Road safety

The Supreme Court (TS) has resolved an important issue for anyone who has lost their driver's license due to a criminal conviction. It all started when a person, after serving a sentence of more than two years without being able to drive, got behind the wheel again. The problem was that, even though the sentence had already ended, the person had not passed the awareness and road re-education course required by traffic regulations to be able to drive again.

Initially, the court convicted him of breach of sentence . But later the Provincial Court revoked that conviction and acquitted him, stating that it was not a crime of breach, although it was an administrative offense . The Public Prosecutor's Office disagreed and filed an appeal with the TS, requesting a criminal conviction because it believed that not taking the course was equivalent to failing to comply with an ancillary penalty .

The TS has been clear, for there to be a crime, this non-compliance would have to be considered as part of the judicial sentence , and that is not the case. The obligation to take the course after losing the permit for more than two years is established by the traffic law , but it is not included in the Criminal Code as part of the criminal sentence. Therefore, driving after serving the sentence, but without having taken the course is not a criminal offense , although it may result in an administrative fine . The Supreme Court maintains that it is not possible to be

criminally convicted for this action and that the sanction should be only administrative, unless the criminal law is modified in the future to include it as a crime. for this action and that the sanction should be purely administrative, unless criminal law is modified in the future to include it as a crime.

In proceedings arising from facts related to the driving of motor vehicles, our lawyers are at your disposal to defend your interests