Civil Liability for Damage Caused by Autonomous Vehicles

The obligation to compensate the damage caused by the vehicle is a restorative function, since such obligations are aimed at restoring the property situation of the victim that existed at the time of such damage. At the same time, with the rapid development of social relations, there are more and more circumstances where damage to a person's property requires to recover the financial compensation, but the law does not provide comprehensive answers to the subject to whom such a claim may be filed. Similar cases occur with the participation of the relatively new technical invention of mankind - unmanned vehicle.

Among the person responsible for causing damage it is proposed to allocate the following persons: the inventor, the software engineer, the manufacturer, the owner/the user, a third party. The article touches upon the aspects of legal regulation of liability for damage caused by an unmanned aerial vehicle and driverless or partially autonomous car.

In general, the article presents the results of a study of the problems of tort liability for damage caused as a result of the interaction of an unmanned (autonomous) vehicle with another object. Analysis of this problem showed the need for a more complex and thorough disclosure. The conclusions made in the article can be used to improve the existing legal system of Ukraine in part of determining the scope and subjects of compensation for damage caused by the participation of such vehicles, as well as further scientific research on this issue.