REGULATING THE FUTURE
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF LAW ON LIABILITY FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21783/rei.v12i1.939Keywords:
Liability, Autonomous vehicles, Law and Economics, Artificial intelligenceAbstract
This article analyzes liability rules applied to autonomous vehicles (AVs) from the perspective of Economic Analysis of Law. With the advancement of artificial intelligence and its growing impact across various sectors, especially in transportation, new regulatory challenges arise, including the attribution of liability in accidents involving AVs. Although legislative initiatives concerning artificial intelligence are already underway in Brazil, the discussion around autonomous vehicles still lacks theoretical depth in the national context, particularly regarding the use of Economic Analysis of Law as an analytical tool. Accordingly, this article aims to present and systematize the main liability regimes proposed in the Economic Analysis of Law literature, through an international literature review on the topic, seeking to adapt them to the Brazilian legal context. For this purpose, academic articles available in both national and international databases were consulted, with priority given to those that, in addition to developing theoretical models (including mathematical formulations), propose concrete normative arrangements to address the challenges of civil liability applied to AVs.Downloads
References
ABRAHAM, K. S.; RABIN, R. L. Automated vehicles and manufacturer responsibility for accidents.
Virginia Law Review, JSTOR, v. 105, n. 1, p. 127–171, 2019.
BARROS, J. P. L.; RABELO, T. C. A Regulação Jurídica da Inteligência Artificial no Brasil. Revista
Jurídica Luso-Brasileira, Ano 8, n. 4, p. 1403-1421, 2021.
BRASIL. Senado Federal. Projeto de Lei n. 5.051, de 2019. Estabelece os princípios para o uso da Inteligência Artificial no Brasil. Brasília, 2019. Disponível em: <https://www25.senado.leg.br/web/atividade/materias/-/materia/138790>.
BRASIL. Senado Federal. Projeto de Lei n. 5.691 de 2019. Institui a Política Nacional de Inteligência Artificial. Brasília, 2019. Disponível em: <https://www25.senado.leg.br/web/atividade/materias/-/materia/139586>.
BROWN, J. P. Toward an economic theory of liability. Journal of Legal Studies, v. 2, Issue 2, p. 323-349, 1973.
CALABRESI, G.; MALAMED, A. D. Property rules, Liability rules and Inalienability: One View of the Cathedral. Harvard Law Review, v. 85, p. 1089, 1972.
CARLINI, A. L. Veículos Autônomos: Risco de desenvolvimento e seguros obrigatórios. Revista Brasileira Direito Civil, HeinOnline, v. 31, p. 83, 2022.
DE CHIARA, A. et al. Car accidents in the age of robots. International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, v. 68, 2021.
DI, X.; CHEN, X.; TALLEY, E. Liability design for autonomous vehicles and human-driven vehicles:
A hierarchical game-theoretic approach. Transportation research part C: emerging technologies, Elsevier, v. 118, 2020.
GUERRA, A.; PARISI, F.; PI, D. Liability for robots II: an economic analysis. Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, v. 18, n. 4, p. 553–568, 2022.
KIM, J.-Y. Law and Economics of Artificial Intelligence: Optimal Liability Rules for Accident Losses
Caused by Fully Autonomous Vehicles. Korean Economic Review, v. 40, n. 1, p. 49–75, 2023.
KUBICA, M. L. Autonomous vehicles and liability law. The American Journal of Comparative Law, Oxford University Press UK, v. 70, n. Supplement_1, p. i39–i69, 2022.
MILHOMEM, B. D. C.; MOREIRA, A. F. Responsabilidade civil em acidentes de trânsito. Revista
Ibero-Americana de Humanidades, Ciências e Educação, v. 11, n. 4, p. 1002–1015, 2025.
PINHEIRO, G. P.; BORGES, M. R.; MELLO, F. L. Danos envolvendo veículos autônomos e a
responsabilidade civil do fornecedor. Revista Brasileira de Direito Civil, v. 21, n. 03, p. 247–247,
PIMENTA, E. G.; LANA, H. A. Análise Econômica do Direito e sua relação com o Direito Civil brasileiro. Revista da Faculdade de Direito da UFMG, n. 57, p. 85-138, 2010.
ROE, M. Who’s driving that car: An analysis of regulatory and potential liability frameworks for
driverless cars. Boston Collegge Law Review, HeinOnline, v. 60, p. 317, 2019.
SHAVELL, S. On the redesign of accident liability for the world of autonomous vehicles. The Journal
of Legal Studies, The University of Chicago Press Chicago, IL, v. 49, n. 2, p. 243–285, 2020.
SZTAJN, R. Notas de Análise Econômica: contratos e responsabilidade civil. Revista de Direito Mercantil, v. 11, n. 9, p. 9-29, 1998.
TALLEY, E. Automatorts: How should accident law adapt to autonomous vehicles? Lessons from Law
and Economics. Columbia Law School Working Paper Series Nº19002, 2019.
TEFFÉ, C. S.; MEDON, F. Responsabilidade civil e regulação de novas tecnologias: questões
acerca da utilização de inteligência artificial na tomada de decisões empresariais. Revista Estudos
Institucionais, v. 6, n. 1, p. 301–333, 2020.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Felipe Coelho Sigrist
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The authors hold their copyright and concede to the JOURNAL OF INSTITUTIONAL STUDIES the right to the first publication, in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution license.
Authors are strongly encouraged to publish their manuscripts in other medias, such as institutional repositories and personal pages. The Journal only requires the credits of the first publication.
