Legal Status and Mandate

Legal Constitution

WEQSC International — formally the World Education Quality Services Council — is an international statutory educational body constituted under the laws of the Swiss Confederation, with its registered seat in Bern, Switzerland.

WEQSC is established as a not-for-profit institution. Its revenues, derived from accreditation fees, examination fees, and grants, are applied solely to the fulfilment of its mandate and to the operation of its support programmes. No surplus is distributed to any private person.

Governing Law

The governing law of WEQSC, of all accreditation agreements, and of all disputes arising under the WEQSC framework is the law of the Swiss Confederation. Dispute resolution is governed by the procedures set out in the Accountability section of this portal.

Mandate Under Constitutive Instruments

The mandate of WEQSC is the harmonisation of secondary education standards and the international recognition of secondary education credentials, exercised through six standing functions:

1. Standards-Setting — The establishment and maintenance of curriculum frameworks, learning outcomes, and assessment standards;
2. Accreditation — The evaluation, approval, monitoring, renewal, suspension, and termination of school accreditation;
3. Credentialing — The issuance, registration, and maintenance of the permanent verification infrastructure for all WISE credentials;
4. Verification — The operation of a permanent, public credential verification infrastructure;
5. Quality Assurance — The conduct of annual financial and digital compliance audits;
6. Student Support — The administration of scholarship, incentive, girl-child, and elite-tier support programmes.

Authority to Regulate

The authority of WEQSC to regulate accredited schools derives from three sources:

• Voluntary Adherence — Schools apply for accreditation and, upon approval, bind themselves to the WEQSC framework;
• Contractual Relationship — The accreditation relationship is a regulatory relationship. WEQSC sets and enforces standards, and the school is bound by them for so long as accreditation subsists;
• Recognition by Third Parties — Universities, employers, and regulators recognise WISE credentials because those credentials are backed by standards and audit.

Status vis-à-vis Governments

WEQSC is not a governmental body of any single state. It is an international statutory educational body. It does not claim governmental ownership, government control, or automatic governmental recognition of any credential.

WEQSC operates within the UNESCO recognition framework and the Lisbon Recognition Convention, and its qualification levels are aligned with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and the Bologna standards for the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).

Data Protection Law

The processing of personal data by WEQSC is governed primarily by the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (Swiss DPA) and, where applicable, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union. Further details are set out in the Data and Technology section of this portal.

Conclusion

The legal status and mandate of WEQSC establish the Council as an independent, not-for-profit, international statutory body with the authority to set standards, accredit schools, issue credentials, and operate student support programmes. All procedures not expressly set out in this portal must follow the Secretariat's official bylaws.