7. April 2022 – In this case, the appellant contested the rejection by the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) of his application for the recognition of the equivalence of his diploma in osteopathy obtained in Austria with the title of Master of Science in Osteopathy. The SRC had rejected the recognition of the equivalence of the foreign educational qualification. In essence, the SRC argued that recognition of the equivalence was not possible because the program had not been accredited in accordance with Austrian regulations. The SRC equated the course with a private further training. However, the Federal Administrative Court held that the Austrian University of Applied Sciences in question was in fact a competent body that issues state-recognised training certificates (diplomas) for the application of measures according to Austrian Law, which in the Austrian system include the methods of osteopathy. Hence, the Court concluded that the evidence of formal qualification of the school in question met the requirement of art. 13 para. 2 lit. a of the Directive 2005/36/EC and a recognition of the equivalence was possible. Furthermore, the Court established that the SRC had not yet examined the further conditions for the recognition of the appellant’s professional qualification.

Therefore, the Court upheld the appeal and annulled the order of the SRC.

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