Self-Driving Cars and Criminal Law

This paper addresses the thought-provoking topic of the interaction between self-driving cars and Criminal Law. In this regard, I would like to consider the problem also known as tragic choices: Is it allowed to program a vehicle, in the imminent event of an accident, to choose between lives? And if not, should it be? After an introduction about the tragic choices dilemma (1., 2.), I will present some illustrative cases (3.). The description of a current state of the discussion, mostly in Germany, will reveal the as yet unresolved problems so we can provide an answer about the possibility of these vehicles, on the basis of certain criteria, to choose between some lives at the expense of others (4.). The presented difficulties suggest that perhaps it is appropriate to think in terms of a type of transitional rule.