The organisation of higher education institutions in light of academic freedom

Abstract [En]: In 2018, the state of Thuringia reformed its Higher Education Act and introduced a number of changes. Several university professors lodged constitutional complaints with the Federal Constitutional Court, primarily against the new rules on the organisation of the universities. For the most part, the complainants were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the decision leads to a constitutional fine-tuning of higher education law. This article provides an overview of the proceedings and the underlying issues in higher education law, and assesses the ruling from a constitutional perspective.

Titolo: L'organizzazione degli istituti di istruzione superiore alla luce della libertà accademica

Abstract [It]: Nel 2018, lo Stato della Turingia ha riformato la propria legge sull’istruzione superiore. Diversi docenti universitari hanno presentato ricorso alla Corte costituzionale federale, principalmente contro le nuove norme relative all’organizzazione delle università. Per la maggior parte, i ricorrenti non hanno avuto successo. Tuttavia, la decisione porta a un adeguamento costituzionale del diritto dell’istruzione superiore. Questo articolo fornisce una panoramica del procedimento e delle questioni di fondo relative alla legge sull’istruzione superiore e valuta la sentenza da una prospettiva costituzionale.

Keywords: German university system, German Constitutional Court, Thuringian Higher Education Act, constitutional law

Parole chiave: Sistema universitario tedesco, Tribunale costituzionale tedesco, legge sull’istruzione superiore della Turingia, giurisprudenza costituzionale

Table of contents: 1. The fundamental right to academic freedom and its influence on the organisation of higher education institutions. 2. The reform(s) of the Higher Education Act of the State of Thuringia. 3. The decision of the Federal Constitutional Court on the Thuringian Higher Education Act. 3.1. Interpretation of the rules on university governance in accordance with the constitution. 3.1.1. The senate’s powers of appointment and oversight in relation to the university leadership. 3.1.2. The senate’s influence on (external) governance instruments. 3.1.3. The Senate’s influence on the (internal) allocation of resources. 3.2. Constitutional issues arising from the handling of matters directly relating to research and teaching. 3.2.1. The unconstitutionality of equal representation for non-academic staff. 3.2.2. Interpretation of the arbitration mechanism in accordance with the constitution. 3.3. Despite the lack of a ruling on the merits: the constitutionality of the compulsory attendance rule. 4. Conclusions and outlook.