The Lisbon Recognition Convention, officially the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region, is an international convention of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

elaborated together with the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. This is the main legal agreement on credential evaluation in Europe. As of 2024, the convention has been ratified by all 47 member states of the Council of Europe in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. It has also been ratified by the Council of Europe non-member states

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

, Turkmenistan and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The United States has signed but not ratified the convention.

Aims

The Convention stipulates that degrees and periods of study must be recognised unless ''substantial differences'' can be proved by the institution that is charged with recognition. Students and graduates are guaranteed fair procedures under the convention. It is named after

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, where it was signed in 1997, and entered into force on 1 February 1999 (or later in some countries, subject to ratification date).

Convention bodies

The convention established two bodies which oversee, promote and facilitate the implementation of the convention: # the Committee of the convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning

Higher Education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

in the European Region, and # the

European Network of Information Centres The European Network of Information Centres (ENIC) were established in 1994 as a joint initiative of UNESCO and the Council of Europe. They are intended to implement the Lisbon recognition convention (LRC) and, in general, to develop policy and p ...

on Academic Mobility and Recognition (the ENIC Network). The committee is responsible for promoting the application of the convention and overseeing its implementation. To this end, it can adopt, by a majority of the Signatory Parties, recommendations, declarations, protocols and models of good practice to guide the competent authorities of the Parties. Before making its decisions, the Committee seeks the opinion of the ENIC Network. As for the ENIC Network, it upholds and assists the practical implementation of the convention by the competent national authorities.

Bologna Process

The Lisbon Recognition Convention is an important instrument for the Bologna Process which aims at creating the " European higher education area" by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe.

Historical background

The possibility for students to study abroad has been recognised as an essential element of European integration since the foundation of the

in 1949. Within the Council of Europe, several international treaties were elaborated in this field: starting with the right to education under Article 2 of the first Protocol of 1952 to the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...

, the European Convention on the Equivalence of Diplomas leading to Admission to Universities was opened for signature in 1953, the European Convention on the Equivalence of Periods of University Study in 1956, the European Convention on the Academic Recognition of University Qualifications in 1959, the European Agreement on continued Payment of Scholarships to students studying abroad in 1969, and the European Convention on the General Equivalence of Periods of University Study in 1990. In addition, under Article 2 of the Council of Europe's European Cultural Convention of 1954, each Contracting Party shall, insofar as may be possible: encourage the study by its own nationals of the languages, history and civilisation of the other Contracting Parties and grant facilities to those Parties to promote such studies in its territory; and endeavour to promote the study of its language or languages, history and civilisation in the territory of the other Contracting Parties and grant facilities to the nationals of those Parties to pursue such studies in its territory.

References

Lisbon Recognition Convention
*

External links

List of signatory states
{{Authority control Educational assessment and evaluation Education treaties Higher education accreditation Academia in Europe Council of Europe treaties UNESCO treaties Treaties concluded in 1997 Treaties entered into force in 1999 1997 in education Treaties of Albania Treaties of Andorra Treaties of Armenia Treaties of Austria Treaties of Azerbaijan Treaties of Belgium Treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina Treaties of Bulgaria Treaties of Canada Treaties of Croatia Treaties of Cyprus Treaties of the Czech Republic Treaties of Denmark Treaties of Estonia Treaties of Finland Treaties of France Treaties of Georgia (country) Treaties of Germany Treaties of Hungary Treaties of Iceland Treaties of Ireland Treaties of Italy Treaties of Latvia Treaties of Liechtenstein Treaties of Lithuania Treaties of Luxembourg Treaties of Malta Treaties of Moldova Treaties of Montenegro Treaties of the Netherlands Treaties of Norway Treaties of Poland Treaties of Portugal Treaties of Romania Treaties of Russia Treaties of San Marino Treaties of Serbia and Montenegro Treaties of Slovakia Treaties of Slovenia Treaties of Spain Treaties of Sweden Treaties of Switzerland Treaties of North Macedonia Treaties of Turkey Treaties of Ukraine Treaties of the United Kingdom Treaties of Australia Treaties of Belarus Treaties of the Holy See Treaties of Israel Treaties of Kazakhstan Treaties of Kyrgyzstan Treaties of New Zealand Treaties of Tajikistan 1997 in Portugal Treaties extended to Greenland Treaties extended to the Faroe Islands Treaties extended to the Caribbean Netherlands Treaties extended to the Isle of Man