ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Julian Leonhard

Julian Leonhard is a student assistant at the Research Professorship Global Constitutionalism (Prof. Mattias Kumm) at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and at the Chair of Public Law, in particular Public Economic Law (Prof. Dr. Andrej Lang) at Chemnitz University of Technology. He studies law at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg.

POSTS BY Julian Leonhard

17 October 2025

Speaking Out on Campus

Campus protests have been testing European universities. The demonstrations at Freie Universität Berlin highlighted the tension between seeing universities as open spaces for free speech and regarding them primarily as institutions dedicated to academic discourse. German courts have leaned toward the latter approach, whereas EU law provides a broader scope for academic freedom while still tying it to academic contexts. Although the upcoming European Research Area Act does not appear to address this issue, guidance from EU law could help universities strike a better balance between protecting the right to protest and safeguarding academic freedom. Continue reading >>