About the Group
The development of modern, open, and inclusive societies requires the academic community to deepen its understanding of the legal foundations and conceptual frameworks of new rights or expanded dimensions of traditional rights. In a context shaped by cultural, political, economic, and environmental factors, as well as armed conflict, efforts to incorporate new rights and expand existing ones within constitutional and international frameworks must be supported by a theory that properly grounds and conceptualises these claims.
This Interest Group focuses on two main lines of research. The first is primarily theoretical and involves establishing the foundations and conceptualisation of these new rights, as well as exploring new dimensions of traditional rights. The second concerns applied research, analysing these concepts and their specific development in each constitutional, supranational, and international context.
These issues include the constitutional and legislative frameworks needed to respond to demands and claims expressed in terms of rights; emerging or evolving rights related to citizen participation in public affairs; rights connected to spaces for consolidating human identity and dignity; expectations concerning the transformation and protection of rights in response to new economic, technological, social, and environmental realities; and the incorporation of human rights, gender, and intersectional perspectives into legal systems and public policies. The Group is also interested in exploring the limits of the strategy of recognising certain entities as rights-holders in order to safeguard legitimate claims to justice. The central aim is to help define these limits.
Members
Events
Past Events
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ICON•S Annual Conference 2026 entitled “Reimagining Public Law for a Fractured World: Technology, Identity & Truth”, held from 29 June to 1 July 2026 and hosted by UCD Law School (Dublin, Ireland).
The Interest Group on Emerging Rights (IGER) held an in-person session on Monday, 29 June, at 9:45 a.m.
IGER Panel:
- Gonzalo Ramírez Cleves. Universidad Externado de Colombia: "Right to a good future".
- Sofia Reca. Universität Münster: "Protection of democracy and gender perspective in the climate emergency".
- Pietro Sferrazza. Universidad de Chile: "Right to memory".
- Anil Güven Yüksel. Universitat de Barcelona: "Political rights of the migrant population". -
ICON•S Annual Conference 2025 entitled “At the Crossroads of Public Law: Equality, Climate Emergency, and Democracy in the Digital Age”. Held from 28 to 30 July 2025, it was organised by the University of Brasília (UnB) and co-organised by the Center for Comparative Constitutional Studies (CECC) and Constituições: Center for Constitutionalism and Comparativism.
IGER Panel, Monday, 28 July 2025:
- Magdalena Correa. Universidad Externado de Colombia: "Emerging rights: What are they for?".
- Juan A. Cruz Parcero. UNAM, Mexico: "Human Rights and Neoliberalism".
- André Rufino do Vale. IDP Brasília: "Mutations in the rights to information and data protection: new theoretical challenges in the emergence of computer networks".
- Rubén García Higuera. Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales: "Internet Access as a Human Right: Justifications, Obligations, and Regulation". -
ICON•S Annual Conference 2024 on “The Future of Public Law: Resilience, Sustainability, and Artificial Intelligence”. Held in Madrid and organised by IE University Law School from 8 to 10 July 2024.
The IGER session featured presentations by:
- Colleen Sheppard, McGill University (Canada).
- Marla Elósegui, University of Zaragoza and judge at the European Court of Human Rights.
- Andrew B. Spalding, University of Richmond (United States). -
ICON•S Annual Conference 2023 on “Islands and Oceans: Public Law in a Plural World”. Held in Wellington, New Zealand, from 3 to 5 July 2023, and organised by Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. This was IGER’s inaugural meeting.
Online Seminars
Upcoming Seminars
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Arnulfo D. Mateos Durán: “Dogmatic Reconstruction of the Right to the City. Content and Limits”
Past Seminars
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Mariano C. Melero de la Torre: “Democracy and Human Rights: Two Different Dimensions of Rights Taken Seriously”
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Jorge Alexander Portocarrero Quispe: “Future Generations: Rights-Holders or Beneficiaries of State Obligations?”
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Diego Borbón: “New NeuroRights: A Misstep in Legal Evolution?”
Contact
If you have any questions, comments, or enquiries, please feel free to contact us using the form below. If you would also like to receive updates about IGER’s upcoming events, projects, and activities, you can subscribe to our mailing list by ticking the relevant box. We look forward to hearing from you!
