Autonomous vehicles law and regulation in Ukraine

No procedure for testing AVs on public roads has been enacted in Ukraine.

Under the general rules, namely the “Procedure for Approval of the Construction of Vehicles, their Parts and Equipment and Procedure for Maintaining the Register of Vehicle Type Certificates and Equipment and Certificates of Conformity of Vehicles or Equipment Issued by Manufacturers,” approved by the order of the Ministry of Infrastructure dated 17 August 2012 No. 521, “the test vehicles used in the public road network for the purpose of carrying out the tests to introduce the vehicles into mass production” are expressly excluded from certification requirements.

However, with the lack of special procedures for the testing of AVs on public roads in Ukraine, it is not yet clear whether this “test vehicle” option could be used for testing AVs in Ukraine.

Due to the absence of specific regulations for AVs in Ukraine, their use on public roads in Ukraine is not explicitly permitted.

In terms of the general regulation for Ukrainian traffic rules (approved by the Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 10 October 2001 No. 1306), the driver (a human) must operate a vehicle. The driver must “be attentive, monitor road situations, react to its changes accordingly, … not be distracted from driving”.

Based on the above, the use of AVs (SAE levels 3 – 5) on public roads in Ukraine is unlikely to be compliant with traffic rules. 

The issue of liability for damages caused by AVs has not been decided in Ukrainian courts. Hence, two potential approaches could be used in relation to the allocation of damages: 

• The Civil Code of Ukraine envisages that a legal owner or a person who legally uses the vehicle (e.g. rents a vehicle) will be liable for all damages caused by the vehicle in a traffic collision. 
• Alternatively, the Law of Ukraine “On liability for damages caused by a defect of products” holds the manufacturer (i.e. the entity that manufactured the AV or the entity that imported the AV into Ukraine with the purpose of its retail sale, transfer into leasing, etc.) liable for the defected AV and all damages caused by this AV. 

Therefore, the approach to be used has yet to be clarified by specific laws regulating the operation of AVs in Ukraine or by court practice.

Due to the absence of a specific regulation for AVs in Ukraine, no requirements currently exist for mandatory insurance of AVs. 

According to the general rules of Ukrainian insurance laws, an AV is not a subject to mandatory insurance.

According to the general rules of defect of products claims, a manufacturer will be liable for all defects appearing during the exploitation of an AV due to the fault of the manufacturer. In this case, a customer will have the right to:

1. proportional reduction of the price;
2. free of charge elimination of defects within a reasonable time;
3. reimbursement of costs for elimination of defects.

During the warranty period a customer has the right to warranty repair at a manufacturer's expense. The repair works may be provided either by a vehicle service company, officially appointed by the manufacturer, or by the manufacturer itself. 

If defects of a significant nature are due to the manufacturer`s fault, a customer may:

1. terminate the sale purchase agreement and refund, or
2. demand substitution of the vehicle.

At the same time, these actions can only be taken during the warranty period.

Under the Commercial Code of Ukraine, the liability of the manufacturer may not be limited.

Such rules should reasonably apply to AVs as well. However, no information on AV use in Ukraine and the respective application of these rules are currently available.