Events
Applicant graduated from the law faculty of a university abroad, which was recognised at national level by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK). The Council of Higher Education (YÖK) subsequently refused to recognise the applicant’s undergraduate degree on the grounds that the duration of his stay in the country was insufficient for legal education. Applicant then brought a lawsuit before the Administrative Court (the Court). The Court dismissed the case on the grounds that the duration of stay in the country was “seriously deficient” for a formal law school education, which requires compulsory attendance. The applicant’s appeal was rejected by the Regional Administrative Court.
Allegations
The applicant claimed that his right to education was violated due to the rejection of his request for the equivalence of his undergraduate degree obtained from a university abroad and recognised by the Council of Higher Education.
The Court’s Assessment
Although the applicant states that he chose the relevant university because there is no attendance requirement and that many law faculties in our country do not require attendance with the decision of the senate, it is clear that the type of education for which the applicant requested recognition is formal education. “In the Regulation on the Equivalence of Higher Education Diplomas Abroad (Regulation), the procedures and principles regarding formal education and distance education are regulated separately, and in formal education, as a rule, students are obliged to physically attend the courses and practices during education. In this context, the fact that there is no attendance obligation at the university where the applicant is enrolled or that many law faculties in our country do not require attendance does not entitle the applicant to be exempted from the attendance obligation in terms of formal education in the diploma equivalence procedures.
The applicant has stated that the criterion regarding the attendance requirement taken into consideration by the CoHE in the recognition procedures is unpredictable and has submitted sample judicial decisions in this regard. As a matter of fact, when these judgements are analysed, it is understood that the CoHE takes into consideration the duration of the students’ stay abroad when making equivalence decisions, and the courts – contrary to the applicant’s claim – take into consideration the duration of the plaintiffs’ stay abroad and subject the administrative acts subject to the lawsuit to a review in this direction.
There is no provision in the legislation on the determination of the number of days deemed sufficient for the duration of stay abroad. However, it should be taken into consideration that the state has a wide discretionary power in this field. The CoHE stated that the applicant stayed sixty-nine days in the country where he studied abroad and that this period was insufficient to be considered to have studied at a law faculty.
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The programme attended by the applicant is a formal education programme and the Regulation to which the applicant is subject contains the rule that the original or certified copies of the passports used during higher education can be requested. When this issue is evaluated together with the margin of appreciation of the administration, the fact that the Regulation does not specify that the duration of the applicant’s stay abroad will be subject to separate evaluation does not create a foreseeability problem in terms of the relevant regulation.
The fact that the courts have made varying decisions under the circumstances of different cases, taken together with other factors, will not grant the applicant, who has not fulfilled his legal obligations, the right to obtain recognition of his diploma. It is concluded that the decision to reject the applicant’s request for recognition of his diploma was proportionate. The reasons of the first instance court are relevant and sufficient for the interference with the applicant’s right to education.
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