The Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning
Higher Education in the European Region, otherwise known as the
Lisbon Recognition Convention, aims to ensure that
holders of a qualification from one European country have that
qualification recognised in another.
Formulated by the Council of Europe and UNESCO, and adopted by
national representatives in April 1997 in Lisbon, the Lisbon Recognition Convention is the key legal
instrument for recognition of qualifications across Europe. It has
now been signed by all 47 member states of the Council of Europe
except for Greece, Monaco, and San Marino. It has also been signed
by other countries, such as Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand,
and the USA. The UK ratified the convention in May 2003 and it came
into force in the following July.
The main principles of the Lisbon Recognition Convention include
the following:
- a foreign qualification should be recognised as similar to the
corresponding qualification in the host country, unless there are
substantial differences
- holders of foreign qualifications have the right to assessment
of their qualifications
- no discrimination shall be made on grounds such as the
applicant's gender, race, colour, disability, language, religion,
political opinion, national, ethnic or social origin
- the applicant has the right to appeal a decision on his/her
qualifications
The Convention also encourages higher education institutions in
all signatory countries to issue the Diploma
Supplement to its graduating students in order to
facilitate recognition.
The Lisbon Recognition Convention Committee also adopted a Recommendation on the Recognition of Joint
Degrees in 2005, which encourages the recognition of joint
degrees if all parts of joint programmes are quality assured and
all consortium members are recognised institutions.