Criminal Responsibility for Harm Caused by Autonomous Vehicles: A Doctrinal Study

With the rapid advancement and deployment of autonomous driving technology, autonomous vehicles (AVs) have increasingly integrated into daily life and modern transportation systems. While these innovations offer substantial societal benefits, they simultaneously raise the likelihood of unprecedented traffic accidents, thereby complicating the traditional allocation of legal responsibility. The inherent diversification of potential criminal subjects, the intricate complexity of causal relationships between human operators and machine algorithms, and the glaring inadequacy of existing legal frameworks collectively pose significant challenges to the accurate determination of criminal liability in autonomous vehicle-related incidents. To address these critical jurisprudential gaps, this doctrinal study aims to systematically clarify the scope of criminal responsibility for the various different actors involved in AV accidents. It fundamentally argues that the human driver's liability must be dynamically determined based on the specific level of vehicular automation. Specifically, in non-highly or partially autonomous driving scenarios, the driver should continue to bear standard negligence liability for operational failures. Conversely, in highly or fully autonomous driving contexts, the driver's role is substantially diminished, limited strictly to a residual duty of care. Furthermore, the manufacturer's liability should be meticulously delineated across both the production and application phases, accompanied by the enforcement of improved, rigorous safety standards. Ultimately, in cases where manufacturers deliberately refuse or negligently delay fulfilling their statutory safety management duties, and the resulting circumstances are demonstrably serious, strict criminal liability should be unequivocally imposed to ensure public safety and corporate accountability.