Driverless cars and the determination of the manufacturer’s liability for injuries: is India ready?

ABSTRACT

India’s endeavour of becoming a leader in shared mobility indicates that it could soon follow suit in becoming one of the leading driverless car markets across the globe. The paper critically analyses the state of India’s current liability laws on automobile-related injuries in a comparative context. It examines whether their extension to technology-based automobiles such as driverless cars may be feasible – particularly considering that accidents involving their operation are likely to be attributable to malfunctions in the software or hardware of these vehicles. Accordingly, it highlights some challenges that existing laws may pose in deterring manufacturers from expanding their markets in India. The paper refers to the approaches of some major economies such as Germany, China, South Korea and the UK and proposes workable solutions that Indian legislators may employ to resolve the predicaments that the extension of existing legal principles to disputes arising from accidents involving driverless cars may cause.

KEYWORDS:

• Driverless cars
• self-driving cars
• civil claims
• tort
• product liability
• double actionability
• India

Acknowledgements

The author would like to express her gratitude to Aline Briessmann, Maître en droit: Chair of Private Law, Private International and Comparative Law, Ludwig Maximilians Universität, München for her insights on German and French law; Yang Teizheng, PhD candidate, Faculty of Law, University of Macau for his insights on Chinese law on the subject; and Siddharth Arya, OP Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat, India for his research assistance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 See, The Observatory of Economic Complexity [OEC], ‘Cars’, available at: <https://oec.world/en/profile/hs/cars> accessed 28 January 2022.

2 Ibid.

3 See, World Trade Organisation, Electronics and Automotive Products Lift Global Merchandise Trade in Q3, Services Lag Behind, (4 November 2020), available at: <https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news20_e/stat_04dec20_e.htm> accessed 31 January 2022.

4 OEC (n 1).

5 See in this respect, the international standards prescribed by the Society of Automotive Engineers [SAE], Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Driving Automation Systems for On-Road Motor Vehicles, J3016_202104 (20 April 2021) available at <sae.org/standards/content/j3016_202104/> accessed 31 January 2022. The SAE identifies three levels of autonomy – namely, Levels 3–5. Cars operating below Level 3 are not considered ‘autonomous’.

6 See, Allied Analytics, Autonomous Vehicle Market by Level of Automation, Application, Drive Type, and Vehicle Type: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021–2030, (March 2022), available at: <https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/5578161/autonomous-vehicle-market-by-level-of-automation?utm_source = BW&utm_medium = PressRelease&utm_code = gbblfz&utm_campaign = 1695165±±The±Global±Autonomous±Vehicle±Market±Will±Grow±to±%242%2c161.79±billion±by±2030%2c±at±a±CAGR±of±40.1%25&utm_exec = shbe20prd> [Global Report on the Autonomous Vehicle Market] accessed 2 February 2022.

7 See, Klaus Schwab, ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution: What it Means, How to Respond’ (14 January 2016) World Economic Forum, available at: <https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/> accessed 15 August 2020.

8 Dorothy Glancy, ‘Privacy in Autonomous Vehicles’ (2012) 52 Santa Clara Law Review 1171, 1174.

9 SAE (n 5). Cars with such functions have been listed to operate at Level 0 automation as per the SAE standards.

10 Ibid.

11 Ibid, which lists cars with such functions to operate at Level 1 automation.

12 Ibid, which lists cars with such functions to operate at Level 3 automation.

13 Ibid, which lists cars with such functions to operate at Levels 4 and 5 automation – depending on the degree of human involvement and interaction that the vehicle requires.

14 Ibid. The SAE identifies autonomous cars functioning at Levels 4 and 5 as ‘self-driving’ or ‘driverless’.

15 Ibid. The international standards clarify that autonomous cars operating at Level 4 merely reduce but do not eliminate human involvement and interaction and are, thus, considered as highly (but not fully) autonomous.

16 Ibid. The international standards clarify that autonomous cars operating at Level 5 eliminate human involvement and interaction and are, thus, considered as fully autonomous.

