Country note: The Principle of Ne Bis in Idem: On the Ropes, but Definitely Not Defeated - Intertax View Country note: The Principle of Ne Bis in Idem: On the Ropes, but Definitely Not Defeated by - Intertax Country note: The Principle of Ne Bis in Idem: On the Ropes, but Definitely Not Defeated 46 10

In the A. and B. v. Norway case decided by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on 15 November 2016 (24130/11 and 29758/11), the principle of ne bis in idem suffered a significant blow. Via the Luca Menci (C-524/15), Garlsson Real Estate (C-537/16) and Di Puma (C-596/16 and C-597/16) cases, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) was confronted with a challenging decision: either stay with the path set out by the ECJ on 26 February 2013 in the Åkerberg Fransson case (C-617/10) or follow the ECtHR and thereby strike a knockout blow to the right that is guaranteed by the principle of ne bis in idem. In its judgments of 20 March 2018, the ECJ came up with a surprising solution.

Intertax