Das Erfordernis der empirischen Bestimmung der Gefährlichkeit von Hochschulstrukturen

The academic freedom, which is guaranteed by article 5 paragraph 3 of the German basic law, protects the freedom of choice in research and teaching with regard to issue, methodology and publication of results. Not protected are university structures such as the powers of the academic senate. The lawmaker is largely free, as he constitutes the university structures. He has only to assure, that the university structures do not structurally compromise the protected freedom of choice. The constitutionality of changed university structures therefore depends on the result of a risk assessment, which has to be accurate. An accurate risk assessment can only be made on the basis of the actual effects of the structural changes. The lawmaker has to determine these effects. If he does not, the existence of a structurally compromise will be feigned, if the court's risk assessment does not provide significant results.