17 See, Lynden Griggs, ‘A Radical Solution for Solving the Liability Conundrum of autonomous Vehicles’ (2017) 25 Competition and Consumer Law Journal 151, 152–53.

18 See, Global Industry Analytics, Autonomous Vehicles – Global Market Trajectory & Analytics, (February 2022), available at: <https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220114005334/en/Global-Autonomous-Vehicles-Market-Trajectory-Analytics-Report-2022---ResearchAndMarkets.com> [Report on the Global Market Trajectory] accessed 3 February 2022.

19 Ibid.

20 See, Kirsten Korosec, ‘Tesla Sued in Wrongful Death Lawsuit that Alleges Autopilot caused Crash’ Techcrunch, available at: <https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/01/tesla-sued-in-wrongful-death-lawsuit-that-alleges-autopilot-caused-crash/> accessed 16 August 2020; Brad Templeton, ‘Tesla Autopilot Repeats Fatal Crash; Do They Learn From Past Mistakes?’ (21 May 2019) Forbes, available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradtempleton/2019/05/21/tesla-autopilot-repeats-fatal-crash-do-they-learn-from-past-mistakes/#66323e642f2e> accessed 15 Aug 2020; and Tesla driver dies in first fatal crash while using autopilot mode, (1 July 2016), The Guardian, available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/30/tesla-autopilot-death-self-driving-car-elon-musk> accessed 17 May 2022.

21 See, Sean O’ Kane, ‘Uber debuts a new self-driving car with more fail-safes’ (12 June 2019) The Verge, available at: <https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/12/18662626/uber-volvo-self-driving-car-safety-autonomous-factory-level> accessed 15 May 2022.

22 See, Mihir Zaveri, ‘Prosecutors Don’t Plan to Charge Uber in Self-Driving Cars Fatal Accident’ (5 March 2019) The New York Times, available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/technology/uber-self-driving-car-arizona.html> accessed 15 May 2022.

23 See in this respect, the website of the World Bank, <https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations = IN&view = map> accessed 1 May 2022.

24 See, Driverless Cars Must Not be Allowed in India (Speech by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, 25 July 2017) Economic Times, available at: <https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/driverless-cars-wont-be-allowed-in-india-nitin-gadkari/articleshow/59744519.cms> accessed 13 March 2022; See, KPMG, 2020 Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index [AVRI], p. 40, available at <https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/xx/pdf/2020/07/2020-autonomous-vehicles-readiness-index.pdf> accessed 12 March 2022.

25 See in this respect, Sumantra Bibhuti Barooah, ‘In India, Level 2 Autonomy will be Widespread in the Next Two to Four Years (6 Dec 2021) Economic Times, available at: <https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/auto-technology/in-india-level-2-autonomy-will-be-widespread-in-the-next-two-to-four-years/88116266> accessed 12 March 2022.

26 See SAE (n 5) that clarify that vehicles operating below Level 3 would not be considered as ‘autonomous’. Instead, such vehicles should be construed as ‘Driving Support Systems’ that aid the driver.

27 See, India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), ‘Advantage India’, available at: <https://www.ibef.org/industry/india-automobiles> accessed 4 february 2022.

28 See, Exim Mitra, ‘Export-Import Intelligence: Automobile’, available at: <https://eximmitra.in/en/information-data-on-exports/research-and-publications/others-information/automobile> accessed 1 May 2022.

29 Details of India’s performance in terms of GDP may be accessed at the website of the World Bank, <https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?end = 2020&locations = IN&start = 2000&view = chart> accessed 1 May 2022.

30 See, Tarun Shastry & Jyoti Pradhan, ‘Indian Foreign Trade with Reference to Automobile Industry: An Analysis’ (2013) 9(2) International Journal of Business and Management Invention 62, 68.

31 See, Invest India, ‘Invest in Indian Automobile Industry: Auto Sector Growth Trends’ available at: <https://www.investindia.gov.in/sector/automobile> accessed 10 May 2022.

32 See, Goals 8 and 9 of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), ‘Sustainable Development Goals 2015’ available at: <https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals> accessed 4 February 2022.

