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INEBRIETY, LAW OF

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Originally appearing in Volume V14, Page 511 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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INEBRIETY, See also:LAW OF . The legal relations to which inebriety (See also:Lat. in, intensive, and ebrietas, See also:drunkenness) gives rise are partly See also:civil and partly criminal. I. Civil Capacity.—The law of See also:England as to the civil capacity of the drunkard is practically identified with, and has passed through substantially the same stages of development as the law in regard to the civil capacity n,f a See also:person suffering from See also:mental disease (see See also:INSANITY). Unless (see III. inf.) a modification is effected in hie See also:condition by the fact that he has been brought under some See also:form of legal See also:control, a See also:man may, in spite of See also:intoxication, enter into a valid See also:marriage or make a valid will, or bind himself by a See also:contract, if he is sober enough to know what he is doing, and no improper See also:advantage of his condition is taken (cf. See also:Matthews v. See also:Baxter, 1873, L.R. 8 Ex. 132; Imperial See also:Loan Co. v. See also:Stone, 1892, 1 Q.B. 599). The law is the same in See also:Scotland and in See also:Ireland; and the See also:Sale of Goods See also:Act 1893 (which applies to the whole See also:United See also:Kingdom) provides that where necessaries are sold and delivered to a person who by See also:reason of drunkenness is incompetent to contract, he must pay a reasonable See also:price for them; " necessaries " for the purposes of this See also:provision mean goods suitable to the condition in See also:life of such person and to his actual requirements at the See also:time of the sale and delivery.

Under the See also:

Roman law, and under the Roman Dutch law as applied in See also:South See also:Africa, drunkenness, like insanity, appears to vitiate absolutely a contract made by a person under its See also:influence (See also:Molyneux v. See also:Natal See also:Land and Colonization Co., 1905, A.C. 555). In the United States, as in England, intoxication does not vitiate contractual capacity unless it is of such a degree as to prevent the person labouring under it from understanding the nature of the transaction into which he is entering (See also:Bouvier, Law See also:Diet., s.v. " Drunkenness "; and cf. Waldron v. Angleman, 1004. 58 Atl. 568; See also:Fowler v. Meadow See also:Brook Ll''ater Co., 1904, 57 Atl. 9J9; 208 See also:Penn., 473). The same See also:rule is by implication adopted in the See also:Indian Contract Act (Act ix. of 1872), which provides (s.

12) that " a person is . . . of See also:

sound mind for the purpose of making a contract if, at the time when he makes it, he is capable of understanding it and of forming a rational See also:judgment as to its effect upon his interests." In some legal systems, however, habitual drunkenness is a ground for See also:divorce or judicial separation (See also:Sweden, Law of the 27th of See also:April 181o; See also:France, See also:Code Civil, See also:Art. 231, Hirt v. Hirt, Dalloz, 1898, pt. ii., p. 4, and n. 4). II. Criminal Responsibility.—In See also:English law, drunkenness, unlike insanity, was at one time regarded as in no way an excuse for See also:crime. According to See also:Coke (Co. Litt., 247) a drunkard, although he suffers from acquired insanity, dementia afectata,is voluntarius daemon, and therefore has no See also:privilege in See also:con-sequence of his See also:state; " but what hurt or See also:ill soever he doth, his drunkenness doth aggravate it." See also:Sir See also:Matthew See also:Hale (P.C. 32) took a more moderate view, viz. that a person under the influence of this voluntarily contracted madness " shall have the same judgment as if he were in his right senses"; and admitted the existence of two " allays " or qualifying circumstances: (I) temporary frenzy induced by the unskilfulness of physicians or by drugging; and (2) habitual or fixed frenzy. Those See also:early authorities have, however, undergone considerable development and modification.

