The principle of ‘ne bis in idem’ - providing that a person cannot be criminally prosecuted or punished twice for the same offence (case C-617/10) - may be limited in order to protect the financial interests of the EU and the stability of the financial markets, if this limitation does not exceed that which is strictly necessary, the Court ruled on Tuesday 20 March in a number of joined cases (C-524/15, C-537/16, C-596/16, C-597/16).
The Court had been consulted on the following cases:...