Summary

Driving a power-driven vehicle, off-road vehicle or tram in a state of intoxication, as provided in § 424 of the Penal Code, is one of the most common crimes in Estonia: In 2023, nearly 2,500 crimes of this type were registered, making it the third most common offence. It seems that in practice, there are not many disputes concerning substantive law related to § 424 of the Penal Code: few cases heard in general proceedings primarily concern the proof of an act or punishment. Therefore, it could be said that in terms of substantive law, the matter is clear and orderly. While one could agree with the argument of clarity – everything works and interpretative practice is predictable – in the author’s opinion, the current practice is not correct in several aspects in terms of legal doctrine: this applies both to the special part of criminal law (in particular, in relation to clause 69 (2) 2) of the Traffic Act) and to the general part (in particular, in relation to intent). The author claims that the current malpractice (or at least a large part of it) can be eliminated by interpreting the constituent element of ‘intoxication’ not narrowly as intoxication, but as an inability to drive due to a state of intoxication. In this article, the author focuses on the most common intoxicant, alcohol (and the alcohol intoxication caused by it). It is presumed that many of the arguments presented in the article can also be applied to other types of intoxication.