Although the See also:

general principle that drunkenness is not an excuse for crime is still steadily maintained (see See also:Russell, Crimes, 6th ed., i. 144; Archbold, Cr. Pl., 23rd ed., p. 29), it is settled law that where a particular See also:intent is one of the constituent elements of an offence, the fact that a prisoner was intoxicated at the time of its See also:commission is relevant See also:evidence to show that he had not the capacity to form that intent. Drunkenness is also a circumstance of which a See also:jury may take See also:account in considering whether an act was premeditated, or whether a prisoner acted in self-See also:defence or under provocation, when the question is whether the danger apprehended or the provocation was sufficient to justify his conduct or to alter its legal See also:character. Moreover, See also:delirium tremens, if it produce such a degree of madness as to render a person incapable of distinguishing right from wrong, relieves him from criminal responsibility for any act committed by him while under its influence; and in one See also:case at nisi prius (R. v See also:Baines, The Times, 25th See also:Jan. 1886) this See also:doctrine was extended by Mr See also:Justice See also:Day to temporary derangement occasioned by drink. The law of Scotland accepts, if it doeg not go somewhat beyond, the later developments of that of England in regard to criminal responsibility in drunkenness. Indian law on the point is similar to the English (Indian Penal Code, Act. xlv. of ,86o, ss. 85, 86; See also:Mayne, Crim. Law of See also:India, ed. 1896, p.

391). In the United States the same view is the prevalent legal doctrine (see See also:

Bishop, Crim. Law, 8th ed., i. ss. 397-416). The Criminal Code of See also:Queensland (No. 9 of 1899, Art. 28) provides that a person who becomes intoxicated intentionally is responsible for any crime that he commits while so intoxicated, whether his voluntary intoxication was induced so as to afford an excuse for the commission of an offence or not. As in England, however, when an intention to cause a specific result is an See also:element of an offence, intoxication, whether See also:complete or partial, and whether intentional or unintentional, may be regarded for the purpose of ascertaining whether such intention existed or not. There is a similar provision in the Penal Code of See also:Ceylon (No. 2 of 1883, Art. 79). The Criminal Codes of See also:Canada (1892, c.

29, ss. 7 et seq.)'and New See also:

Zealand (No. 56 of 1893, SS. 21 et seq.) are silent on the subject of intoxication as an excuse for crime. The Criminal Code of See also:Grenada (No. 2 of 1897, Art. 51) provides that " a person shall not, on the ground of intoxication, be deemed to have done any act involuntarily, or be exempt from any liability to See also:punishment for any act: and a person who does an act while in a state of intoxication shall be deemed to have intended the natural and probable consequences of his act." There is a similar provision in the Criminal Code of the See also:Gold See also:Coast See also:Colony (No. 12 of 1892, s. 54). Under the See also:French Penal Code (Art. 64), it n'y a ni crime, ni delit, lorsque le prevenu See also:Nail en Nat de demence au temps de l'See also:action ou lorsqu'il See also:aura ere contraint See also:par une force a laquelle it n' a pas resister." According to the See also:balance of authority (Dalloz, See also:Rep. tit., See also:Peine, ss. 402 et seq.) intoxication is not assimilated to insanity, within the meaning of this See also:article, but it may be and is taken account of by juries as an extenuating circumstance (See also:Ortolan, See also:Droit Penal i. s.

323: Chauveau et Helie s. 36o). A provision in the See also:

German Penal Code (Art. 51) that an act is not punishable if its author, at the time of committing it, was in a condition of unconsciousness, or morbid disturbance of the activity of his mind which prevented the See also:free exercise of his will, has been held not to extend to intoxicatinn (Clunet, 1883, p. 311). But in See also:Germany as in France, intoxication may apparently be an extenuating circumstance. Under the See also:Italian Penal Code (Arts. 46-49) intoxication—unless voluntarily induced so as to afford an excuse for crime—may exclude or modify responsibility. So far only the question whether drunkenness is an excuse for offences committed under its influence has been dealt with. There remains the question how far drunkenness itself is a crime. See also:Mere private intoxication is not, either in England or in the United States (Bishop, Grim. Law, 8th ed., i. s.

399) indictable as an offence at See also:

common law; but in all civilized countries public drunkenness is punishable when it amounts to a See also:breach of the See also:peace (see LIQUOR See also:LAWS) or contravention of public See also:order; and See also:modern legislation in many countries provides for deprivation of See also:personal See also:liberty for See also:long periods in case of a frequent repetition of the offence. Reference may be made in this connexion to the Inebriates Acts 1898, 1899 and 1900 (see iii. inf.), and also to similar legislation in the See also:British colonies and in See also:foreign legal systems (e.g. Cape of See also:Good See also:Hope, No. 32 of 1896; Ceylon, Licensing See also:Ordinance 1891, ss. 23, 24, 29; New South See also:Wales, Vagrants Punishment Act 1866; See also:Massachusetts, Acts of 1891, c. 427, 1893, cc. 414, 44; France, Law of 23rd of Jan. 1873, Art. 6). (b) Control in penal establishments for lengthened periods. (c) Laws prohibiting the sale of liquor to persons who are known inebriates: e.g. in England (Licensing Act 1902); See also:Ontario (Rev. Stats.

