A flaw in the law: Czech court ruling forces change to foreign diploma recognition

A late-October court ruling has delivered a major setback to the Czech Ministry of Education, finding it incorrectly assessed the recognition of foreign diplomas and ordering it to reconsider its decision.

The landmark suit was filed by Tomáš Pitra, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who sought to have his BBA degree recognized, reports Hospodářské Noviny. Pitra successfully argued that the Ministry’s purely formal assessment violated the Lisbon Convention, which requires a comparison of acquired knowledge and skills, not just the formal degree title.

“With its decision, the court proved that Czech universities are not guided by the Lisbon Convention, but by their own interpretation, which the court finds unlawful,” Pitra told HN.

This ruling is a significant win for students and global talent, as it directly challenges Czechia’s cumbersome “nostrification” process: the lengthy and often frustrating system for recognizing foreign diplomas. The process has long deterred international professionals and scholars, creating a significant barrier for foreign applicants to Czech universities and skilled workers seeking employment.

The flaws in the system have real-world consequences, even for graduates of the world’s best institutions. For instance, HN shares the story of Lucie Greenindge, who earned a Master’s degree in applied psychology from Columbia University.

She is currently unable to work as a school psychologist in Czechia. Her U.S. studies correspond in scope and content to a Czech Master’s degree, yet the purely formal assessment prevents recognition, halting her career.

This administrative hurdle is more than just a personal frustration. According to the analysis, Studying and Life in the Czech Republic through the Eyes of Foreign Students II, the demanding nostrification process is the fourth most common obstacle leading prospective international students to choose another country over Czechia.

The court ruling directly challenges the validity of current procedures, including elements of the amended Higher Education Act that came into force in March. That amendment aimed to unify procedures by shifting assessment to university Rectorates (like Charles University’s) and relying on the qualification framework.

The court found that relying only on this framework or other formal criteria is insufficient and unlawful under the Lisbon Convention.

The law’s amendment, advocated for by MP Renáta Zajíčková, explicitly requires institutions to assess the acquired knowledge and skills, not just the formal degree title, a key point the court upheld.

Officials acknowledge the flaw. Former Deputy Minister Jaroslav Miller stated that the ministry must analyze the substantive content of study programs more thoroughly, warning, “I think the court has opened the door for specific cases of study in the U.S. to be assessed more according to the substantive content of the study program,” he told HN.

While institutions like the University of Economics, which denied Pitra’s application, have reserved comment, the Ministry of Education plans to review the ruling. Zajíčková confirmed:

“I will discuss this again with the universities... Universities need to start complying with the law,” she said, adding that, “This is how we devalue education from prestigious American universities."

This reluctance to update procedures is particularly concerning as Czechia faces an urgent need for skilled workers, grappling with a record-low working-age population that is placing significant strain on the national workforce. The current nostrification system actively hinders the necessary inflow of global talent needed to fill these gaps.