header-logo header-logo

Your captain is a robot: self-flying aircraft

28 February 2024
Issue: 8061 / Categories: Legal News , Aviation
printer mail-detail
A self-flying aircraft is the subject of the latest Law Commission consultation

Its 247-page paper, ‘Aviation autonomy’, published this week, considers how regulators should adapt to developments where ‘automation will change or make redundant existing human roles, such as that of the pilot’. It covers a wide range of future scenarios, including ‘drones and advanced air mobility vehicles, such as vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, which can provide short journeys for a small number of people’.

The consultation seeks views on safety, civil and criminal liability, the rules of the air which all aircraft must follow when in flight, and other regulatory aspects. Conundrums include whether a self-flying aircraft should be able to depart from the rules if absolutely necessary in the interests of safety.

View the consultation here and respond by 27 May.

Issue: 8061 / Categories: Legal News , Aviation
printer mail-details

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Jersey litigation lead appointed to global STEP Council

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

Firm invests in future talent with new training cohort

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
back-to-top-scroll