33 Mark A Geistfeld, ‘A Roadmap for Autonomous Vehicles: State Tort Liability, Autonomous Insurance, and Federal Safety Regulation’ 105 California Law Review (2017), 1611, 1617.

34 See, Germany’s Draft of an Act Amending the Road Traffic Act [also known as the Straßenverkehrsgesetz or the StVG] and the Compulsory Insurance Act – the Autonomous Driving Act, Notified in accordance with Directive (EU) 2015/1535 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 September 2015 Laying Down a Procedure for the Provision of Information in the Field of Technical Regulations and of Rules on Information Society Services (OJ L 241, 17.9.2015, p. 1) (8 February 2021) [StVG].

35 See, Decree No. 2021-873 of June 29, 2021 Implementing Ordinance No. 2021-443 Of April 14, 2021 Relating to the Criminal Liability Regime Applicable in the Event of the Circulation of a Vehicle with Driving Delegation and its Conditions of Operation Use (official translated version), available at <https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000043729532> [French Highway Code, 2022] accessed 6 February 2022.

36 See for instance, Measures of Shanghai Municipality on the administration of testing and application of intelligent networked vehicles; and Management specification for road test and demonstration application of intelligent networked vehicles of the Ministry of industry and information technology (for Trial Implementation) that came into effect on 15 Feb 2021 [Shanghai Regulations]; and Government of Shenzhen, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s [MIIT’s] Draft for Comments of the Administrative Measures for Road Testing and Demonstration (for Trial Implementation) [Shenzhen Regulations], which operate in the form of local regulations.

37 See, Part 1 of the Automated and Electrical Vehicles Act 2018 [AEVA].

38 See for instance, Part VI.1 of The Traffic Safety (Amendment) Act 2020 which is soon expected to come into force in Saskatchewan; and the 10-year Pilot Project – Automated Vehicles Regulation, 2016 that is applicable in Ontario [Ontario Regulations].

39 See for instance, ss 4 and 5 of Law No. 85-677 of July 5, 1985, Aimed at Improving the Situation of Victims of Traffic Accidents and Accelerating Compensation Procedures (popularly referred to as Badinter Law) (translated from French original) available at: <https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/LEGITEXT000006068902/> as applicable in France and s 3(1) of the AEVA that is applicable in the UK.

40 Report on the Global Market Trajectory (n 18).

41 Frost & Sullivan, China’s Autonomous Vehicle Market, Forecast to 2025 (July 2019), available at: <https://www.marketresearch.com/Frost-Sullivan-v383/China-Autonomous-Vehicle-Forecast-12611384/> accessed 18 May 2022.

42 See, Report on the Global Market Trajectory (n 18).

43 Luca Pizzuto, Christopher Thomas, Arthur Wang, Ting Wu, How China Will Help Fuel the Revolution in Autonomous Vehicles, McKinsey Centre for Future Mobility (January 2019) 5, available at: <https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/how-china-will-help-fuel-the-revolution-in-autonomous-vehicles> accessed 18 May 2022.

44 See, Rebecca Bellan, ‘Waymo Launches Robotaxi Service in San Francisco’ (24 Aug 2021) Techcrunch, available at <https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/24/waymo-launches-robotaxi-service-in-san-francisco/> accessed 12 April 2022; Rebecca Bellan, ‘Waymo to Begin Charging for Robotaxi Rides in San Francisco’ (1 March 2022), Techcrunch, available at: <https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/28/waymo-to-begin-charging-for-robotaxi-rides-in-san-francisco/> accessed 12 April 2022; and Jenny Cusack, ‘Self-Driving Vehicles are Steadily Becoming a Reality Despite the Many Hurdles Still to be Overcome – and they could Change our World in Some Unexpected Ways’ (30 November 2021), available at <https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211126-how-driverless-cars-will-change-our-world> accessed 12 April 2022, which report the introduction of ‘RoboTaxis’ on public roads in some parts of the US. Also see, Agence France-Presse, ‘Autonomous "Robotaxis" Debut on China Streets’ (26 Nov 2021) NDTV, available at: <https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/autonomous-robotaxis-debut-on-china-streets-2626066> accessed 12 April 2022, which similarly reports the introduction of ‘RoboTaxis’ on public roads in Beijing.

