Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin (HU) filed a constitutional complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe on 30 December 2021. The constitutional complaint was directed against parts of the amendment to the Berlin Higher Education Act, which came into force on 25 September 2021. Section 110 (6) sentence 2 of the law stipulates that early-career researchers with a doctorate in budget-financed qualification positions must agree to a follow-up commitment for permanent employment. The HU did not consider the state of Berlin to have the legislative competence for such a regulation and saw it as an encroachment on the university's fundamental right to academic freedom. The Federal Constitutional Court confirmed this in full in its decision today:
"The constitutional complaint is successful. § Section 110 para. 6 sentence 2 BerlHG interferes with the fundamental right to academic freedom in accordance with Art. 5 para. 3 sentence 1 GG. The provision is formally unconstitutional due to the lack of legislative competence of the state."
Julia von Blumenthal, President of Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin:
"We are delighted with today's decision by the Federal Constitutional Court, which has clearly confirmed our legal opinion. With our appeal in Karlsruhe, HU has made a significant contribution to greater legal certainty. It is and remains an important task of the universities in their autonomy to develop suitable personnel structures and good career paths for academics. Federal legislation provides a binding framework for this. Together with the Berlin state government, we developed a concept last year to fulfil this framework. We welcome the fact that a draft amendment to the Berlin Higher Education Act has been submitted, which is intended to introduce new permanent job categories for mid-level academic staff."