Italian Civil Liability Applicable to Self-Driving Cars

The development of vehicle automation systems has reached high levels and is projected, due to technological evolution, towards even faster progress. The introduction of autonomous vehicles on the market entails considerable advantages but it also poses a challenge to current regulation on civil liability. The present contribution, focusing on Italian law, investigates problems concerning civil liability caused by traffic accidents between two vehicles, where at least one is self-driving. The chapter will offer a critical analysis of the current regulation on automobile accidents, with the view of evaluating whether Italian civil liability law offers adequate protection to the victim in case a self-driving car is involved. More precisely the chapter will verify whether the current Italian law provides a comprehensive regulation on autonomous vehicle accidents or, rather, if it is necessary to modify the existing regulation in order to identify more clearly the figure of the tortfeasor in such cases.