45 See in this respect, Select Car Leasing, ‘Ranked: The Most Driverless Car-Ready Countries’, available at: <https://www.selectcarleasing.co.uk/news/article/which-countries-are-driverless-car-ready> accessed 12 April 2022. The Report indicates China to have received 11, 096 driverless car-related patent applications in 2021 compared to 132, 844 in the previous year when the country stood at the second position after the US.

46 Ibid, while reports the US to have received 7,205 driverless car-related patent applications in 2021 compared to 135, 828 in the previous year when the country stood at the first position followed by China.

47 See, DWNews, ‘Germany aims to get self-driving cars on the roads in 2022’ (22 May 2021), available at: <https://www.dw.com/en/germany-aims-to-get-self-driving-cars-on-the-roads-in-2022/a-57629028> accessed 12 April 2022.

48 Report on the Global Market Trajectory (n 18).

49 Ibid.

50 See, Bank of England: Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, ‘Potential Impact of Autonomous Vehicles on the UK Insurance Sector – Bank of England’ (18 Oct 2017) Quarterly Bulletin: Q1 14, available at: <https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/quarterly-bulletin/2017/potential-impacts-of-autonomous-vehicles-on-the-uk-insurance-sector.pdf?la = en&hash = 9E9149D8659F22ABBE9EB22761FF1AC8900B6EAE> accessed 5 March 2022.

51 See for instance, Nick Lavars, ‘First Driverless Vehicle Approved to Operate on Public Roads in Europe’ (28 Nov 2021), available at <https://newatlas.com/automotive/easymile-shuttle-first-europe-public-roads-level-4-autonomy/> accessed 12 April 2022; and SmartCitiesWorld, ‘Driverless passenger shuttle launched in Paris Ile-de-France’ (1 April 2021), available at: <https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/news/news/driverless-passenger-shuttle-launched-in-paris-ile-de-france-6262> accessed 12 April 2022.

52 See, Charis Chang, ‘When We’re Likely to see Driverless Cars being Rolled Out in Australia’, news.com.au (15 December 2021), available at: <https://www.news.com.au/technology/motoring/motoring-news/when-were-likely-to-see-driverless-cars-being-rolled-out-in-australia/news-story/2e3aa2ebd9c732217416114761626040> accessed 1 March 2022.

53 See, Select Car Leasing (n 47), which indicates France and Australia to be among the world’s top-ten countries to have filed driverless car-related patents in 2020 when each of these countries filed 9, 488 and 14,026 driverless-car related patents. However, France, unlike Australia, which filed 361 driverless car-related patents, does not feature in the list for 2021.

54 Global Report on the Autonomous Vehicle Market (n 18).

55 Luca Pizzuto, Christopher Thomas, Arthur Wang, Ting Wu, How China Will Help Fuel the Revolution in Autonomous Vehicles, McKinsey Centre for Future Mobility (January 2019) 5, available at: <https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/how-china-will-help-fuel-the-revolution-in-autonomous-vehicles> accessed 12 April 2022.

56 See, Lynden Griggs, ‘A Radical Solution for Solving the Liability Conundrum of autonomous Vehicles’ (2017) 25 Competition and Consumer Law Journal 151, 152–53.

57 See, Thomas Kadner Graziano, ‘Cross-Border Traffic Accidents in the EU – the Potential Impact of Driverless Cars’ (2016) European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies, Policy Department C: Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs, PE 571.362, 38, available at <https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/571362/IPOL_STU(2016)571362_EN.pdf> [Report of the European Parliament] accessed 1 March 2022.

58 See, Saloni Khanderia, Self-Driving Cars and some (Unintended) Regulatory Barriers in India: A Road Less Travelled? (2022) Journal of Tort Law, available at <https://doi.org/10.1515/jtl-2022-0013> accessed 3 March 2022.

