Recognition Of Qualifications In The Trade In Services Legal Issues

This paper employs a demonstrative and analytic approach, beginning from the observing of the Mutual Recognition of Service-providing Qualification (MRSQ) under free trade circumstances and through the investigation of the historical contrail of MRSQ, to construe the general contents and operating mechanism of Mutual Recognition Agreement in service trade, predict the trend and prospect of MRSQ and the last of all, put forward feasible suggestions to China' s improvement on this issue.The paper is divided into four parts except Preface and Conclusion:In part Ⅰ, the author demonstrates that MRSQ is the essential requirement of the service trade liberalization. Through the discussion of the implication and classification of MRSQ, the author makes definite the study range of the paper and by revision of the historical contrail of MRSQ, presents two current attitudes toward MRSQ. In addition, this part makes a comparative study into the drives and barriers in MRSQ' s developing course. It is not hard to find that the issue of service qualification takes an evident position among the barriers to service trade after observing the distortion factors in service trade liberalization. MRSQ plays an important role in improving service standards, reasonable allocation of resource and enhancing the mutual understanding between members, which in turn serves as the internal drive of its development. Meanwhile, there are systematic, technical and ideological handicaps that prevent its expansion .Part Ⅱ and part Ⅲ are the main focus of the paper. Three core questions of MRSQ and its operating mechanism are studied in Part Ⅱ. There are three aspects worthy of our concern in the conclusion of mutual recognition agreements (MRAs): harmonization ofequivalence between national systems; the applicable scope of an agreement and the automaticity of an agreement. They are named as 'core issues' not only because they reflect the whole process of conclusion a MRA, but also because we can judge where the parties have reached in the full recognition process through the comprehensive observing of the three aspects. The operation of MRA asks for the cooperation of all parties. This includes the cooperation of transparency, agreement enforcement and dispute solving. The cooperation of transparency is the life of MRAs, the cooperation of enforcement emphasizes particularly on the process of carrying out a MRAs and it is the warrant of MRAs' realization; the cooperation of dispute solving is the after-the-event safe-guard of mutual recognition mechanism. Reversibility of mutual recognition can promote the efficiency of cooperative mechanism. Reversibility implies that the safety valves are put into members' own hands, which fulfills their needs to adjust the recognition to the changeable situation at home. By this way, members are encouraged to increase their service standard.In part Ⅲ, the author predicts about the legal prospect of MRSQ through elaboration of the correlated provisions in GATS and in two professions: accountant and architect. Article 6 and 7 in GATS prominently embodies the important principle of the stage-by-stage way of liberalization for service industry. Mutual recognition needs to go through a step-by-step process and mutual recognition in some areas is only part of it. It proves to be difficult to solve the problem of qualification recognition in all profession with just a uniform set of rules and then, sectoral recognition will play an important role in realizing multilateral recognition. Mutual recognition would inevitably experience such a course: from bilateral recognition to multilateral recognition; from particular recognition to universal recognition, from conditional recognition to unconditional recognition.In part Ⅳ, China' s current situation about the issue of mutual recognition is presented and analyzed first. And then some feasible strategies and suggestions are put forward. The author points out that China is lagging behind the developed western countries on the issue both in theoretical research and practice. There are obvious deficiencies; some of them are caused by mistake altitude, some by lack of legislation. And so, for one thing, we should pay enough attention to the importance of MRSQ in service trade, make full use of the advantage of being a latecomer , study the precedent experience of other nations and actively negotiate with them; for another, we should also adjust and reform our legal system to prepare for the coming challenge.