Page "Habilitation" Paragraph 14

Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia, three states with conservative governments, filed suit at the German Constitutional Court against the new law replacing the habilitation with the junior professor.

The Court concurred with their argument that the Bundestag ( the federal parliament ) cannot pass such a law, because the German constitution explicitly states that affairs of education are the sole responsibility of the states and declared in July 2004 the law to be invalid.

In reaction, a new federal law was passed, giving the states more freedom regarding habilitations and junior professors.

The junior professor has since been legally established in all states, but it is still possible — and encouraged for an academic career in many subjects in Germany — to pursue a habilitation.