Semi-Automated and Automated Vehicles, Insurance, and Private International Law

The chapter analyzes the role of private international law in road traffic accidents involving advanced driving assistance systems and autonomous driving systems. The first part of the chapter summarizes the modern technology installed in motor vehicles and presents a road traffic scenario involving several semi-autonomous vehicles. The next segment deals with relevant international and domestic regulatory frameworks regarding liability issues concerning semi-autonomous vehicles. The central part of the chapter analyzes relevant private international law instruments regarding road traffic accidents and the choice of jurisdiction and choice of law. A particular segment is devoted to the European-based insurance instrument of compulsory third-party insurance and European endeavors to regulate artificial intelligence and extend the scope of product liability to algorithms. The final part of the chapter analyzes the adequacy of the current legal frameworks and discusses the potential of introducing a set of unified rules concerning the use of semi-autonomous vehicles.