DESIGN FAILURES AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT: A JUDICIAL

PERSPECTIVE

Carolina Rius Alarcó

The Need for Automation

• Increased automation: Helpful but we are becoming dependant.

• We need automation to manage complex activities successfully.

As regards to aviation:

• In Europe 30,000 flights have to be managed daily.

• It is estimated that by 2030 air traffic will double in Europe.

The Technological Society Scenario• We need technological development to

address these challenges and to do it efficiently, safely and in a sustainable way.

• Society demands safety and accountability.

• “Growth must be green”.

Automation Accountability• We also need to be prepared for failures and

the allocation of liabilities.

• We need to establish: - A group of experts. - Advanced clear and

specific international

legislation.

Automation Accountability • We have to be prepared for the rapid allocation

of liabilities and redress and compensation in case of failure-resulting damages.

• For that, we need to attribute responsability to the companies or parties designing and developing the automated operative systems and to the companies or private actors using those systems for profit.

The Need for Regulation• European authorities should establish in

advance:

• -Supranational common legislation that allocates strict liability to the actors involved.

• - Compulsory insurance for all private actors.

The Need for Regulation

• Regulation should also compel all private actors profiting from the automated activity to research ways to reduce the environmental impact of the activity.

The Need for Regulation• The European authorities should establish a

public board of experts that should a failure happen, awarded compensation and redress for the resulting damages irregardless of the European country where the failure and damages occurred and the nationality of the claimants.

The Need for Regulation• In my view the board should be formed with legal and

technical experts who allocate liabilities and set compensation outside national courts.

• In that way all disputes and claims arising from damages from the same failure could be settled in a faster way and avoiding jurisdiction issues and the problems of overloaded courts and multiple lengthy judicial proceedings and different national legislations.

Conclusions• We need to make use of technological

advances to better manage complex and risk loaded activities.

• We also need to be prepared in advance to face failures, specially those resulting in damages.

Conclusions• For that, we need international regulation

both on the obligations of private actors (compulsory investment on investigation on the prevention of safety and environmental risks, mandatory insurance) and on the allocation of civil responsabilities and liabilities in case of failure and damages.

Conclusions• Should a failure resulting in harm and damages to persons or

property happen, there should be a pre-set public body of experts that settled outside national courts all claims resulting from the same failure.

• In my view, every private actor that profits from the activity in which the failure occurs should be held civilly responsible (strict liability) although in different degrees or with joint or proportionate liability, as set by the legislation or established in each case by the public board of experts.

• Thank you for your attention!