Current Issues of International Legal Regulation of the Use of Unmanned Technologies in Railway Transport within the EAEU

Abstract

This study is aimed to determine current trends in the development of international legal regulation of the use of unmanned technologies in rail transport related to the implementation of digital services and technologies of Industry 4.0 both in the transport and logistics ecosystem of Russia and in the regional international transport systems.Aim. To determine the level of development and effectiveness of the existing set of regulations governing the use of unmanned technologies in rail transport within the EAEC.Tasks. To analyze the existing body of normative legal acts regulating the specified sphere, to identify gaps in the existing regulation of unmanned technologies in the railway transport.Methods. Using the method of comparative legal analysis and the formal-legal method, this paper analyzes the existing legal regulation of unmanned technologies in rail transport within the EAEC, identifies the gaps in legislation and indicates the main directions of its development to create a regulatory framework that allows the effective regulation of the introduction and operation of unmanned technologies on the railroads of the Eurasian Economic Union.Results. The study showed that at present the legal regulation of unmanned technologies in the railway transport is at the initial stage of development. The existing regulatory framework regulates automated and remote control technologies for railroad transport is insufficient, while the level of technology development in the railway sphere allows the introduction of unmanned locomotives to improve the level of competitiveness of the industry. Given the ongoing integration processes and the high level of interconnection between the transport and logistics systems of the EAEU member states, the development of a unified legal regulation of the use of unmanned technologies on the railroad should take place at the international level within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. All the more so because technical regulations defining the requirements for the safe operation of rolling stock and railway infrastructure are currently being developed and implemented at the level of the EAEU. The experience of creating a unified approach to technical requirements in the industry is a positive basis for the formation of regulations for the introduction of innovations that meet the level of the technological mode of Industry 4.0.Conclusion. The main directions for the development of legal regulation of the use of unmanned technologies should be to ensure the safety of the use of unmanned technologies by establishing criteria for their evaluation, testing and certification systems, as well as developing principles of liability for damage caused to life, health and property of third parties in the transportation process due to error, malfunction or imperfection of this kind of technology.