Doesn the principle of mutual recognition contradict the double jeopardy rule?
No. The principle of double jeopardy means that a person cannot be tried twice for the same offence. The principle is enshrined in Article 50 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights PDF File(PDF File 79 KB). The mutual recognition of a judgment is not a retrial, but simply the acknowledgement that a judgment is valid and enforceable throughout the EU. The principle of mutual recognition should thus strengthen the double jeopardy rule by ensuring that the result of a criminal trial (whether a conviction or an acquittal) anywhere in the EU is recognised by all Member States as blocking any further trial for the same offence. Double jeopardy raises, however, several questions of interpretation, given that it is not defined in the same way by the various international legal instruments which refer to it. The Commission suggests that the principle would become less important if there were a register of ongoing proceedings and final judgments in criminal matters.
