The Milli Majlis (Parliament) has adopted in the first reading a bill on the implementation of autonomous vehicles across all modes of transport, including road, rail, metro, tram, maritime, and air transport.
According to sea-news.az that the matter was discussed at today’s session of the parliament’s extraordinary session. The proposal is reflected in a draft law amending the Merchant Shipping Code, as well as the laws “On Road Traffic,” “On Transport,” “On State Duty,” “On the List of Items That Can Belong to Certain Participants in Civil Turnover and Whose Turnover Is Permitted Based on a Special Permit (Restricted Civil Turnover),” “On Road Transport,” and “On Aviation.”
The draft law aims to establish a regulatory, technological, and institutional framework for the deployment of autonomous vehicles.
According to the project, definitions such as “autonomous vehicle,” “operator,” and “remote control center” are being introduced into legislation to regulate the autonomous transport environment across various sectors (merchant shipping, aviation, rail, metro, tram, and road transport). High and fully automated levels of operation are also established. The requirements for autonomous vehicles, their operators, remote control centers, and automated driving systems are defined, along with the responsibilities of the operator and the vehicle owner. It is proposed that an autonomous vehicle may only be operated within territories designated by authorized state agencies after being registered by the state.
Any legal or natural person may act as an operator upon obtaining the appropriate certificate. Operators are required to monitor the functioning of automated control systems during operation, intervene immediately in the event of a threat, ensure the storage and protection of data related to vehicle operation, and promptly notify relevant state authorities in the event of an accident, crash, or incident.
Furthermore, the bill outlines measures for evaluating the effectiveness of automated control systems within a regulatory test environment, as well as the liability of the vehicle owner or operator for damages caused by the operation of the vehicle.
Certificates for operating as an autonomous transport operator are issued to natural and legal persons for a period of 5 years. A state duty of 20 AZN is set for the service of issuing an operator certificate. Remote control centers must be established, and data generated during operation must be transmitted to the state information system in real-time. Regarding data protection, data transmitted to the state system must be recorded and retained by operators for a period of 6 months.
The bill provides for testing autonomous vehicles in a regulatory test environment and defining specific operating areas on roads, and in air and water spaces. The division of liability between the vehicle owner, operator, manufacturer, and operator for accidents and damages is defined, and insurance requirements are clarified.
A special “Autonomous Vehicle” identification mark will be introduced to distinguish autonomous road vehicles. Civil-purpose autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being added to the list of items requiring a special permit for turnover.
Following the discussions, the project was put to a vote and adopted in the third reading.
