplinarity, drawing perspectives from constitutional, administrative, and international law, as well as transdisciplinarity, connecting related fields such as political science, political theory, political philosophy, and political and constitutional history.
It is a large-scale event, gathering about 1,500 participants (the 2024 edition in Madrid involved 2,000 participants from over 58 countries), with a broad global distribution and a significant impact on publications in the field, knowledge dissemination, and the establishment of long-term collaborative partnerships and networks.
The Conference, now held in Brazil, aims to explore new horizons for production and discussion in the fields of public law and comparative constitutional law, promoting the internationalization of Brazilian researchers’ academic output and enhancing their integration into the broader intellectual community of ICON-S on a global scale.