The problems of legal regulation of legal liability for damage caused by the operation of unmanned (autonomous, highly automated) vehicles

The world community is currently at the stage of rapid development of all types of technologies - information, industrial, social, each of which, ideally, should be designed to improve various spheres of public life. However, any of the technologies carries certain risks that society and the legislator should take into account. One of the technologies gaining increasing popularity in many developed countries of the world is autonomous driving technology, which poses new challenges to legislators of all countries, forces them to solve new problems arising in connection with their introduction into public life. Such problems may include the problem of liability for damage caused by activities related to the operation of unmanned (autonomous, highly automated) vehicles. The pace of development of new technologies is constantly increasing, and the legislator does not always keep up with the development of social relations. In this situation, science should help to detect the problem and identify possible solutions. The purpose of the study is to analyze the problems of legal regulation of legal liability for damage caused by the operation of unmanned (autonomous, highly automated) vehicles. Methods: to achieve this goal, special legal methods are used: formal legal, based on knowledge of special legal terminology, legal constructions, classifications of legal phenomena; the method of interpretation of law used in the analysis of normative legal acts and their projects. Results: the conclusion is made about the need for a more balanced approach when legislating legal liability for damage caused by the operation of unmanned (autonomous, highly automated) vehicles. The author provides a justification for the need to classify highly automated vehicles (hereinafter referred to as HAV) and activities related to their operation to sources of increased danger, by analyzing the specifics of HAV; reveals the features of the composition of such a civil law tort as causing harm by the operation of HAV; indicates the grounds for civil liability for damage caused by the operation of HAV; designates the conditions and features of legal liability in the area under consideration. The article proposes as a priority for the Russian Federation to choose a concept according to which the subjects of legal liability for damage caused by the operation of the unmanned vehicle are both its owner and maker (manufacturer), who must bear joint responsibility regardless of the presence or absence of guilt.