No traces of plagiarism discovered in Brosius-Gersdorf's work, according to the report.
In a shocking turn of events, the plagiarism allegations levelled against constitutional law expert Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf have been dismissed as unfounded. These accusations, which surfaced just before the Bundestag was due to vote on her appointment as a judge at the Federal Constitutional Court in July 2025, caused a significant disruption and intensified political tensions.
The CDU/CSU parliamentary group used the allegations to delay the election, which ultimately was postponed due to lack of the required majority. However, the accusations were widely regarded as false and unsubstantiated. Nearly 300 legal scholars publicly criticised the handling of the allegations as unobjective and poorly prepared, defending Brosius-Gersdorf's impeccable reputation in academia and describing the plagiarism claims as "extremely implausible" and likely a pretext influenced by ideological opposition to her progressive views on topics such as abortion and vaccination policies during COVID-19.
Brosius-Gersdorf herself denied the accusations and labelled some political attacks against her as defamatory and detached from reality. In a candid interview on the ZDF show "Markus Lanz", she expressed concern about potentially causing a government crisis in the country due to the ongoing discussions.
The investigation into the plagiarism allegations found that they lacked substance, and a Stuttgart law firm gave a preliminary assessment, stating that a comprehensive legal evaluation will be carried out at a later date if necessary. Despite the controversy, Brosius-Gersdorf is currently maintaining her candidacy for a position as a constitutional judge.
The election of two new female judges and one male judge for Karlsruhe was unexpectedly removed from the agenda of the Bundestag due to pressure against Brosius-Gersdorf. CDU Bundestag MP Saskia Ludwig placed responsibility for the current situation on SPD faction leader Matthias Miersch, who should have withdrawn Brosius-Gersdorf's candidacy to avoid the ongoing discussions, according to Ludwig.
Bishop of Bamberg, Herwig Gössl, offered a personal conversation to Brosius-Gersdorf to clear up misunderstandings about a sermon he delivered that she found offensive. Gössl emphasised he has never personally attacked or defamed Brosius-Gersdorf, and has never questioned her competence as a jurist or her personal integrity.
As the dust settles, the scholarly community largely supports Brosius-Gersdorf and views the episode as a politically motivated controversy rather than a substantiated scandal. While the plagiarism allegation disrupted the planned judicial appointment and intensified political tensions, no credible evidence has been presented to prove the claim.
News regarding the plagiarism allegations against Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf, which initially threatened her appointment as a judge at the Federal Constitutional Court, have been debunked as baseless. With no substantiated evidence presented, these claims are now widely viewed as a politically motivated controversy aimed at disrupting her progressive policy-and-legislation views on issues such as abortion and vaccination. General-news outlets continue to follow the ongoing discussions, with Brosius-Gersdorf expressing concerns about the potential impact on the nation's politics.
