Following judgment num. 1729/2019 of the Administrative Court of Appeals, College graduate in the field of Physiotherapy admitted as member of the Greek Association of Physiotherapists, the competent professional body for the exercise of physiotherapy in Greece.
The applicant holds a BSc in Physiotherapy awarded by a UK University, following successful completion of his studies in a Greek College collaborating with the UK institution. Having already been registered as a member of HCPC (the regulatory body for health and care professions in the UK), he sought to register with the Association of Physiotherapists to be able to exercise his profession in Greece. His application was rejected by the Association of Physiotherapists on the grounds that his UK degree had been recognized as professionally -and not academically- equivalent to Physiotherapy degrees awarded by Greek institutions.
The Court of Appeals found that by rejecting the College graduate’s application to register, the Association of Physiotherapists was in breach of its obligations under EU and Greek law.
Despite the findings of the above judgment, the Association of Physiotherapists would still not accept the College graduate as its member, which led to proceedings before the Compliance Committee of the Court in 2020.
The Compliance Committee found that the Association had not comply with the Court’s judgment and imposed an exceptionally high penalty of 5.000€ on the Association (payable to the graduate) for failing to promptly comply with the Court’s judgment.
This case marks the first registration of a College graduate with the Greek Association of Physiotherapists. The graduate is now able to practice as a physiotherapist in the UK and Greece.
Our office proudly represented the College graduate before both the Athens Administrative Court of Appeals and the Compliance Committee.