Study On The Civil Liability Of Damage Caused By Autonomous Vehicles

With the rise and spread of self-piloting technology,the problem that the traditional civil liability system is hard to judge the civil liability in traffic accidents involving autonomous vehicles properly,is becoming increasingly prominent.This problem is directly related to the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of civil subjects and the further development of the self-piloting industry.Starting from civil liability subjects of damage caused by autonomous vehicles,this paper demonstrates the rationality of autonomous vehicles as legal subjects and the proper position of them and then analyzes the components of the civil liability of damage caused by autonomous vehicles,and finally puts forward three levels of the civil liability of them.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,this paper is divided into three parts.The first part discusses the civil liability subjects of damage caused by autonomous vehicles.Starting from the fact that users do not establish their own responsibilities or substitute responsibilities and manufacturers are difficult to form product liability,this paper expounds the necessity of autonomous vehicles becoming legal subjects.Then,by combing the brief changes of legal subjects,conditions of obtaining the legal personality and the support of foreign legislative and judicial activities,it clarifies the feasibility of autonomous vehicles becoming legal subjects.After subjectification,this paper further explores the rationality of classifying them as the automobile legal person,and endows them with appropriate rights and corresponding obligations.The second part analyzes the components of the civil liability of damage caused by autonomous vehicle one by one from the subjective and objective point of view.On the one hand,from the subjective dimension,it puts forward the doctrine of liability fixation based on the presumption of fault,supplemented by liability without fault.It regards the standard of the rational person as the criterion for the determination of fault or not,and at the same time it regards the intent and negligence of the infringed person as the cause of reduction or exemption.On the other hand,considering from the objective dimension,it is not only necessary to simplify the causality into factual causality,so as to re-objectify it,but also to examine the legal interests protected by the regulatory norms and clarify the relationship between the offending act and the fault.The third part proposes to divide the civil liability of damage caused by autonomous vehicles into three levels.The automobile legal person's own responsibility is the first level,which is subdivided into liability insurance and automobile itself.This paper puts forward concrete suggestions on liability insurance system from the aspects of insured subject,insurance premium rate,insurance mode and compensation scope.When liability insurance is insufficient to cover the amount of damage,autonomous vehicles may be enforced.Potential liability subjects,such as manufacturers and sellers,owners or users,are at the second level.They have to bear product liability or joint and several liability under certain circumstances.The third level is compensation fund for the insufficiency of the automobile legal person assuming liabilities itself.Based on the social relief fund system for road traffic accidents,this paper improves the compensation fund system from the sources of funds,co-ordination methods and scope of relief.Among them,the second level and the third level are two alternatives and only when the second level subjects should not assume responsibilities can they be assumed by the third level.