Dilemmas and Pathways in Determining Criminal Liability in Autonomous Driving Scenariose

Autonomous vehicles lack the capacity for discernment and control, and thus are not subject to penal culpability, disqualifying them as appropriate subjects of criminal liability. Users of autonomous vehicles, classified as passengers, also bear no criminal responsibility. In scenarios involving autonomous driving, criminal liability primarily falls on vehicle manufacturers, owners, managers, and safety operators. Manufacturers, not being direct participants in road traffic, do not constitute the crime of causing traffic casualties but may be implicated in product liability offenses or negligent personal injury crimes. Strict liability should not be introduced; instead, the principle of culpability must be upheld. However, a reverse exclusion rule should be adopted in determining causation. Vehicle owners and managers are obligated to conduct pre-drive inspections and software updates, while safety operators are responsible for takeover during operation and post-incident reporting. Violations of these duties resulting in severe injury or death shall subject owners, managers, and safety operators of autonomous vehicles to corresponding criminal liability.