59 Sections 4(d) and (e) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1987 [CPA].

60 See, the Council Directive of 25 July 1985 on the Approximation of the Laws, Regulations and Administrative Provisions of the Member States Concerning Liability for Defective Products (85/374/EEC) [PLD].

61 See, s 1(f)(3) of the StVG read along with the PLD, ibid.

62 See, art 49 of the Shanghai Regulations, read along with the Product Quality Law of the People’s Republic of China, adopted at the 30th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on February 22, 1993, promulgated by Order No. 71 of the President of the People's Republic of China on February 22, 1993, and effective as of September 1, 1993 [PQL].

63 Magdalena Tulibacka, Product Liability Law in Transition: A Central European Perspective (Ashgate Publishers, 2009), 45.

64 See, World Economic Forum [WEF], Filling Legislative Gaps in Automated Vehicles, (April 2019) White Paper 10, available at: <https://www.weforum.org/whitepapers/filling-legislative-gaps-in-automated-vehicles> accessed 16 March 2022.

65 Tulibacka (n 63) 4.

66 See, text accompanying notes 75–144 below.

67 Ibid.

68 Ibid.

69 WEF (n 69) 10.

70 Ibid.

71 Report of the European Parliament, (n 61) 38.

72 W Kip Viscusi & Michael Moore, ‘Product Liability, Research and Development and Innovation’ (1993) 101(1) Journal of Political Economy 161, 162.

73 (n 33).

74 Note that the application of the provisions of the StVG is limited to driverless cars operating at Level 4. For details on the segregation of autonomous cars, see, SAE (n 5).

75 (n 66).

76 Ibid, art 2.

77 See, s 1(f) of the StVG.

78 Ibid, s 1(f)(5).

79 Ibid, ss 1(f)(1), (2), (3) and (6).

80 Ibid, s 1(f)(1).

81 Ibid, s 1(f)(6)

82 Ibid, ss 1(f)(2) and (3).

83 Art 9 of the PLD.

84 Ibid, art 2.

85 See, Maurice Schellekens, ‘Human – Machine Interaction in Self-Driving Vehicles: A Perspective on Product Liability’ (2022) International Journal of Law and Information Technology, 1, 4–6, available at: <https://doi.org/10.1093/ijlit/eaac010> accessed 13 February 2022.

86 Ibid, 5. Also see, Michael Chatzipanagiotis, ‘Product Liability Directive and Software Updates of Automated Vehicles’ Proceedings of SETN 2020, 11th Hellenic Conference on Artificial Intelligence, (2020).

87 Schellekens (n 85) 5.

88 Ibid, art 3(1).

89 Ibid, art 7(e).

90 Ibid, art 7(b).

91 Ibid, art 9(b).

92 See, the Regulation (EC) No. 864/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 on the Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations, [2007] OJ L/199/40 [Rome II Regulation].

93 Ibid, art 5 Also see, Report of the European Parliament, (n 61) 32–33.

94 Christoph Schmid & Tobias Pinkel, ‘Article 5: Rome II’ in Calliess (ed) Rome Regulations: Commentary on the European Rules of the Conflict of Laws (Wolters Kluwer 2015) 549–50.

95 Art 14 of the Rome II Regulation. Also see, Thomas Kadner Graziano, ‘Freedom to Choose the Applicable Law in Tort – arts 14 and 4(3) of the Rome II Regulation’ in John Ahern & William Binchy (eds), The Rome II Regulation on the Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations: A New Litigation Regime (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2009) 116–20 et seq. [Graziano, Freedom to Choose]

96 Ibid, 119–20.

97 Ibid.

98 See Francesco Busnelli et al. Principles of European Tort Law: Text and Commentary (2005) available at: <https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/3-211-27751-X> accessed 28 February 2022.

99 Arts 16 and 26 of the Rome II Regulation.

100 Ibid, art 4(2).

101 See in this respect, Peter Stone, ‘Product Liability under the Rome II Regulation’ in John Ahern & William Binchy (eds), The Rome II Regulation on the Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations: A New Litigation Regime (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2009) 191. Stone clarifies that the application of the ‘scission principle’ in determining the applicable law in cross-border claims on product liability. Thus, the mutual rights and obligations of each set of parties will be treated separately from the others; therefore, requiring the application of different laws to individual claims.

