Driving a Vehicle Under the Influence of Psychoactive Substances. The Effects of Decision 25/2025 of the High Court of Cassation and Justice

The article titled “Driving a Vehicle Under the Influence of Psychoactive Substances: The Effects of Decision 25/2025 of the High Court of Cassation and Justice,” written by Prof. Cristina Rotaru Radu, Ph.D., was published in A.U.B.D. – Legal Forum No. 1/2026.

The article is based on the premise that, with regard to driving a vehicle under the influence of psychoactive substances, the Panel for the Resolution of Legal Issues in Criminal Matters of the High Court of Cassation and Justice issued Decision 25/2025, in which it established that, for the offense to exist, it is necessary to establish both the presence of the psychoactive substance in biological samples and its ability to impair the offender’s capacity to drive.
Not only does the Decision fail to offer any prospects for unifying judicial practice—which, incidentally, was not divergent to begin with—but it also introduces considerable confusion into the process of interpreting and applying the law, leading to a heterogeneous practice lacking predictability, since in the recitals, when establishing the conditions for the offense to be established, it refers to an objective criterion—exceeding the cut-off limits—a concept to which it does not, however, assign a concrete meaning, while in the operative part it refers to the psychoactive substance’s ability to impair the offender’s capacity to drive, that is, a subjective criterion.
Furthermore, the decision raises issues of unconstitutionality, as well as concerns regarding the courts exceeding their role in the context of the separation of powers.