1897, c. 245, SS. 124, 125); New South Wales (Liquor Act 1898, ss. 52, 53); Cape of Good Hope (No. 28 of 1883, s. 89); New See also:

York (Rev. Stats. 1889-1892, c. 20, See also:Title iv.) ; See also:California (Act to prevent sale of liquor to drunkards, 1889) ; Massachusetts (Pub. Stats., ed. 1902, c. 100, S.

9). (d) Laws regulating the See also:

appointment of some person or persons to act as See also:guardian or guardians, or who may be endowed with legal See also:powers over the person and See also:estate of an inebriate. Thus in France (Code Civil, Arts. 489 et seq.), Germany (Civil Code, Art. 6 (39)) and See also:Austria-See also:Hungary (Bitrgerliches Gesetz-See also:Buck, SS. 21, 269, 270, 273), an inebriate may be judicially interdicted if he is squandering his See also:property and thereby exposing his See also:family to future destitution. Provision is also made for the See also:interdiction of inebriates by the laws of Nova See also:Scotia (Rev. Stats. 1900, C. 126, S. 2), See also:Manitoba (Rev. Stat.

1902, c. 103, Ss. 30 et seq.), British See also:

Columbia (Rev. Stat. 1897, c. 66), New South Wales (Inebriates Act 1900, s. 5), See also:Tasmania (Inebriates Act 1885, No. 17, s. 23); See also:Canton of See also:Bale (Trustee Law of the 23rd of Feb. 188o, s. 11), See also:Orange See also:River Colony (Code Laws, c. 1o8, S.

30), See also:

Maryland (Code General Laws, c. 474, S. 47). (e) Control for the purpose of See also:reformation. Legislation of this character provides reformatory treatment: (1) for the inebriate who makes a voluntary application for See also:admission; (2) by compulsory seclusion for the inebriate who refuses consent to treatment and yet manages to keep out of the reach of the law; (3) for the inebriate who is a See also:police-See also:court recidivist, or who has committed crime, caused or contributed to by drink. The legislation of the Cape of Good Hope (Inebriates Act 1896) and of See also:North Dakota (Habitual Drunkards Act 1895) provides for the first of these methods of treatment alone. Compulsory detention for See also:ordinary inebriates only is provided for by the laws of See also:Delaware (Act of 1898), Massachusetts (Rev. Laws, c. 87), and of the Cantons of Berne (Law of the 24th of Nov. 1883) and Bale (Law of the 21st of Feb. 1901). All three methods of treatment are in force in New South Wales (Inebriates Act 1900), Queens-land (Inebriates Institutions Act 1896) and South See also:Australia (Inebriates Act 1881).

Provision is made only for voluntary application and compulsory detention of ordinary inebriates in See also:

