“Ne bis in idem” in Spain and in Europe. Internal effects of an inverse and partial convergence of case-law (from Luxembourg to Strasbourg)

Abstract

The prohibition of contains a mandate addressed to the State of not reiterating the concerning the same facts. Although this principle has won wide recognition in the international conventions for the protection of human rights, there are remarkable discrepancies among state and international courts concerning the different ways of defining the required identity-idem-and the prohibited repetition-bis-. This paper deals with the differences between the Spanish and the European standard of protection against the repetition of sanctioning only in so far as it concerns the concept of identity and the relevance of the “discounting” technique as a means of preventing the violation of the right. For that purpose, it is offered a brief presentation of internal and European case-law and subsequently it will be evaluated the consequences that the European standard brings with it.