This document provides an overview of the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘CJEU’) regarding the ne bis in idem principle in criminal matters under Article 50 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘Charter’) and Articles 54 to 58 of the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement (‘CISA’). Where relevant, reference is also made to the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’) and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (‘ECtHR’). The aim of this document is to provide guidance on the application of the ne bis in idem principle in a transnational context.

The case-law overview contains summaries of the CJEU’s judgments categorised according to a set of important keywords that reflect the main elements of the principle of ne bis in idem. A table of keywords and a chronological list of judgments is also provided at the beginning of the document.

The index and summaries of judgments are not exhaustive and are only to be used for reference and as a supplementary tool for practitioners. They have been prepared by Eurojust and do not bind the CJEU. The summaries contain links to the full texts of the judgments of the CJEU, which can be found, in all EU official languages, on the CJEU’s website.