Victoria (Inebriates Act 189o), Tasmania (Inebriates Act 1885; Inebriates Hospitals Act 1892) and New Zealand (Inebriates Institutions Act 1898). The legislation of the United Kingdom (Inebriates Acts 1879-1900) deals both with voluntary application and with the committal of criminal inebriates or of police-court recidivists. A brief See also:sketch of the English See also:system must suffice. The Inebriates Acts of 1879-1900 See also:deal in the first See also:place with non-criminal, and in the second place with criminal, habitual drunkards. For the purposes of the acts the See also:term " habitual drunkard " means " a person who, not being amenable to any See also:jurisdiction in lunacy, is notwithstanding, by reason of habitual intemperate drinking of intoxicating liquor, at times dangerous to himself or herself, or incapable of managing himself or herself and his or her affairs." A person would become amenable to the lunacy jurisdiction not only where habitual drunkenness made him a " lunatic " in the legal sense of the term, but where it created such a state of disease and consequential " mental infirmity " as to bring his case within See also:section 116 of the Lunacy Act 1890, the effect of which is explained in the article INSANITY. Any " habitual drunkard " within the above See also:definition may obtain admission to a "licensed See also:retreat " on a written application to the licensee, stating the time (the maximum See also:period is two years) that he undertakes to remain in the retreat: The application must be accompanied by the statutory See also:declaration of two persons that the applicant is an habitual drunkard, and its See also:signature must be attested by a justice of the peace who has satisfied himself as to the fact, and who is required to state that the applicant understood the nature and effect of his application. Licences (each of which is subject to a See also:duty and is impressed with a See also:stamp of £5, and 1os. for every patient above ten in number) are granted for retreats by the See also:borough See also:council and the See also:town clerk in boroughs, and elsewhere by the See also:county council and the clerk of the county council. The maximum period for which a See also:licence may be granted is two years, but licences may be renewed by the licensing authority on See also:payment of a stamp duty of the same amount as on the See also:original See also:grant. When an habitual drunkard has once been committed to a retreat, he must remain in the retreat for the time that he has fixed in his application, subject to certain statutory provisions similar to those prescribed by the Lunacy Acts for asylums as to leave of See also:absence and See also:discharge; and he may be retaken and brought back to the retreat under a justice's See also:warrant. The term of detention may be extended on its expiry, or an inebriate may be readmitted, on a fresh application, without any statutory declaration, and without the attesting justice being required to satisfy himself that the applicant is an habitual drunkard. Licensed retreats are subject to inspection by an Inspector of Retreats appointed by the See also:Home Secretary, to whom he makes an See also:annual See also:report. The Home Secretary is empowered to make rules and regulations for the management of retreats, and " regulations and orders," not inconsistent with such rules, are to be prepared by the licensee within a See also:month after the granting of his licence, and submitted to the inspector for approval.

The rules now in force are dated as regards (a) England, 28th Feb. 1902; (b) Scotland, 14th April 1902; (c) Ireland, 3rd Feb. 1903. There are also statutory provisions, similar to those of the Lunacy Acts, as to offences—(i.) by licensees failing to comply with the requirements of the acts; (ii) by persons . ill-treating patients, or helping them to See also:

escape, or unlawfully supplying them with intoxicating liquor; (iii.) by patients refusing to comply with the rules. The Home Secretary may (i.) authorize the See also:establishment of " State Inebriate Reformatories," to be paid for out of moneys provided by See also:parliament; and (ii.) See also:sanction " Certified Inebriates' .Reformatories " on the application of any borough or county council, or any person whatever, if satisfied concerning the reformatory and the persons proposing to maintain it. An _ Inspector of Certified Inebriate Reformatories has been appointed. Regulations for State Inebriate Reformatories and .for Certified Inebriate Reformatories have been made, dated as follows: State Inebriate Reformatories :—England, 21st of See also:June 19o1, 29th of Dec. 1903, 29th of April 1904; Scotland, 9th of See also:March 1900; Ireland, 16th of March 1899, 16th of April 1901, 'loth of Feb. 1904. Certified Inebriate Reformatories :—England, See also:Model Regulations, 17th of Dec. 1898; Scotland, Regulations, 14th of Feb, 1899; Ireland, Model Regulations, 29th of April 1899. Any person convicted on See also:indictment of an offence punishable with imprisonment or penal See also:servitude (i.e. of any non-See also:capital See also:felony and of most misdemeanours), if the court is satisfied from the evidence that the offence was committed under the influence of drink, or that drink was a contributing cause of the offence, may, if he admits that he is, or is found by the jury to be, an habitual drunkard, in addition to or in substitution for any other See also:sentence, be ordered to be detained in a state or certified inebriate reformatory, the managers of which are willing to receive him.

Again, any habitual drunkard who is found drunk in any public place, or who commits any other of a See also:

series of similar offences under various statutes, after having within twelve months been convicted at least three times of a similar offence, may, on conviction on indictment, or, if he con-sent, on See also:summary conviction, be sent for detention in any certified inebriate reformatory. The expenses of prosecuting habitual drunkards under the above provisions are payable out of the See also:local rates upon an order to that effect by the See also:judge of See also:assize or chairman of See also:quarter-sessions if the See also:prosecution be on indictment, or by a court of summary jurisdiction if the offence is dealt with summarily.

End of Article: INEBRIETY, LAW OF

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