Facts
On August 29, 1989, B. drove a commercial vehicle throughout the day. In the evening, he drank wine with his colleague and decided to spend the night at his home. However, he woke up at 1:30 a.m. and decided to drive home, despite being drunk. He had an accident on the highway and was convicted of drunk driving and failure to control his vehicle.
The cantonal court rejected B.'s request to consider a reduction of liability due to his drunken state. The federal court annulled this decision and referred the case back to the cantonal court to consider the possibility of a reduction of liability.
Considerations
The federal court considered that the reduction of liability due to alcohol must be taken into account, even in cases of drunk driving, provided that there is no 'actio libera in causa' (art. 12 SCC). The court also considered that the provisions on liability (art. 10-13 SCC) also apply to the offense of drunk driving.
The court examined the legal consequences for the irresponsible or partially liable driver, in the three hypotheses of an 'actio libera in causa' committed voluntarily, with eventual intent or through negligence. The court concluded that if the driver was not liable at the time of the commission of the offense, he can only be convicted if the conditions of article 12 SCC are met.
The court…