自动汽车程序设计中解决“电车难题”的刑法正当性

Justification under Criminal Law for the Solution to the “Trolley Problem” in the Programming of Self-Driving Cars

自动汽车的普及指日可待。随着自动汽车时代的到来,人为因素所致的交通事故数量虽然能够大幅减少,但是囿于技术发展的局限性,因技术瑕疵引发事故的可能性仍然存在。例如自动汽车在程序设计过程中所面临的"电车难题",直至目前各国尚没有得出合理的解决方案。通过程序设计优先保护车内人的生命法益,侵害行人生命法益,因不符合具体的利益优越性和期待可能性,所以难以通过紧急避险阻却违法及责任;而优先保护行人生命法益,侵害车内人的生命法益,既不符合汽车的市场需求,也无法通过被害人承诺予以正当化。客观归责中被允许的危险法理或许是合理的解决路径。如果自动汽车的程序设计行为,满足被允许的危险理论的要素———概括的利益优越性和为立法所确立的最善义务,就可能在构成要件阶段被排除归责,从而在合理的限度内,保障自动汽车技术的发展。

With the arrival of the age of selfdriving cars,the number of automobile accident caused by human factors will decrease drastically.However,because of the limitation of technological development,there remains the possibility of accidents resulting from technical flaws.For example,currently no reasonable solution has been found to the“trolley problem”in the programming of selfdriving cars.Programming that gives priority to the legal interest of life of those in the car over that of pedestrians can not avoid the violation of law and the corresponding liability on ground of necessity because it does not meet the requirements of the principle of concrete superiority of interest and the principle of probability of expectation,whereas programming that give priority to pedestrians’legal interest of life over that of those in the car is neither compatible with market demand of selfdriving cars,nor justifiable on ground of the consent of the victim.The doctrine of permissible danger in the theory of objective imputation may offer a reasonable solution to this problem.If programming can meet the requirements of the doctrine of permissible danger,namely general superiority of interest and the obligation of best intention established by legislation,it can eliminate imputation at the stage of constitutive elements,thereby promoting the development of selfdriving car technology within reasonable limits.