Natural Hazards, Climate Change, and Criminal Liability: Challenges and Legal Frameworks
Assigned Session: FS 3.151: Mountain hazards: understanding the key risk drivers beyond climate change
Abstract ID: 3.13091 | Not reviewed | Requested as: Talk | TBA | TBA
Margareth Helfer (1)
(1) University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, 6020 Innsbruck, AT
Abstract
Climate change is significantly transforming the risk profile of natural hazards, particularly in alpine regions where extreme weather-related events, such as avalanches, rockfalls, and floods are increasing in frequency and intensity. These shifting patterns of risk pose critical challenges for risk management and raise fundamental questions regarding legal responsibility. The unpredictability of such disasters renders it challenging to assign responsibility, calling for reorientation of legal frameworks to the evolving risks. The focus is on examining the implications of climatically caused natural hazards for criminal liability. Traditional liability theories are often inadequate to address the complexity of environmental dangers. A central question is to what extent individuals are responsible for their own safety in hazardous environments as opposed to the responsibility of guarantors such as civil protection authorities, avalanche commissions, and geologists. The increasing presence of inexperienced mountaineers further complicates legal assessments, challenging the requirements for more education programs or stricter regulations. One of the most important areas in this study is how scientists and emerging technologies in risk assessment affect risk assessment. Advanced hazard analysis tools and AI-powered prediction models improve decision-making but raise legal questions about liability for system failures or erroneous warnings. It is about to investigate how the use of such technology affects liability attribution and whether existing law address these issues adequately. The broader implications of this study underscore the necessity of reconsider liability norms in the context of climate change. Legal systems must balance responsibility with the understanding that not all risks can be mitigated. Prevention, legal certainty regarding individual versus institutional responsibility, and interdisciplinary dialogue between legal scholars, scientists, and policymakers are essential in the development of a fair and effective legal system for risk management in increasingly vulnerable regions.
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