He is currently at the center of a debate among members of the venerable Association of German-Speaking Constitutional Law Teachers when it becomes known: Ulrich Vosgerau has no longer been a private lecturer since October 1st. The qualified constitutional lawyer, who accepted mandates as a lawyer for the AfD and represented Björn Höcke, will no longer teach at the University of Cologne.
“You usually have the title of private lecturer because you teach two hours a week for free. Without teaching there are actually no private lecturers. You can also take a temporary leave of absence from teaching for important reasons, but generally not for longer than two semesters. “I have been on permanent leave of absence since 2018, so for six years,” Vosgerau tells the FAZ: “Due to my professional success as a much-in-demand lawyer and numerous additional obligations as a publicist and speaker, after careful consideration, I ultimately found myself unable to do regular title teaching again to record in Cologne, especially since this would always involve traveling from Berlin.”
Participation in the Potsdam meeting
The University of Cologne confirmed a report by the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”: “Dr. Ulrich Vosgerau has informed the dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Cologne that he will be giving up his private lectureship at the University of Cologne on September 30, 2024. This means that Dr. Vosgerau has no longer been a member of the University of Cologne since October 1, 2024.” In recent years, university members had considered revoking Vosgerau’s private lecturer status. However, this turned out to be legally impossible; at least it was uncertain whether a withdrawal would be valid in court. After Vosgerau’s participation in the Potsdam meeting, which “Correctiv” presented as a secret meeting, was scandalized, the faculty announced on its website on April 23, 2024: “For legal reasons, there is no reason to revoke the right to teach and thus the status of private lecturer.”
According to Vosgerau, the fact that the waiver now coincides with the efforts of 128 constitutional lawyers to distance themselves from him is a coincidence. “If I had known that a new campaign would unfold against me at the end of September, I would probably have postponed my private lectureship for one or two semesters,” explains Vosgerau to the FAZ: “But I couldn’t have known that, after all, that was the case “The board of directors of the Constitutional Law Teachers’ Association has already been finally clarified in my opinion.”
Vosgerau is referring to efforts to exclude him from the association, which would probably not have been possible under the existing statutes. Vosgerau wants to remain a member of the association. This is also possible according to the statutes, according to paragraph 3 of which anyone who works or has worked as a researcher and teacher in the field of constitutional law at a German-speaking university can become a member. “I am and will remain a qualified constitutional law teacher,” explains Vosgerau.
He will be discussed in Lucerne on October 9th. He left it open to the FAZ whether he would travel to Switzerland for the conference. Among the colleagues who submitted the application for disapproval, concerns that the disapproval could interfere with Vosgerau’s academic freedom were rejected by pointing out that he had not published anything scientifically for several years.
