Recognition of Qualifications: Article VII

In one line

A member may recognise another country's qualifications, and if it does it must give every other member the chance to negotiate the same recognition.

In exam wording: Article VII of the GATS permits a member to recognise the education, experience, licences or certifications granted in a particular country for the purpose of authorisation, licensing or certification of service suppliers, whether autonomously or by agreement, subject to conditions of non-discrimination and transparency.

Why the article exists

Because mode 4 is worthless without it. A commitment to admit a foreign architect means nothing if the architect may not practise, and whether she may practise depends on whether her degree and licence are recognised. Recognition, not immigration, is the operative barrier for most professionals.

And because recognition is inherently discriminatory. If member A recognises the qualifications of member B, suppliers from B are advantaged over suppliers from C. Article II would forbid that outright, so Article VII is drafted as a carve-out with conditions.

What the article provides

Article VII:1 permits recognition of the education or experience obtained, requirements met, or licences or certifications granted in a particular country. Recognition may be autonomous, that is unilateral, or achieved through harmonisation or otherwise, or based upon an agreement or arrangement with the country concerned.

Article VII:2 is the non-discrimination condition and it is the substance of the article. A member that is a party to a recognition agreement or arrangement shall afford adequate opportunity for other interested members to negotiate their accession to it, or to negotiate comparable ones. Where a member accords recognition autonomously, it shall afford adequate opportunity for any other member to demonstrate that its education, experience, licences or certifications should also be recognised.

Article VII:3 is the prohibition. A member shall not accord recognition in a manner which would constitute a means of discrimination between countries in the application of its standards or criteria for the authorisation, licensing or certification of service suppliers, or a disguised restriction on trade in services. That wording is deliberately the chapeau to Article XX of GATT, transposed.

Article VII:4 is transparency. Members must inform the Council for Trade in Services of existing recognition measures, of the opening of negotiations on an agreement in sufficient time to allow others to indicate interest in participating, and of the adoption of new measures or significant modifications.

Article VII:5 directs members, wherever appropriate, to base recognition on multilaterally agreed criteria and to work with intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations towards common international standards and criteria and common professional standards.

The mechanism in practice: mutual recognition agreements

A mutual recognition agreement is a treaty between two or more members, or between their professional bodies, under which each accepts the other's qualifications on stated conditions, usually with bridging examinations, supervised practice or subject specific tests.