Commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights
and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the JURI committee, this study provides
an analysis of the potential legal impact of the introduction of connected and
autonomous vehicles on rules of private international law determining jurisdiction
and applicable law in the EU Member States in the event of a cross-border traffic
accident. Following a case-studies approach, it makes a number of
recommendations to improve the legal framework. In line with recent EU law trends
towards enhanced protection for the victims and given that products liability is likely
to gain more importance in the area, the study suggests the introduction of a duty
for car manufacturers to contract liability insurance covering traffic accidents
victims; the possibility of a direct action against a manufacturer’s liability insurer
and the establishment of a forum at the domicile of the victim for claims against
manufacturers of cars using new technologies. In order to increase legal certainty,
the study recommends to redefine the respective scopes of application of the two
systems of private international law currently coexisting in the EU to determine the
law applicable (the Rome II Regulation and the 1971 and 1973 Hague Conventions),
and to apply Rome II in cases in which both the claimant and the defendant are
domiciled in EU Member States. Finally, autonomous technologies may increase the
difficulty to initiate extra-contractual liability claims therefore the study proposes
that limitation periods be extended at the substantive law level or that a cumulative
connecting mechanism be introduced at private international level for the benefit
of the victims.