Is It Time to Consider EU Criminal Law Rules on Robotics?
This academic article examines whether the European Union should develop a criminal law framework to regulate artificial intelligence and robotics. The authors analyze intersections between AI and criminal law across 'areas of cooperation' (such as AI-assisted policing, risk assessment, and interrogation) and 'areas of collision' (such as autonomous vehicles, robotic surgery, autonomous weapons, and algorithmic financial crime). They argue that criminal law is facing its third revolution and propose that the EU should establish supranational standards, expand Article 83 TFEU, and mandate targeted criminal liability and special abstract danger offenses at the national level.
Summary and content fields are drawn from the document text and are pending editorial review.
Who issued it
Who it governs
This paper is for EU policymakers, legislators, and legal scholars seeking guidance on how to extend criminal law frameworks to address the challenges posed by autonomous systems and artificial intelligence.
What the document contains
The document addresses the intersection of artificial intelligence and robotics with criminal law in both substantive and procedural dimensions, evaluating how AI is used in criminal investigations and how autonomous systems can cause criminal harms without clear frameworks for accountability.
It does not provide finalized legislative text, binding regulatory mandates, or definitive statutory definitions for AI criminal liability, as it serves as a scholarly de lege ferenda proposal.
- Current EU regulatory efforts regarding AI have largely neglected the field of criminal law, focusing instead on civil rules, data protection, and ethical guidelines.
- AI intersects with criminal law through 'areas of cooperation' where AI assists in law enforcement, sentencing risk assessment, and interrogations.
- AI also intersects through 'areas of collision' where autonomous systems act as the cause of harmful offenses in transport, medicine, warfare, and finance.
- Traditional criminal law concepts of guilt, intent, and causality are challenged by autonomous systems, as direct liability for AI is not currently conceivable.
- The authors propose expanding Article 83 TFEU to cover offenses connected to autonomous intelligence and introducing abstract danger offenses and corporate liability at the EU level.
· 1 Introduction · 2 Recent legislative activities of the EU in the field of AI · 3 Areas where criminal law and AI intersect - 3.1 Areas of cooperation - 3.2 Areas of collision · 4 What issues should EU criminal law address? · 5 Conclusion
How it scores
Each score is backed by a quote verified against the document text. Editorial review has not yet confirmed them.
Accountability
3/5Clear responsibility for AI outcomes
What remains unclear at this point is: who bears criminal liability in the latter case? This issue is not limited only to the fi eld of traffi c safety, but also applies to other fi elds where autonomous robotic technologies are being introduced
1 Introduction
screening score · 2026-10-23
Fairness
2/5Non-discrimination and equitable treatment
Such a system carries signifi cant weight in the US due to there being an issue of racial bias in police conduct in some states, and this could help prevent racial discrimination.
3.1 Areas of cooperation
screening score · 2026-10-23
Human Dignity
2/5Respect for the inherent worth of persons
Such authors view the development of AI in this fi eld as a potential severe threat to basic human rights, and they rightly raise the question of who will be liable in such cases
3.1 Areas of cooperation
screening score · 2026-10-23
Transparency
2/5Openness about how AI systems work and are used
because the methodology on which the system operates is kept confi dential and cannot be subjected to a critical assessment by the defence.
3.1 Areas of cooperation
screening score · 2026-10-23
Impact Assessment
2/5Required assessment of an AI system's risks/impacts before or during use
The basic precondition for criminal law regulation of the fi elds of AI operation with a higher risk of harmful consequences is the amendment of Article 83 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
4 What issues should EU criminal law address?
screening score · 2026-10-23