102 Art 5(1) of the Rome II Regulation; and Schmid & Pinkel (n 99) 546 et seq.

103 Ibid.

104 Ibid, art 5(2). Also see, Richard Fentiman, ‘The Significance of Close Connection’ in John Ahern & William Binchy (eds), The Rome II Regulation on the Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations: A New Litigation Regime (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2009) 85.

105 See, Stone (n 106) 196.

106 Ibid.

107 See in this respect, Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the Approval and Market Surveillance of Motor Vehicles and their Trailers, and of Systems, Components and Separate Technical Units Intended for such Vehicles, Amending Regulations (EC) No 715/2007 and (EC) No 595/2009 and Repealing Directive 2007/46/EC.

108 See in this respect, the Draft Proposed Amendments of the Road Traffic Safety Law issued by the Ministry of Public Security of China [MPS], which stipulates the general rules concerning the operation of autonomous vehicles, but leaves the determination of liability for injuries to the respective State Councils.

109 Art 49 of the Shanghai Regulations (n 36).

110 See, the Draft for Comments of the Regulations of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone on the Administration of Intelligent and Connected Vehicles, available at: <http://www.szrd.gov.cn/szrd_zyfb/szrd_zyfb_tzgg/202103/t20210323_19416162.htm> accessed 23 March 2022.

111 See, s 1(f) of the StVG.

112 Ibid.

113 (n 67).

114 Sections 41- 44 and 46 of the PLQ. But see, the Regulations on the Administration of Recall of Defective Automotive Products by the State Council of 22 October 2012, which exists in the form of a special legislation in China does not make a similar provision.

115 Ibid, s 29A.

116 See, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Laws Applicable to Foreign-Related Civil Relations, 2010 [Law on the Laws].

117 Ibid, art 45.

118 Ibid, art 44.

119 See, art 14 of the Rome II Regulation.

120 See, art 44 of the Law on the Laws, which merely provides that the parties can choose the law to govern their dispute. However, the provision does not indicate whether the choice can also be tacit or implied.

121 Ibid.

122 Ibid, art 45.

123 Ibid.

124 See text accompanying notes 82–83 above.

125 See, ss 1–27 of the Badinter Law.

126 See, the French Highway Code, 2022 (n 35).

127 The text of the 1973 Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Products Liability is available at: <https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/full-text/?cid = 84> [Hague Products Liability Convention] accessed 14 March 2022.

128 For a list of signatories, visit, https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid = 84.

129 See, Report of the European Parliament (n 61) 22, 35.

130 Ibid, art 5.

131 See, art 14 of the Rome II Regulation.

132 Art 4 of the Hague Products Liability Convention.

133 Ibid, art 6.

134 See, s 1(4) of the AEVA, which defines an autonomous car as one that is ‘capable, in at least some situations or circumstances, of safely driving themselves and may lawfully be used … on public spaces in Great Britain’.

135 Ibid, ss 2–4.

136 See, sub-ss 4(d) and (e) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1987 [CPA].

137 See, ss 4 and 5 of the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations and Non – Contractual Obligations (Amendment etc.) (E.U. Exit) Regulations 2019. Also see, Adrian Briggs, The Conflict of Laws (4th edn, OUP, 2019) 244.

138 See generally, Act on the Promotion of and Support for Commercialization of Autonomous Driving Motor Vehicles, Act No. 16421, Apr. 30, 2019, which is applicable in South Korea; and Arts. 13 and 15 of the Ontario Regulations.

139 See, Product Liability Act, Act No. 6109, Jan. 12, 2000, Amended by Act No. 11813, May 22, 2013 [PLA, South Korea].

140 See, arts 2(2), (3) and 3 of PLA, South Korea; and arts 2(2), (3) and 3 of PLA, Japan.

141 Art 3(2) of PLA, South Korea.

142 See, the Act of Private International Law 2016 that is applicable in South Korea [South Korean PIL]; and the decisions of the Canadian courts in Tolofson v Jenson, [1994] 3 SCR 1022; and Wong v Lee, [2002] OJ No 885 per Feldman JA. Also see, Stephen Pitel et al. Private International Law in Common Law Canada: Cases, Texts and Materials (4th edn Emond Publishing 2016) 651. [Pitel, Private International Law in Common Law Canada].

