The Ne bis in idem in European Competition Law and the possible signs of uniformity in its application in the EU legal order as a whole

The Ne bis in idem applies to EU competition law sanctions because of their similarities to the criminal law sphere. The application of the principle in the field of EU competition law, however, has not always been in line with its application in other areas of the EU legal system, thus contributing to a non-uniform application of the ne bis in idem across the Union. The present article offers an overview of the most important case law of the EU Court of Justice on the application of the principle at stake in the area of EU competition law, focussing on that third element for the identification of the idem factum, namely the “legal interest protected”, which differentiated its application in that area of EU law as compared to the others. The last part of the article focuses on two recent judgments of the EU Court of Justice whereby the Union judge tries to depart from its previous case law, by no longer requiring the relevance of the third criterion above, but by constructing the limitations to the application of the ne bis in idem on the relevance of the traditional limitations to the application of the rights provided in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as provided in Article 52, paragraph 1, therein, and in particular on that necessity to meet objectives of “general interest”.