INCO-S
PROJECT
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 and rewarding 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 academics and professionals.
In addition to ICON-S Global, there are ICON-S Chapters in different countries or groups of countries: Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Georgia, Germany, Israel, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Nigeria, Portugal, Singapore and Spain, Australia and New Zealand, Belgium and Luxembourg, Great Britain and Ireland, and Central and Eastern Europe.
About ICON•S
TheInternacional Society of Public Law (ICON-S), launched in Florence, Italy, in 2014, is the world's largest scholarly society in the field of public law, encompassing administrative law, constitutional law, and international law. Its members include scholars from across all fields of law, as well as the humanities and social sciences, at every academic level — 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 to the International Journal of Constitutional Law Blog (I-CONnect), an influential academic blog — both published by Oxford University Press.
ICON-S Global is led by two Co-Presidents (Sergio Verdugo, IE University, and Michaela Hailbronner, Universität Münster), the Secretariat (headed by Erin Delaney, University College London), and an Executive Committee, in addition to governance bodies such as the Council, elected every three years. Gender balance and geographic diversity are core priorities for ICON-S and are reflected in its electoral processes.
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official website
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 Chapter seeks to offer a space for local legal research to deepen its engagement in public law debates taking place at both the local and global levels, thereby encouraging dialogue with scholars from diverse legal traditions — which is why it welcomes young academics and professionals from law and other social sciences to take part in what is expected to be a fruitful academic exchange.
The Brazilian Chapter da ICON-S has existed since 2019, and its board is composed of renowned professors from leading 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 served as co-directors of the Brazilian Chapter of ICON-S, with Emílio Meyer (UFMG) as its Executive Secretary.
The 2025 ICON•S annual conference, held in Brasília, established itself as one of the major global milestones for contemporary public law debate. The event brought together approximately 1,500 academics, judges, and jurists from 61 different countries. This enormous cultural and legal diversity fostered a rich exchange of experiences on how different nations address constitutional and institutional crises today.
The Brasília Conference - 2025
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, practitioners, and students from different parts of the world for three days of intensive discussion on the leading contemporary issues in public law.
The official opening of the conference was set against a backdrop of great architectural and political symbolism, being held at the National Museum of the Republic, located on the Esplanada dos Ministérios. The choice of venue reinforced the deep connection between academic debate and the practical reality of Brazil's democratic institutions. The opening event highlighted Brazil's role as a central stage for global legal discussions at that moment.
Hosted primarily at the prestigious University of Brasília (UnB), the conference brought intense activity to the Darcy Ribeiro campus between July 28 and 30, 2025. Hundreds of parallel academic activities were held at iconic locations across the institution, such as the Faculty of Law, the Anísio Teixeira Pavilion, and the Central Institute of Sciences (ICC Norte). The university's infrastructure was essential to accommodating the complex logistics required by the event.
The Brasília gathering thus not only strengthened the role of the Brazilian chapter of the International Society of Public Law (ICON•S Brazil), but also expanded research networks between the Global South and the rest of the world. The event's conclusion left a legacy of mutual academic cooperation and important theoretical guidelines that will continue to influence judicial decisions and public policy in the years to come.
The scientific program was robust and wide-ranging, encompassing nearly 350 panels and plenary sessions addressing the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. Participants engaged in intensive debate on cutting-edge topics such as the regulation of artificial intelligence, the impact of climate change on environmental law, and the resilience of democracies in the face of rising populism. Constitutional theory and new approaches to administrative law also took center stage at several panels.
