The ne bis in idem principle establishes the impossibility of trying twice a person for the same criminal acts. In this short communication, we analyse the doctrine of the Spain Supreme Court, appreciating a conflict between the previous dualist system and the present vicarial system regarding this matter. The purpose of this study is to determine if the Spanish Supreme Court´s ruling nº 1332/2002 of the, 2^nd courtroom (Criminal Chamber), 15^th of July 2002, broke the ne bis in idem principle. Secondly, we define what this principle means by analysing the sentence. Finally, we made a critical commentary of the assessments of the Court.