European Court of Human Rights Refines
Ne Bis in Idem Principle

In a judgment of 9 July 2026 (Jesus Pinhal v. Portugal, No. 48047/15 and 2276/20), the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights refined in two important respects the ne bis in idem principle under Article 4 of Protocol No. 7. First, the Court tightened the idem criterion: identity of facts now requires that the material facts be identical – mere similarity no longer suffices. Second, the Court confirmed and clarified the "integrated system" approach from A and B v. Norway, holding that parallel criminal and administrative proceedings leading to sanctions of a criminal nature remain permissible where proceedings form a coherent whole.

Applying these principles to the case at hand – where a former Vice-Chairman of Banco Comercial Português faced criminal proceedings and parallel administrative proceedings before the Bank of Portugal and the Securities Market Commission – the Court held, by fifteen votes to two, that there was no violation of ne bis in idem.