Administrative sanctions in EU law

EU law has broadened the scope of administrative sanctioning by adding a variety of sanctions to the palette of sanctions in national law. Since the coming into force of the Charter, EU procedural standards are modelled on the ‘criminal charge’ case law of the ECtHR. These standards are discussed below, and the question of whether the ECtHR and the CJ will agree on the qualification of certain EU sanctions as not criminal in nature is raised. The difference in the Court’s approach of reparatory and punitive sanctions with regard to procedural guarantees is gradual and in line with the ECtHR’s case law allowing a procedure that is not as strict provided the sanction concerns a ‘light’ criminal charge. The Charter contains specific guarantees in ‘criminal proceedings’. It is argued that, as a consequence, the CJ needs to clear up to which sanctions these guarantees apply.