Research On The Subject Of Civil Liability For Unmanned Ship Collisio

Applying intelligence and data into modern life has become a new trending of modern technology,from household items to transportation tools,from land to sea,the application of Internet of Things technology and artificial intelligence technology is increasing.In recent years,many countries and scientific research institutions have incorporated unmanned ship development into their science and technology blueprints and launched automatic navigation ship research and development projects,and China is also stepping up its research on unmanned ship technology.At the same time,the law of unmanned ships are still few,and the legal regulation and control of unmanned ships,especially as a new intelligent product,is essential.In the future,unmanned ship market,not only should occupy a favorable position on technology,but also the legislation should follow up to gain advantages.The tort liability of ship collision tort liability is an important aspect of maritime law,although unmanned ships can reduce the risk of collision caused by human factors,unmanned ships still have the possibility of collision tort in maritime cargo transportation.Therefore,it is necessary to explore the allocation of collision liability for unmanned ships.In addition,there are significant differences between unmanned ships and traditional ships in the technical aspects,so they face new challenges in the application of the law,besides,new understanding and interpretation of traditional legal provisions are required.Does the subject of responsibility change? What is the legal basis? And the feasibility of practice,these are the issues that need to be explored in depth.The clarification of the subject of liability and the correct invocation and application of the law are of great significance to the compensation of the victims loss and the realization of fairness and justice,as well as to the positive and benign development of the unmanned ship market.The first chapter of this paper firstly figures out the legal theory of the traditional ship collision liability subject,including three kinds: vicarious liability,self-born liability and control and management standard.Then composing its jurisprudence and specific application in ship collision;secondly,on the basis of the traditional ship collision liability subject theory,and combined with the intelligent characteristics of unmanned ship,this chapter analyzes the challenges that the traditional theory directly applying unmanned ship collision liability will face,one is the absence of captain and crew challenges the application of vicarious liability,causing no object to replace;secondly,the existing principles and standards are difficult to apply to unmanned ship manufacturers;thirdly,the management and control standards are unclear,and the controlled state of unmanned ships needs new explanation in relation to technology.The second chapter of this paper explores the liability of unmanned ship owners based on the jurisprudence of vicarious liability.This part distinguishes and discusses unmanned ship into shore-based operator type and fully autonomous type,analyzes the legal relationship between unmanned ship owners and shore-based operators and autonomous unmanned ships respectively,and explores the two main situations in which unmanned ship owners become liability subjects: ship unseaworthiness and operational failure.Finally,it concludes that unmanned ships are the basic liability subjects.Based on the control and management standard,the third chapter firstly explains the legal status of the emerging subject--independent shore-based control center and conducts a comparative analysis with subordinate departments and other economic subjects to highlight the characteristics of the shore-based control center;secondly,it probes into the specific application of the control and management standard in the accident of unmanned ship collision,including the interpretation of the standard and the liability of the shore-based control center under the standard.Finally,it is concluded that if the shore-based control center acts negligently in the process of controlling the unmanned ship,which leads to the infringement of the collision of the unmanned ship,it should become a joint liability subject with the owner of the unmanned ship.In the fourth chapter,the product liability theory is invoked to investigate the liability of the unmanned ship manufacturer.Firstly,the basic theories of product liability and the relevant provisions of product liability law are sorted out;then the key aspects of product liability-defects(including design defects,manufacturing defects and warning defects)are analyzed explicitly,and the method of judging defects of unmanned ships is researched;finally,the division of responsibility within the manufacturer of unmanned ships and the sharing of responsibility of the owner of unmanned ships are discussed,and it is pointed out that When the inherent defects of the product lead to collision infringement,the manufacturer of the unmanned ship shall bear the responsibility of collision infringement,and the owner of the unmanned ship who fails to exercise reasonable care shall become a co-responsible subject with manufacturers.Chapter 5 then explores the status of the unmanned vessel itself as a subject of liability.There are two jurisprudential bases for unmanned ships to become independent liability subjects: on the one hand,the traditional in rem litigation;on the other hand,the emerging affirmation of artificial intelligence subjects.This paper analyzes the possibility of independent liability of unmanned ships under these two situations,and finally concludes that: unmanned ships are not suitable to become liability subjects under in rem litigation;when unmanned ships reach human-like brain state and become market carriers,there is a possibility for them to assume independent liability.Chapter 6,also the final part of this paper,puts forward some suggestions on legislation of collision liability of unmanned vessels.Therefore,I suggest that China’s Maritime Law should include unmanned ships in the scope of ships and the shore-based operator of unmanned ships shall be given the legal status of captain;secondly,I suggest the sharing of responsibility of multiple subjects in unmanned ship collisions:considering the demand for technical changes of unmanned ships,we shall judicially interpret “shore-based operator” to the judicial interpretation.The judicial interpretation adds "if the shore-based control center is at fault,it shall bear joint and several liability with the owner of the unmanned ship".As for the fault of the manufacturer of autonomous unmanned ship,it can be directly referred to the relevant articles of product liability in the Tort Liability Division of the Civil Code.In addition,regarding the unmanned ship to become an independent subject of responsibility,I believe that the civil law to determine the legal status of artificial intelligence and its further study.