Gießen University revokes doctorate from MEP


DThe University of Giessen has withdrawn the doctorate from Marburg law professor and CDU MEP Sven Simon. As the university announced on Monday, the doctoral committee of the Faculty of Law came to the conclusion that Simon, when preparing his dissertation entitled “Liberalization of services of general interest in WTO and EU law” from 2009, “to a significant extent intentionally deceived”. He did not sufficiently disclose the use of third-party texts by citing sources. In view of the seriousness of the violations, the title should be revoked.

According to the university, the decision of the doctoral committee is not yet final: Simon lodged an objection to it after receiving the notice of revocation. In July, in an open letter to the universities of Gießen and Marburg, the plagiarism hunter Martin Heidingsfelder described the copying of the text from Simon in his dissertation as “outrageous and monstrous” and demanded consequences from both universities after he had already in April 2021 at the University of Gießen reported the plagiarism.

“Notification is based on incorrect application of the law”

Simon said in a written statement that he considered the decision to revoke the doctoral degree to be unjustified, “especially if you compare it to the standards that have been applied in such cases to date”. The doctoral committee’s decision is based on an “incorrect application of the law”, and above all no standards at all are set. “Numerous professors” have already expressed this opinion.

Sven Simon


Sven Simon
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Image: Tobias Koch

Among others, the Gießen law professor Christoph Benicke wrote that the allegations against him, Simon, were not tenable if the standards developed in previous proceedings at the Faculty of Law at the University of Gießen were used as a basis. Simon also writes that his supervisor Thilo Marauhn is sticking to what he has said before: Simon’s work is “one of the best dissertations that I have supervised so far. There is no doubt that the work was independently gained in knowledge.”

In addition, three Marburg law professors expressed their “complete lack of understanding” of the doctoral committee’s decision in a letter to the Gießen university president. It was “largely based on exaggerated standards, inappropriate evaluations and all too quick conclusions”. The dissertation has received all the awards that Liebig University and the department for doctoral theses give.

When asked, the University of Marburg pointed out that the withdrawal of Simon’s doctorate is an ongoing process. As soon as a “conclusive decision” is available, one will “check whether further steps are necessary”.



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