Bayreuth Chair of Public Law becomes Federal Constitutional Court Judge

"It is an honour for me to be able to work at such an important and prestigious institution for the state. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Karlsruhe and to the new tasks that await me there," said Prof. Dr. Heinrich Amadeus Wolff after the election. He added: "But I am also pleased that I will continue to be part of the University of Bayreuth! Indeed, my work in Karlsruhe will open up new perspectives that I will be able to bring to the University of Bayreuth."

University President Prof. Dr. Stefan Leible congratulated the new Federal Constitutional Court judge on behalf of all members of the University and said, "Professor Wolff will certainly - as far as his time will allow in the future - continue to contribute his knowledge in Bayreuth and thus, as is customary at our Faculty of Law, Business & Economics, continue to present the interface of theory and practice to students first-hand. Of course, we regret having to share Heinrich Amadeus Wolff with the Federal Constitutional Court in the future. At the same time, however, we are most pleased that Professor Wolff will now become a member of Germany's highest court." Leible enthused, "Political selection procedures are always associated with imponderables, nevertheless the University Governing Board was hardly surprised by the decision. Heinrich Amadeus Wolff has been advising parliaments and governments for decades - committed, balanced, and with a good dose of wit. He has published important standard works on public law, has conducted many lawsuits, and has won most of them."

Prof. Dr Heinrich Amadeus Wolff has been Chair of Public Law, Law of the Environment, Technology & Information at the University of Bayreuth since 2014. In addition to his teaching activities, he has been and continues to be active as an author of numerous articles in legal journals, collective works, commentaries, as well as monographs, indeed, on the entire breadth of public law with a clear focus on constitutional law. In addition, he has acted as counsel in numerous socially relevant and ground-breaking hearings before the Federal Constitutional Court, for example, on data retention, the Berlin rent cap, the anti-terrorism file, and the protection of non-smokers. He was also in demand as an expert witness for the federal government, for example in the evaluation of the supplementary anti-terrorism law. Wolff was an expert witness during hearings of the NSU investigation committees of the Bundestag and the state parliaments of Baden-Württemberg and Saxony. Not only as a member of the federal government commission to revise the security laws, but also beyond that, he has participated as an advisor in numerous draft laws.

At the Federal Constitutional Court, Wolff succeeds Prof. Dr Andreas Paulus, who left the court in March. His area of expertise will only be partially transferred to Wolff. In Karlsruhe, he will mainly deal with cases in social law and arts law, and will be responsible for chamber jurisdiction. Wolff will also be involved in senate decisions of the first senate. The Bayreuth law expert will therefore be able to contribute the entire breadth of his academic background, which includes environmental law, building and planning law, data protection, security and energy law, school and university law, social law, public commercial law, science law, as well as the basics of administrative law and constitutional law.

At the Faculty of Law, Business & Economics of the University of Bayreuth, this judge's appointment by the Bundestag is cause for celebration. Dean Prof. Dr. Jörg Schlüchtermann explains: "With the election of Heinrich Amadeus Wolff, not only will an excellent constitutional and administrative law expert become a member of Germany's most important court, but also a committed colleague who is always ready to serve the interests of the Faculty." That this election "confirms the outstanding quality of interdisciplinary research and teaching at the Faculty of Law, Business & Economics at the University of Bayreuth goes without saying," emphasises Vice Dean Prof. Dr. Michael Grünberger. The consequences for the students of the University of Bayreuth are described by Dean of Studies Prof. Dr. Nina Nestler: "Our students also benefit from the fact that a professor of our faculty is now a judge on the Federal Constitutional Court. They will gain direct access to his judicial perspective and thus share in his wealth of experience. This is a special privilege and will promote understanding of the central issues of our democracy and our constitutional state."