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Ne Bis Interpretatio In Idem? The Two Faces of the Ne Bis In Idem Principle in the Case Law of the European Court of Justice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2019

Alessandro Rosanò

Abstract

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The meaning of idem in the ne bis in idem principle is controversial in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. In interpreting the provision of Article 54 of the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement, the court has emphasized the necessary requirement in the identity of the material acts while in antitrust law three requirements have been deemed necessary: (1) Identity of the facts, (2) unity of offender, and (3) unity of the legal interest protected. Despite the opinions of some Advocates General, the court has confirmed different interpretations of the same principle, depending on differences of the legal scope in question. A few years ago, however, the European Court of Human Rights proclaimed the criterion based on the identity of the material acts as the most suitable. This might push the Court of Justice of the European Union to correct its position in the antitrust field. Should this happen, this adjustment might serve as grounds to recognize the existence of a regional custom concerning the ne bis in idem principle.

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Information
German Law Journal , Volume 18 , Issue 1 , 01 January 2017 , pp. 39 - 58
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Copyright © 2017 by German Law Journal, Inc. 

References

1 See generally Transnational Organised Crime (Adam Edwards & Peter Gill eds., 2003); Annamaria Peccioli, Unione Europea e Criminalità Transnazionale: Nuovi Sviluppi (2005); Handbook of Transnational Crime and Justice (Philip Reichel ed., 2005).Google Scholar

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3 Bas van Bockel, The Ne Bis In Idem Principle in EU Law: A Conceptual and Jurisprudential Analysis 225 (2010) noted that in a legal system characterized by the presence of a number of States in which free movement of individuals is granted, the territorial scope of ne bis in idem must necessarily coincide with the territorial scope of the legal system.Google Scholar

4 On the topic, one may want to check the following: Robin Lööf, 54 CISA and the Principles of Ne Bis in Idem, 15 Euro. J. Crime, Crim. L. & Crim. Justice 309 (2007); Chiara Amalfitano, Il Principio del Ne Bis in Idem tra CAAS e Carta Dei Diritti Fondamentali Dell'Unione Europea, 52 Cassazione Penale 3889 (2012); Juliette Lelieur, “Transnationalising” Ne Bis in Idem: How the Rule of Ne Bis in Idem Reveals the Principle of Personal Legal Certainty, 9 Utrecht L. Rev. (2013) available at http://www.utrechtlawreview.org.Google Scholar

5 For that purpose, this author takes into account both horizontal transnational enforcement (when the same offense is considered in two or more EU Member States, or an EU Member State and another third country) and vertical application of the principle (where the same offense is considered by EU antitrust authorities and national antitrust authorities).Google Scholar

6 One should remember that, pursuant to Article 50 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, no one shall be liable to be tried or punished again in criminal proceedings for an offense for which he or she has already been finally acquitted or convicted within the EU.Google Scholar

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10 This issue is also underlined in Case C-469/03, Miraglia, 2005 E.C.R. I-2009 where the Court ruled out the application of ne bis in idem to a decision declaring a case to be closed on the sole ground that criminal proceedings have been started in another Member State against the same defendant and for the same fact. For a review, see Amalfitano, Chiara, Bis in idem per il “ne bis in idem”: Nuovo Quesito alla Corte di Giustizia, 40 Rivista di Diritto Internazionale Privato e Processuale 85 (2004).Google Scholar

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23 Id. at para. 2.Google Scholar

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48 Id. at para. 81.Google Scholar

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50 The interpretation given in Zolotukhin was later applied in Grande Stevens and Others v. Italy, App. No. 18640/10, 18647/10, 18663/10, 18668/10 and 18698/10 (Mar. 4, 2014).Google Scholar

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56 In light of the above, this author must challenge the wording of Article 50 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which states that no one shall be liable to be tried or punished again in criminal proceedings “for an offence” (emphasis added) for which he or she has already been finally acquitted or convicted within the Union in accordance with the law. The word “offence” poses a problem since it seems to recall the legal characterization of the act rather than the act as an historical event. The Explanations relating to the Charter do not let overcome the issue since they make reference to both the antitrust case law and Gözütok and Brügge as if the CJEU ruled the same way: Actually, the concept of offense is more linked to the first interpretation rather than the second one. Therefore, it would be more correct to speak of an act rather than an offense, as this may be a harbinger of problems. A rewording would be welcome but it seems to presuppose a revirement in the CJEU antitrust case law.Google Scholar

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70 Council Framework Decision 2009/948/JHA of 30 November 2009 on prevention and settlement of conflicts of exercise of jurisdiction in criminal proceedings, 2009 O.J. L 328/42. Because the third paragraph of the Whereas section recalls the ne bis in idem principle as set out in Article 54 CISA, one may think that the case law concerning that article is recalled as well.Google Scholar

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