Investigation Reveals Absence of Plagiarism in Brosius-Gersdorf's Work
In a dramatic turn of events, the nomination of constitutional law expert Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf to the Federal Constitutional Court has been thrown into uncertainty due to plagiarism allegations. The controversy erupted just days before a scheduled Bundestag vote, causing a significant rift within the governing coalition and sparking heated debates across the political spectrum.
On July 10th, Stefan Weber, a well-known "plagiarism hunter" in Germany, published allegations of plagiarism against Brosius-Gersdorf. He claimed her 1997 doctoral thesis shared suspicious similarities with the thesis published by her husband, Hubertus Gersdorf, the same year. However, Weber could not confirm who copied whom.
The following day, the plagiarism allegations became publicly prominent. The centre-right CDU/CSU parliamentary group withdrew their support for Brosius-Gersdorf's nomination, citing the plagiarism accusations as one key reason, alongside conservative opposition to her progressive abortion stance. As a result, the coalition decided to postpone the vote, causing a severe rift within the governing coalition.
The move to postpone the vote triggered outrage from the Greens and SPD, who support Brosius-Gersdorf. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and CDU/CSU leaders faced criticism, with media coverage highlighting the timing of the plagiarism allegations as politically motivated, given the sensitive abortion debate and coalition tensions.
Since then, Brosius-Gersdorf has commissioned an investigation into the matter, and her husband's habilitation from 1997 has also been scrutinised. As of mid-July, the investigation is ongoing, and no formal exoneration or confirmation has emerged. Stefan Weber has clarified that he has not withdrawn the plagiarism accusations and calls for a thorough investigation into Brosius-Gersdorf's dissertation.
Meanwhile, the CDU, CSU, and SPD are facing a dilemma on how to elect judges together after Union politicians continue to criticise Brosius-Gersdorf. If the ongoing debate about the failed selection threatens to harm the Federal Constitutional Court, Brosius-Gersdorf has stated that she would immediately withdraw her candidacy.
Bishop of Bamberg Herwig Gössl offered a personal conversation to Brosius-Gersdorf to clear up misunderstandings about a sermon he gave regarding her. In his sermon, Gössl spoke about the protection of unborn life and emphasised that he never personally attacked or defamed Brosius-Gersdorf or questioned her competence as a jurist or her personal integrity. However, Brosius-Gersdorf found Gössl's sermon offensive due to his reference to an "abyss of intolerance and contempt for people" in relation to her person.
As the investigation continues, the future of Brosius-Gersdorf's nomination to the Federal Constitutional Court remains uncertain. The election of two new female judges and one male judge for Karlsruhe was unexpectedly removed from the Bundestag's agenda on Friday, adding to the political tension surrounding the nomination process.
[1] https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/plagiat-broisius-gersdorf-101.html [2] https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/plagiat-vorwurf-gegen-broisius-gersdorf-a-1302044.html [3] https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article224641858/Plagiat-vorwurf-gegen-Brosius-Gersdorf-CDU-CSU-rufen-Wahl-ab.html [4] https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2022-11/broisius-gersdorf-plagiat-vorwurf-bundestag-wahl-abgelehnt [5] https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/broisius-gersdorf-plagiat-vorwurf-bundestag-wahl-abgelehnt-1.5853134
- The plagiarism allegations levied against Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf and her husband, Hubertus Gersdorf, have spread beyond academia, becoming a major topic in the realms of policy-and-legislation and general-news.
- The controversy surrounding Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf's nomination to the Federal Constitutional Court has caused a deep divide in politics, with the CDU/CSU's decision to withdraw support and postpone the vote leading to severe rifts within the governing coalition, and prompting intense debates across the political spectrum.
