German judge warns Constitutional Court row threatens its reputation

By Thomas Escritt

BERLIN (Reuters) -A judge whose nomination to Germany's top court was shelved after a row over her support for legalising abortion warned that such episodes, if repeated, risk undermining the institution, which is considered a cornerstone of German democracy.

Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf said in an interview for ZDF television, she would be prepared to withdraw her candidacy if necessary to protect the Constitutional Court's reputation.

The row has prompted comparisons to the politicisation of judicial appointments in the U.S. and ideological divisions within the U.S. Supreme Court.

In an embarrassment to the ruling coalition, a parliamentary vote to appoint Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf was shelved last week after days of articles in right-wing news portals criticizing her views on abortion, which is decriminalised under certain circumstances but not fully legal in Germany.

Though leaders of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives initially supported her candidacy, the party shelved the vote amid uncertainty over whether they would get enough support from their lawmakers.

"I don't think anyone could have imagined it in their worst dreams, this kind of a politicisation of a constitutional court election," Brosius-Gersdorf said.

"It's extremely dangerous, because it endangers the culture of debate, the foundations of our democracy."

The Constitutional Court, one of Germany's most powerful and respected institutions, has regularly challenged German and European politics in the past.

Retired former justice Gertrude Luebbe-Wolff said the court's legitimacy  rested on an understanding that judges handed down balanced rulings even if they had sharply divergent views.

"If we lose sight of that in the debate on judge candidates, we'll end up like in the U.S., where a polarised society only sees the Supreme Court as a polarised political institution, and that's how it behaves," Luebbe-Wolff told Reuters.

Brosius-Gersdorf remains a candidate and could still be appointed once parliament returns from its summer break, but she said that would withdraw if it looked like her candidacy would harm the court's reputation.

(Reporting by Thomas EscrittEditing by Alexandra Hudson)