Please find below the updated version of the Arrêté-loi relating to the repression of drunkenness.
Article 1.
§ 1 Anyone found drunk in a public place is punished: for the first offence, by a fine of 15 to 25 francs; in the event of a repeat offence within one year of the first conviction, by a fine of 26 to 50 francs; in the event of a further repeat offence within one year of the second conviction, by imprisonment for eight days to one month and a fine of 50 to 100 francs.
§ 2 In addition, in the cases referred to in the preceding paragraph, if the offender causes disorder, scandal or danger to others or to himself, he is confined for a minimum of two hours and a maximum of twelve hours in the communal depot or in the security room of the gendarmerie. If his condition so requires, he will receive the necessary medical treatment.
Art. 2. If, at the time of the offence, the offender is carrying a weapon, it will be seized by the officer who detects the offence and confiscated by the judge, even if it does not belong to the convicted person.
Art. 3. If the offender in a state of intoxication engages in an occupation requiring caution or special precautions in order to avoid danger to himself or others, he shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of eight days to one month and a fine of 26 francs to 100 francs, or by one of these penalties only.
These penalties are doubled in the event of a repeat offence within one year; they are tripled and imprisonment is always imposed in the event of a repeat offence within one year of the second conviction.
Art. 4. Anyone who serves intoxicating beverages to an obviously drunk person is liable to imprisonment for a term of eight days to one month and a fine of 26 francs to 50 francs, or to one of these penalties only.
If the person is under 18, the penalty is doubled.
Art. 5. Shall be punished by imprisonment for eight to fifteen days and a fine of 26 to 50 francs, or by one of these penalties only, cabaretiers and tobacconists, as well as their agents, who, without plausible cause, serve intoxicating beverages to a minor under 16.
Art. 6 Anyone who causes a person to drink to the point of manifest drunkenness is liable to the penalties set out in article 4.
Art. 7 In the event of a repeat offence within one year, the fines set out in articles 4, 5 and 6 are doubled, and the penalty of imprisonment is always imposed.
In the event of a further repeat offence within one year of the second conviction, the fine will be tripled; the prison sentence provided for in the said articles will be doubled and will always be imposed.
Art. 8. Anyone who intentionally causes another person to become drunk will be punished by imprisonment of between eight days and two years and a fine of between 26 and 500 francs, or by one of these penalties only, if the drunkenness results in an illness causing incapacity for personal work.
If death ensues, the penalty is five to ten years' imprisonment and a fine of 250 to 5,000 francs.
Art. 9. Anyone who offers or accepts a challenge to drink shall be punished by eight days' imprisonment and a fine of 26 to 50 francs, or by one of these penalties only, where this challenge has led to the intoxication of one or more punters, without however entailing the consequences referred to in the preceding article.
Art. 10. In sentencing to imprisonment or a more serious penalty in application of the present decree-law, the judge may pronounce against the convicted person:
1° Disqualification from serving as a juror, guardian or judicial counsel for two to five years;
2° A prohibition on selling or dispensing beverages for up to two years, under penalty of eight days' to one month's imprisonment and a fine of 100 to 500 francs for each breach of this prohibition.
In addition, in the event of an infringement of article 3, the court may order forfeiture of the right to drive a vehicle, aircraft or mount, either permanently or for a period of at least eight days and no more than two years.
The provisions relating to driving disqualifications contained in the legislation on road traffic police are applicable to the driving disqualifications provided for above.
Art. 11. It is forbidden, under penalty of eight days' to two months' imprisonment and a fine of 100 to 500 francs, to sell edibles or beverages in houses of debauchery.
In the event of a repeat offence within one year, the penalty is two months' to one year's imprisonment and a fine of 500 francs to 1,000 francs.
Communal authorities may prohibit the sale of beverages in houses occupied by :
1° by one or more persons known to engage in debauchery;
2° by one or more persons convicted of offences under articles 379 to 382 of the Penal Code, or of running a clandestine prostitution establishment.
This ban will cease to have effect after two years, if it is not renewed.
Any contravention of this ban is punishable by a fine of 50 francs and, in the event of a repeat offence, from eight days to one month's imprisonment and a fine of 200 francs.
Art. 12. In the cases provided for in articles 7 and 8, the judge may order that the judgment of conviction be posted in such number of copies and in such places as he shall determine, all at the expense of the convicted person.
Art. 13. Articles 66, 67 and 69 of the Penal Code are applicable to the offences provided for in the present decree-law.
Art. 14. For the purposes of the present decree-law, "public places" means all places accessible to the public, in particular public highways, drinking establishments, hotels, inns, restaurants, places of entertainment, stores, stalls, boats, trains, streetcars, stations, workshops or building sites.
Places where members of an association or group meet solely or mainly to consume spirituous or fermented beverages or to engage in games of chance are also considered as places accessible to the public.
Art. 15. In addition to judicial police officers, all civil servants and employees of the direct taxation administration, the customs and excise administration and the hygiene department, judicial agents attached to public prosecutors' offices, civil servants and municipal police officers, gendarmes and tax bailiffs are qualified to investigate and record all breaches of the present decree.
Art. 16. Without prejudice to the application of article 155 of the law of June 18, 1869, the civil servants and other persons referred to in article 15, as well as the officers of the public prosecutor's office attached to the police courts, are placed under the direction of the King's prosecutor with regard to the recording of offences provided for by the present decree-law and the prosecution of their perpetrators.
Art. 17. An action for payment of intoxicating beverages consumed in cabarets, cafés, hotels, inns and other beverage outlets is not admissible in court.
This provision does not apply to claims for payment of debts incurred for lodging or boarding in hotels and inns, or for meals that include both food and drink.
Art. 18. The text of the present decree-law will be posted at the door of all communal houses and in the main room of all cabarets, cafés and other drinking establishments. A copy will be sent, for this purpose, to all burgomasters and to all cabarets, cafés and other public houses.
Any public house violating this provision will be punished by a fine not exceeding 25 francs.