143 Ibid, art 32(2).

144 Ibid, art 32(1).

145 Act No. 59 of 1988.

146 For the definition of the expression, see, s 2(28) of the MVA.

147 The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 32 of 2019) [MVAA 2019].

148 See, Part 1 of the AEVA, 2018.

149 See, Report of the European Parliament, (n 61) 30.

150 See, Section 2.2 above.

151 See, s 140 of the MVA and the decision of the Supreme Court in Kaushnuma Begum and Ors v The New India Assurance Co. Ltd, AIR 2001 SC 485.

152 See, s 142 of the MVA. A motor vehicle is considered to have permanently disabled a person when its use has resulted in the ‘permanent privation’ of the victim’s sight or hearing; permanently destroys any member or joint; permanently disfigures the head or the face.

153 See, s 145(c) of the MVAA, 2019 which clarifies that the expression ‘shall have the same meaning as assigned to it under s 320 of the Indian Penal Code’. The circumstances in which a person is considered to be grievously hurt under s 145(c) and permanently disabled under s 142 of the MVA are similar.

154 See, s 140 of the MVA.

155 Ibid, s 140(4).

156 Kaushnuma (n 160) [14], referring to the decision of the English court in Rylands v Fletcher, (1868) LR 3 HL 330, 339, 340.

157 Ibid.

158 Ibid.

159 Ibid.

160 See, ss 4 and 5 of the Badinter Law.

161 Section 3(2) of the AEVA.

162 Kaushnuma (n 164) [14].

163 Sapre, Akshay, Ratanlal & Dhirajlal: The Law of Torts, 28th edn, LexisNexis 2018 [19.2.1.2].

164 Kaushnuma (n 164) [14].

165 Ibid.

166 Ibid.

167 1932 AC 562.

168 Section 2(34) of the CPA.

169 Ibid, 2(33).

170 Ibid, sub-ss 2(22) and (23).

171 Ibid, s 2(22).

172 Ibid, s 2(34) read along with s 2(7).

173 See, Section 2.2 above.

174 Ibid, s 2(7).

175 Ibid, sub-ss 2(36)(i)-(iii).

176 Ibid, s 2(36)(iv).

177 Ibid.

178 Ibid, s 86.

179 Ibid, s 2(36)(v).

180 See, Section 2.2 above.

181 Ibid, sub-ss 84(1)(a) and (b).

182 Ibid.

183 See, Morritt & Bjorkquist (n 149) 186.

184 Ibid.

185 Section 2(10) of the CPA.

186 See in this respect, the regulations prescribed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Automotive Industry Standard: Administrative Procedure for Type Approval and Conformity of Production for M and N Category Vehicles, Two and Three Wheelers and Agricultural Tractors / Construction Equipment Vehicles (CEVs) / Power Tillers / Combine Harvesters Engines as per CMV Rules 115, 116 and 126, AIS-137 (Part 6), available at: <https://morth.nic.in/sites/default/files/ASI/45201991631AMAIS_137_Part_6_F.pdf> accessed 30 May 2022.

187 See, art 7(b) of the PLD.

188 See, sub-ss 4(d) and (e) of the CPA, the UK.

189 Sections 41- 44 and 46 of the PLQ.

190 See, arts 2(2), (3) and 3 of PLA, South Korea.

191 Cf, art 7(e) of the PLD; art 29A of the PLQ; and art 4 of the PLA, Japan.

192 See, sub-ss 84(1)(c)-(e) of the CPA.

193 See, s 1(f)(5) of the StVG.

194 Ibid, s 84(1)(e).

195 Ibid, s 87(2)(e).

196 Ibid, sub-ss 87(2)(a) and (c).

197 Ibid, s 87(2)(b).

198 Ibid.

199 Ibid, s 84(1)(c).

200 Ibid, s 84(1)(d) read along with s 2(2).

201 Ibid, s 84(1)(c).

202 Ibid, s 84(1)(d).

203 AIR 1960 Raj 224.

204 [2011] 3 TAC 552.

