Endangerment under the influence of an addictive substance

Legal definiton 

Section 274 of the Criminal Code:

(1) Whoever performs, in a state excluding capacity, which they have caused by the influence of an intoxicating substance, an occupation or other activity that could endanger the life or health of others or cause significant damage to property, shall be punished by imprisonment for up to one year, by a financial penalty, or by disqualification.

(2) The perpetrator shall be punished by imprisonment for six months to three years, by a financial penalty, or by disqualification if:

a) the act described in paragraph 1 causes an accident, a traffic or other incident, harm to the health of another person, greater damage to the property of others, or another serious consequence,

b) the act is committed in the course of an occupation or other activity where the influence of an intoxicating substance is particularly dangerous, especially when operating a public transport vehicle, or

c) the perpetrator has been convicted of such an act within the last two years or has been released from imprisonment imposed for such an act. 

Subjective aspect - intent

Endangerment under the influence of an addictive substance is an intentional criminal offence. A criminal offence is committed intentionally if the perpetrator wanted to violate or endanger a legally protected interest in the manner specified by the Criminal Code (direct intent), or if the perpetrator knew that his actions could result in such a violation or endangerment and accepted the possibility of it occurring (indirect intent).

If the act can be deemed as mere negligence rather than intent, it does not constitute the described criminal offence. 

Defense

There are various defense strategies available. Given the elements of this crime, the following questions may be relevant:

• Was an intoxicating substance detected?
• In what quantity?
• How was the substance ingested by the individual?
• Did it constitute a state excluding the individual's capacity to perform relevant actions?
• How was the intoxicating substance detected in the individual?
• What activity was the individual performing at the relevant time?
• How did the individual behave?
  
• How did the individual communicate?