Facts
On October 5, 1988, B., A., and W. had carried out assembly work for their employer in Sarnen. Afterwards, they went together to a restaurant, where they drank numerous rounds of coffee brandy until the evening. Around 6:45 pm, B. and A. got into the company vehicle, with B. taking the wheel. Shortly thereafter, a collision occurred, in which B. had a blood alcohol content of at least 2.00 and at most 2.67 per mille.
The High Court of the Canton of Obwalden convicted W. and A. of aiding and abetting drunk driving and imposed fines. The two convicted parties then filed a federal nullity appeal.
Considerations
The Court of Cassation upholds its case law that aiding and abetting drunk driving is possible not only through acts that directly promote the drive itself, but also through acts that promote the intoxicated state of the driver. In the present case, the court sees such a promotion of alcohol consumption in the fact that the appellants participated together with the driver B. in a drinking spree and mutually ordered and paid for "rounds".
The court explains that according to general life experience, the joint drinking and the mutual ordering and payment of "rounds" promotes the alcohol consumption of the participants. Even if none of the three…