Plagiatsvorwürfe: Warum Berlins Justizsenatorin ihre Doktorarbeit prüfen lässt

Felor Badenberg, the Justices Senator of Berlin (CDU), ordered an examination of her doctoral dissertation after accusations of plagiarism surfaced. Her election as a top candidate on the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district list in Berlin coincides with the upcoming election on September 20th. The University of Cologne, where her dissertation was based, examined her work and found over 80 instances of plagiarism.

Badenberg has not publicly commented on the allegations but stated that the dissertation was completed with due diligence and honesty. She contacted the University of Cologne to independently and thoroughly review her dissertation. Stefan Weber, the plagiarism "hunter," was commissioned to investigate by the CDU. Since 2007, he has reviewed hundreds of academic works, including doctorates, manuscripts, published books, court documents, and patent applications.

Weber has also identified prominent figures like Annalena Baerbock, Robert Habeck, Armin Laschet, and Norbert Lammert, who allegedly plagiarized in their academic works or books. Badenberg, a 51-year-old Iranian who moved to Germany in 1987, studied law and obtained her doctorate at the University of Cologne. She has been in the CDU since 2023 and is currently serving as a member of the CDU's federal board.

The plagiarism controversy comes a month before the Berlin state election on September 20th, where Badenberg is currently leading the CDU list in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district. The CDU currently governs Berlin in coalition with the SPD, but Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) will not run again following criticism over his crisis management during a major power outage in January.

Finance Senator Stefan Evers has been named the new CDU candidate, praising Badenberg's integrity and professionalism. Another recent plagiarism case in Berlin involved former Berlin Environment and Transport Senator Manja Schreiner, who had her doctorate revoked by the University of Rostock in 2024 for errors in her dissertation.

Schreiner resigned to distance herself from the scandal. In contrast, SPD Senator Franziska Giffey lost her doctorate from the Freie Universität Berlin in 2021 for plagiarism and subsequently stepped down as Minister of Family Affairs, though she later became Berlin's Mayor.