Comenius University · Faculty of Law · Elective course
One client, three groups and one joint legal report.
Explore the model case
What must a new company document and put in place to provide a paid robotaxi service in Slovakia? How do vehicle approval, operating conditions, control-centre roles and data handling relate to one another?
The Automated Transport Regulation Clinic is an elective course at the Faculty of Law of Comenius University Bratislava. It combines the fundamentals of regulation with work on a model case. No prior knowledge of automated vehicles is required. We will begin by explaining how the system works and gradually move towards independent legal analysis and recommendations.
We will distinguish the client’s plans, the supplier’s claims and documented facts. Each group will formulate questions for the client and identify missing information. The lecturer, acting as the client, will provide further facts about the model project.
One group will lead each thematic meeting. The other groups will read the same selected provisions and case supplement and bring a question from their own topic. Together, we will connect the legal rules with the available evidence and review preliminary conclusions.
Working notes and conclusions from the discussions will be incorporated into a single joint legal report. Each recommendation will identify who should act, what evidence is needed and which conclusions still depend on further information.
A new company based in Slovakia wants to provide a paid robotaxi service using three vehicles leased from a foreign supplier. It is not a manufacturer and does not yet provide passenger transport. Passengers would book journeys through an app, with no driver in the vehicle.
The client has a technical description and a summary of tests carried out abroad. Complete approval documents, clearly allocated control-centre roles and arrangements for access to records are missing. Its plan for tests at a closed site, trial journeys on public roads and a subsequent paid service is subject to legal assessment.
The case is fictional, is used exclusively for teaching and does not describe a DIUS AI project. Its parameters represent the client’s plans, whose feasibility students will assess.
The standalone practical cases explain selected legal questions. Their facts do not change the shared robotaxi assignment. Explore the standalone practical cases →
The first group will examine approval documents, the legal framework for the planned tests and operation, and requirements for paid passenger transport. It will also assess the supplier’s claim that deployment in Slovakia requires only a map update, and the evidence concerning the system’s compliance with Slovak traffic rules.
Explore the route to operationThe second group will compare confirming a system proposal with directly controlling the vehicle’s direction and speed. It will examine who assesses the traffic situation and responds to obstacles, how oversight of the other vehicles is maintained, and what arrangements are needed for staff cover, connection loss and assistance at the scene.
Explore human and system rolesThe third group will distinguish between routine operational records, event data and staff instructions. It will examine retention, completeness and availability, access by competent authorities, personal data protection and event notification procedures.
What is recorded in an accident?Glossary of roles will help you understand the roles of people and systems. Route to operation in Slovakia explores the questions involved in bringing an automated vehicle onto public roads.
The aim is to be able to frame a precise legal question, find a relevant source and explain its significance for a specific situation. Students will learn to distinguish between a description of technology, a test result and legal authorisation. They will also practise formulating recommendations that provide a basis for further action.
The joint output will be a single legal report for the model client. It will bring together the three thematic areas and explain what needs to be in place before launching a paid service, who should take each step and which conclusions depend on further supporting documents.
The course is delivered in cooperation with DiusAi, which contributes technological and project context. This practical perspective will help assess whether recommendations are clear and feasible. Students develop their legal arguments under academic supervision.
Lecturer: doc. JUDr. Jozef Andraško, PhD.
The course is taught at the Faculty of Law of Comenius University Bratislava. This page is part of ROAT Observatory, a personal professional and scholarly project.
What does a new operator need to provide a paid robotaxi service in Slovakia? This question was the focus of a working session of the Automated Transport Regulation Clinic, held on 14 October 2026 at the Faculty of Law of Comenius University Bratislava.
The first meeting of the Automated Transport Regulation Clinic introduced a shared model case and divided the work among three thematic groups. The introduction focused on understanding the assignment, distinguishing the client’s plans from the supplier’s claims, and identifying questions and missing information. Legal solutions will be developed at the thematic meetings and brought together in a single joint report.
A new company based in Slovakia intends to launch a paid robotaxi service. It is not a manufacturer and does not yet provide passenger transport. It plans to lease three vehicles from a foreign supplier. Passengers will book journeys through an app, with no driver in the vehicles. The client envisages operation in two urban districts, during daylight and in dry weather, at speeds of up to 30 km/h.
The supplier has provided a technical description and a summary of tests carried out abroad. However, complete approval documents, clearly defined control-centre roles and agreed arrangements for access to records are missing. Students will identify which information is needed, assess the legal significance of the available documents and determine what the client must put in place before launching the service.
The first group will assess the steps in the client’s plan, approval documents, required authorisations and requirements relating to paid passenger transport.
The second group will examine vehicle oversight, remote driving, the allocation of tasks and arrangements for the other vehicles while a staff member intervenes.
The third group will focus on record retention, access to data, their evidential value and procedures for handling events.
The next meeting will focus on the route to a commercial service. The first group will lead the discussion, presenting the main questions, relevant provisions and a preliminary course of action with identified uncertainties. Together, we will also examine the supplier’s claim that deployment in Slovakia requires only a map update.
The other groups will contribute questions concerning the control centre and the data needed. The meeting will develop part of the joint report and identify supporting documents to request from the client.
This fictional case is used for teaching and does not describe a DIUS AI project. The parameters describe the client’s intended project, whose technical and legal feasibility students will assess.
What does it take to put an automated vehicle on the road — from a legal perspective? In the 2026/2027 academic year, I will be teaching a new elective course, the Automated Transport Regulation Clinic, at the Faculty of Law of Comenius University Bratislava.
