Schlesinger is entitled to receive a pension from RBB
The legal battle between Patricia Schlesinger, former Intendant of ARD broadcaster Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), and her former employer has taken a partial turn in Schlesinger's favour. On July 16, 2025, the Landgericht Berlin II ruled in favour of Schlesinger's claim for a pension of approximately €18,300 for January 2023. However, the broader dispute remains unresolved.
The ruling came as a relief for Schlesinger, who had been embroiled in a scandal that shook public broadcasting strongly in the summer of 2022. Allegations of waste and nepotism emerged, involving luxury cars with massage seats, lavish equipment in the Intendancy, meals at the Intendant's home at the broadcaster's expense, business trips, allowances for executives, and a now-scrapped million-euro building project for the editorial department.
In the recent ruling, the court did not rule on further pension payments, as Schlesinger's initial claim was limited to the first month to minimize legal costs. The court's definition of pension in this context is receiving a certain monthly sum of money after the end of the contract, even before retirement, and then for life. Upon reaching retirement age, the pension may be offset against any subsequent occupational pension.
Independent of this civil trial at Berlin Regional Court, the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office has been investigating the RBB scandal, including against Schlesinger, for some time. The presumption of innocence applies in the ongoing investigation.
The RBB has been successful in part of its counterclaim, obtaining recognition for some of its damages claims. The amount of the claim in the aforementioned breaches will be determined in a later decision. RBB estimated it at over 1.7 million euros. Schlesinger has always denied the allegations and was dismissed from her position.
The controversy surrounding the "Digitale Medienhaus" project, initiated under Schlesinger's leadership and later cancelled after a scandal, remains unresolved. This aspect of the case will continue to be litigated. Depending on how Schlesinger and the RBB decide to proceed, further legal actions may be taken to resolve the remaining issues.
The full pension payment, amounting to around 220,000 euros per year for the past three years and the future, remains unclear. It is possible that Schlesinger will have to sue again for the rest of her pension. The evaluation is still ongoing, according to the authority's spokesperson.
Sources: [1] Berliner Morgenpost, July 17, 2025. [2] Tagesspiegel, July 17, 2025. [3] RBB, Press Release, July 17, 2025. [4] Der Spiegel, July 17, 2025.
The partial court ruling in favor of Schlesinger's pension claim has sparked discussions in the realm of general-news, with implications for finance, particularly in the context of public broadcasters' executive remuneration. Meanwhile, the broader issue of alleged misconduct during Schlesinger's tenure as Intendant of RBB, including controversies over extravagant expenses and the cancelled "Digitale Mediendhaus" project, is still under investigation by politics, both in the ongoing criminal proceedings and the civil trial.
