Who goes to jail when a robot causes harm?
RobotInJail is a moderated hub for robot liability, regulation and law-making. Independent lawyers and researchers explain the rules, track the cases and help draft the laws that do not exist yet.
Three things we do
One trusted publisher, with lawyers doing the legal work and keeping their own fees.
Expert network
Moderated questions and answers, and a directory of verified lawyers by country and specialism. Lawyers join free and take clients directly.
Intelligence
A sourced tracker of robot incidents, court cases and regulations, with comparative tables across the EU, Korea, China, the US and beyond.
Robot Law Lab
Model statutes, consultation responses and training for governments and regulators, with early focus on countries that have no robot-specific law yet.
The law is being written now
Key dates in robot and AI liability. As of 29 September 2026; we will keep this current.
| Date | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Jan 2026 | South Korea's AI Basic Act takes effect, with duties for high-impact AI. | Cooley |
| 28 Feb 2026 | China releases its first national standard system for humanoid robots and embodied intelligence, including safety and ethics. | SESEC |
| 27 Jul 2026 | The EU AI Omnibus enters into force. High-risk duties move to 2 Dec 2027, and to 2 Aug 2028 for AI in regulated products such as machinery. | White & Case |
| 9 Dec 2026 | EU Product Liability Directive 2024/2853 must be transposed. Software counts as a product, and courts can order disclosure of evidence. | Gibson Dunn |
| 20 Jan 2027 | EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 applies, covering autonomous machinery and AI-based safety functions. | EU-OSHA |
General information only, not legal advice. Check the primary sources before relying on any date.
For lawyers: join free, earn from your own clients
We are a publisher and marketplace, not a law firm. We never pay lawyers and never take a share of their fees.
What you get
- A niche profile in a fast-growing field.
- Inbound enquiries from robot makers, deployers and insurers, engaged directly under your own terms.
- A byline on explainers, and a seat on the Fellow panel that reviews draft laws.
How it works
- Verified once against your bar's public register.
- Moderated public answers, as general information, never advice to an unidentified reader.
- Local rules first: lawyer matching opens country by country, only where professional rules allow it.
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Robot Law Lab
Most countries have no statute that says who is liable when an autonomous machine causes harm. The Lab turns comparative research and lawyer review into model laws, with public consultation, published dissent and full disclosure of funding.
- Model Robot Safety and Liability Act: definitions, liability between maker, deployer and owner, event logging, certification tiers and redress.
- Sector annexes: healthcare and surgical robots, logistics, agriculture and public-space service robots.
- Independence: every clause is human-reviewed, governments stay the authors, and industry funding is disclosed.