Lisbon Recognition Convention

The Lisbon Recognition Convention, formally the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region, is a 1997 treaty developed jointly by the Council of Europe and UNESCO that sets out principles for the fair recognition of foreign higher education qualifications among its signatory states. It established the general principle that a qualification should be recognized unless a substantial difference can be demonstrated, shifting the burden of proof onto the institution assessing the qualification rather than the qualification holder, and it underpins recognition practice within the wider Bologna Process.