Ernst Benda (15 January 1925 – 2 March 2009) was a German legal scholar, politician, and judge.

He played a role in founding the Kampfgruppe gegen Unmenschlichkeit (KgU) ("Combat Group against Inhumanity") in 1948, an anti-communist organization that operated in the German Democratic Republic (GDR).

The KgU received financial support from various Western intelligence agencies and the West German government.

In 1969, Benda was appointed as a judge to the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany.

Starting in 1984, Benda held the position of a professor of law at the University of Freiburg.