Ne Bis in Idem and Multiple Sanctioning Systems. A Case Law Study of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the EU

Book edited by Springer, year 2023

We inform readers of the publication of the book “Ne bis in idem and Multiple Sanctioning Systems. A Case Law Study of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the EU, by Javier Ignacio Escobar Veas, ed. Springer, 2023, available on the publisher's website.

The aim of the book is to resolve the question of whether multiple sanctioning systems are contrary to the ne bis in idem under the regulation provided by Protocol 7 to the ECHR and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

The first part is a comparative study regarding the lawfulness of multiple sanctioning systems under the ne bis in idem, studying the evolution and the current state of the case law of the United States Supreme Court, the Canadian Supreme Court, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

The second part of the book critically analyses three problems with the case law of the ECtHR and the CJEU. The first problem is the lack of clarity on the rationale of the protection against multiple prosecutions, a matter that the ECtHR and the CJEU have so far failed to address. The second problem concerns the difficulties that the application of the autonomous concept of “criminal offence” has caused. Finally, the third problem to address is the incorporation of criteria unrelated to the rationale of the protection against multiple prosecutions for the purpose of determining whether it has been violated.

The book argues that the three problems analysed in the second part demonstrate that neither the ECtHR nor the CJEU have developed a coherent standpoint regarding the lawfulness of multiple sanctioning systems under the ne bis in idem. This justifies the need to develop a new interpretation on the matter under study, a task that will be pursued in the third part. This alternative interpretation is based on the premise that the protection against multiple prosecutions for the same offence and protection against multiple punishments for the same offence are different safeguards, with a different rationale, scope of application and different requirements, and it is therefore necessary to differentiate them from each other.

Finally, the fourth part addresses other possible protections against multiple sanctioning systems. It should be emphasised, because it is often overlooked, that the ne bis in idem is not the sole safeguard that limits multiple sanction systems, but only one of the many limitations on this type of law enforcement system. Two other safeguards that limit multiple sanctioning systems are the prohibition of disproportionate sanctions and the right to be tried within a reasonable time.