Like other Berlin universities, Freie Universität Berlin is currently exploring whether legal action – potentially in conjunction with other institutions – might be a feasible option for addressing the State of Berlin’s failure to comply with the existing higher education agreement. Both the Academic Senate and the Board of Trustees of Freie Universität Berlin have encouraged the Executive Board to begin preparing a formal legal complaint.

“We are not ruling out the possibility of legal action,” said Professor Günter M. Ziegler, president of Freie Universität Berlin. “As a university governed by representative bodies, any decisions on legal steps will be made in close consultation with those elected bodies.”

At the same time, the Executive Board emphasizes that, even if it is successful, legal action would likely only bring clarity in the long term. To address the immediate challenges posed by the proposed budget cuts, the university is exploring political options. This includes advocating for renewed negotiations, actively engaging in dialogue with Senate officials and policymakers, and developing contingency plans to minimize the impact of these drastic budget cuts on teaching, research, and infrastructure.