85752 - PRODUCT SAFETY, PRODUCT LIABILITY AND AUTOMOTIVE M

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

The main purpose of the course is to provide students with a thorough knowledge of the core concepts of tort law in the automotive industry issues not only from a national perspective but also from the perspective of the harmonization of European Union Law and the US legal system. The course aims at providing the student with a general knowledge of basic principles and concepts of European Union and US tort law and consumer protection law focused on the automotive industry issues. It also focuses on Corporate social responsibility and environmental and technological innovation issues that the automotive industry faces. Using the method of the economic analysis of law, the current UE and US legal system will be evaluated in the light of a pragmatic proposal to check that the basic liability law can still function properly in the light of rapid changes to some of the products that it covers. The attention will focuses on the new issues arising from highly automated vehicles. In this prospective it will be investigated the role of the precautionary principle governing the UE consumer protection law, and the risks development doctrine which can be seen as a limit to the manufacturer liability. The automotive litigation prospective also leads to focus the attention on class action and punitive damages which play a crucial role in the American legal system and are not still implemented in UE legal system. At the end of the course the student is expected to become familiar with the legal notions of producer, consumer, tort law, damage, product liability law and product safety law governing the automotive industry, in order to observe the problem of the automotive litigation in a globalized prospective. At the end of the course the student is expected to become familiar with the legal notions of producer, consumer, tort law, damage, product liability law and product safety law governing the automotive industry, in order to observe the problem of the automotive litigation in a globalized prospective.

Contenuti

The main purpose of the course is to enable students to efficiently handle the law fundamental issues involved in car manufacturing.

The course will focus on the UE and US legislation framework upon product liability law and product safety law. In a second phase the course will focus on the case law study having regard to the liability issues on the automotive sector. The student will be able to handle the main private law issue focused on the rules which governs the vehicle manufacturer’s liability, of the vehicle designer’s liability and also the liability of third parties as the consumer, the bystanders.

The analysis of the legal system will be conducted in a comparative prospective between EU/US current regulation, with a particular focus on the economic analysis of the law.

I - INTRODUCTION TO PRIVATE LAW

Private law principles

Contract law principles

Tort law principles:

• Compensatory damages
• Punitive damages
• Class action in UE and US
• The precautionary principle and its impact on the tort law rules

II -PRODUCT SAFETY AND PRODUCT LIABILITY IN THE UE LEGAL SYSTEM:

• Product safety regulation and predictable risk limitation, a balance between efficient market regulation and public health protection
• Unidentified risks between producer's liability limitation for development risks and the precautionary principle;
• The Directive 85/374/ECC;
• The concept of “defective product”:

• Design defect
• Manufacturing defect
• Worming defect

• Areas of application and the compensation of damages caused by the so called “bystanders”;
• Conditions excluding liability;
• The duty to warn and the contributory negligence of the plaintiff;
• Compensatory damages;
• Limitation periods of the right to compensation for damages arising from unlawful acts;
• Producer's liability according to sectoral and civil law;
• Claims limitations;
• Potential defendants in product liability claims;
• Product safety and quality
• The general product safety directive 2001/95/EC and the articles 102-111 cod. cons;
• The concepts of safe” and “unsafe” products;
• Obligations for manufacturers and distributors;
• The safety assessment;
• Authorities involved in the harmonization and in the definition of harmonized European standards
• Preventive tools and the precautionary principle:
• The alert system: RAPEX;
• The withdrawal;
• The recall;
• The duty to warn;
• The duty to eliminate the risk;
• Market surveillance and product recall management.

III -PRODUCT SAFETY AND PRODUCT LIABILITY IN THE US LEGAL SYSTEM

• The fragmentation of tort law at state level and the uniform federal product safety standards;
• Agencies involved in the definition of harmonized standards on product safety;
• The concept of “defective product”:
• Design defect
• Manufacturing defect
• Worming defect
• Punitive damages and product liability

IV -AUTOMOTIVE AND PRIVATE LAW

• Car manufacturing, car circulation and the problem of the cost of the accidents
• The road safety and the car safety
• The Crashworthiness doctrine in US
• The role of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
• The NHTSA safety standards
• The UE safety standards
• Vehicle’s safety and manufacturer liability in UE and US
• The manufacturer liability
• The liability of the manufacturer of a specific component
• The designer liability

V - HIGHLY AUTOMATED VEHICLES, CONNECTED VEHICLES AND AUTONOMOUS DRIVING CARS

• The legal aspects between existing laws, the role of the jurisprudence and the perspectives of a reform.
• Product liability insurance in the prospective of new issues arising from automated vehicles
• Ethic issues arising from automated vehicles and the role of the law

The law making process in UE

• The ERTRAC Working Group’s Automated Driving Roadmap
• The common EU approach to liability rules and insurance for connected and autonomous vehicles
• Development risk and precautionary principle in the prospective of the future law upon highly automated vehicles autonomous driving cars

The law making process in US

• New Federal Guidance for Automated Driving Systems (ADS): A Vision for Safety 2.0. sviluppate dalla National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) di concerto con il U.S. Department of Transportation
• The first cases of accidents caused by highly automated vehicles. A legal analysis in the prospective of the existing rules.

Testi/Bibliografia

Some of the topics covered in class will be explained through slides representing logical connections between private law topics in order to facilitate learning. Other supporting materials (legal cases, documents, legal texts, slides) will be made available to students on the website.

Metodi didattici

Lessons will be held by Professor Enrico Al Mureden.

The first semester courses will be held according the mode described at the following Internet link:

https://dsg.unibo.it/en/teaching/projects-and-teaching-methodologies/teaching-modes-at-dsg-on-i-semester-a-y-2020-2021

Attending students will be able to study cases through small working groups where they will be able to produce their own solution to cases. Students will be offered the opportunity to take part in a moot court during the first and the second part of the course, as a conclusion of the case law analysis.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

The final evaluation is based on a written exam and an oral part.

Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (DSA) can ask to the Professor adaptations for their specific needs.

Erasmus students can ask to the Professor adjustment of the program according their learning agreement.

The degree thesis will be assigned by Prof. Enrico Al Mureden

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

Some of the topics covered in class will be explained through slides representing logical connections between private law topics in order to facilitate learning. Other supporting materials (legal cases, documents, legal texts, slides) will be made available to students on the website

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Enrico Al Mureden