Dr Ger Coffey Publishes Article in the European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice

Dr Ger Coffey, Centre for Crime, Justice and Victim Studies, School of Law, published a research article titled “Cross-Border Application of the Ne Bis In Idem Principle in the Context of Administrative Penalties Criminal in Nature Imposed for Unlawful Commercial Practices" in the European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, a Scopus-indexed journal published by Brill, a prestigious academic publisher with consistently high global impact.

The article examines Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) jurisprudence on administrative penalties criminal in nature imposed by regulatory authorities in a Member State following a criminal conviction in a different State based on identical facts against the same legal person, which may constitute an infringement of the ne bis in idem principle enshrined in Article 50 Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFREU). Article 52(1) CFREU provides for limitations to the application of that principle, which are contingent on compliance the principle of proportionality and sufficient coordination of proceedings and penalties. 

This article examines the significance of CJEU jurisprudence which provides further clarification and guidance for Member States with emphasis on the necessity for a legal mechanism at EU level for coordination of concurrent proceedings and penalties, which may justifying limitations. The analysis reveals that recent CJEU judgments may have broader implications for regulatory authorities and public prosecutors wherein similar issues are under consideration between states.