205 See in this respect, Art 141 of the Indian Constitution, 1950, which stipulates that ‘the law declared by Supreme Court to be binding on all courts’.

206 See, Kotah (n 217) [31]-[32]; and Sona Devi (n 218) [6].

207 Ibid.

208 Ibid.

209 See, Sona Devi (n 218) [6].

210 Ibid.

211 Ibid.

212 Ibid.

213 See. Phillips v Eyre, [1870] LR 6 QB 1. Also see, Alex Mills, ‘The Application of Multiple Laws under the Rome II Regulation’ in John Ahern & William Binchy (eds), The Rome II Regulation on the Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations: A New Litigation Regime, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2009, 140, referring to the decision of the Queen’s Bench in Phillips.

214 Kotah (n 217) [31]-[32]; and Sona Devi (n 218) [6].

215 Sona Devi (n 218) [8].

216 Ibid.

217 Ibid.

218 Ibid.

219 See, Section 3.2 above.

220 Ibid.

221 See, WEF, ‘Global Social Mobility Report 2020: Equality, Opportunity and a New Economic Imperative’ (2020) Insight Report 9, available at: <chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www3.weforum.org/docs/Global_Social_Mobility_Report.pdf> accessed 27 May 2022. The Reports indicates that low-income families in India could take 7 generations to approach the country’s mean income.

222 See, text accompanying notes 159–66 above.

223 See, Section 3.3 above.

224 Ibid.

225 See, text accompanying notes 172–75 above.

226 See, art 14 of the Rome II Regulation.

227 See, art 44(3) of the Law on the Laws.

228 See, the Private International Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995 [1995 Act], which replaced the double actionability rule in the UK.

229 Pitel, Private International Law in Common Law Canada (n 150) 651.

230 See, Section 2.2 above.

231 See, Zhengxin Huo ‘An Imperfect Improvement: The New Conflict of Laws Act of The People’s Republic of China’ 2011 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 1065, 1089.

232 See, Kotah (n 217) [31]-[32].

233 See, Section 2.2 above.

234 Ibid.

235 See, art 45 of the Law on the Laws.

236 See, ss 4 and 5 of the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations and Non – Contractual Obligations (Amendment etc.) (E.U. Exit) Regulations 2019.

237 Art 18 of Japanese PIL.

238 Art 5 of the Rome II Regulation.

239 See, Alex Mills, Party Autonomy in Private International Law (Cambridge University Press, 2018) 398 referring to the application of the rule under English law.

240 Art 14 of the Rome II Regulation.

241 Art 44 of the Law on the Laws.

242 Art 14 of the Rome II Regulation.

243 Ibid, arts 16 and 26.

244 See in this respect, the decisions of the Supreme Court in Central Inland Water Transport Corporation Ltd v Brojo Nath Ganguly, [1986] 3 SCC 156; and Life Insurance Company [LIC] of India & Anr v Consumer Education & Research Centre & Ors, [1995] 5 SCC 482.

245 Art 14 of the Rome II Regulation.

246 See in this respect, Art. 45 of the Law on the Laws.

247 See, J von Hein, ‘Article 4 and Traffic Accidents’ in John Ahern & William Binchy (eds), The Rome II Regulation on the Law Applicable to Non-Contractual Obligations: A New Litigation Regime (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2009) 164–66 [von Hein, Article 4 and Traffic Accidents]

248 Ibid.

249 Schmid & Pinkel, (n 99) 546.

250 Art 5(2) of the Rome II Regulation.

251 See, Sona Devi (n 218) 8.

252 See, Outlook, ‘India To Surpass Japan As Asia's 2nd Largest Economy By 2030’ (7 Jan 2022), available at: <https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/business-news-india-to-surpass-japan-as-asias-2nd-largest-economy-by-2030-ihs/408666> accessed 2 May 2022.