As mentioned earlier, autonomous robots cannot be considered things because they are intelligent, multi-skilled machines with physical and mental entities that cannot be ignored. Also, they can interact with their surroundings and make appropriate decisions along with their ability to self-learn, which makes them unique beings that cannot be described as a "thing"(Bengio, 2016). By excluding autonomous robots from the concept of "thing," the idea of introducing them into the concept of "people" and granting them legal personality can be put forward, distinguishing between the concepts of "human" and "personality." The term "personality" is a legal concept that regulates human activity within the social environment with which he interacts. Legal personality is not granted to a person as soon as he is born but requires the availability of his ability to acquire rights and assume legal obligations. For example, although an enslaved person has a status, he did not fully acquire legal personality before his emancipation because he could not acquire rights and assume obligations (Pagallo, 2018).
With the progress of civilization, the character trait emerged from the narrow space assigned to the human being and expanded to include non-man. These applications began to grant legal personality to trade unions, companies, associations, and other associations that appeared and needed legal regulation, so the legal personality of a legal person arose independently of the personality of its owner in all comparative legislation. Also, the French Civil Code in 2015 granted legal personality to the animal, giving it Rights that must be respected under penalty of criminal and civil liability. Thus, the division was limited to only people, and some Western legislation bypassed things. They created a third legal status that mediates people and things: the "animal”(Solaiman, 2017).
This part of the research discusses legislative solutions to grant legal personality to autonomous robots and how to exclude them from the concept of things. It also examines the compatibility of these solutions with the trends of Islamic jurisprudence as a primary source of Law, according to the text of the second article of the UAE Civil Transactions Law.
2.2.1. Granting Robots Legal Personality
Some developed countries have begun to change their legislative policy in regulating the legal personality of robots by granting them legal personality independent of the personality of their owner. South Korea was the first of these countries, followed by the United States of America(P Devarapalli, 2018). At the EU level, the European legislator enacted the European Civil Law Rules on Robotics in 2017 and granted it a higher status than God, but without explicitly recognizing its independent legal personality based on the human deputy theory. The European legislator also recommended the creation of a special legal status for autonomous robots in the long term so that the "electronic legal personality" is granted to the most advanced autonomous robots.
Also, a part of comparative jurisprudence considered that there is an urgent need to grant legal personality to autonomous robots to address the problem of liability for damages caused to humans. Thus they need to be treated as legal figures to be held legally accountable like companies. This approach would strengthen the current legal system to deal with the challenges that autonomous robots can raise, enabling them to interact with humans and serve them(Solum, 2020). This approach argues that there is no legal barrier to granting legal personality to autonomous robots, especially with the emergence of a societal need to grant them legal personality. In this regard, the New York court ruled in judgment (162358/15) that: "the ability to acquire rights and bear obligations is the decisive criterion for recognizing the legal personality of any being, and not the physical similarity with a human being." Also, the legal personality is a template developed to give a person legal rights and duties unrelated to human quality. Since the beginning of creation, man has not enjoyed a legal personality despite being human. With the establishment of the state, the need for a legal personality for each individual has emerged to acquire rights and bear obligations; therefore, a legal personality is an approval by the state for organizational purposes(Reiss, 2021).
Also, this doctrinal approach argues that granting legal personality to autonomous robots necessarily means creating a register to register them, similar to the Register of companies. This record shows the robot's owner and the robot's functional ability, which is considered an effective way to restrict the behavior of autonomous robots, especially since the latter has the property of self-control and deep learning, which often makes their actions unpredictable by their owner(Reiss, 2021). The mandatory "registration of autonomous robots" requires the enactment of a mandatory insurance system for damages caused by autonomous robots, which is a sufficient guarantee for individuals dealing with robots(Floridi et al., 2018).
Under the system of compulsory insurance for the damage caused by autonomous robots, the initial capital of the robot must be provided by its owner. As soon as the robots start working and making profits, insurance premiums from the robot's financial capacity begin to be paid(Chomanski, 2021). There becomes a clear distinction between the robot's financial and its owner's financial capacity, which leads to the limited legal liability of the owner in cases not covered by insurance(Lau, 2019). In other words, the owner is responsible for as much as the capital he invested in the robot. If the insurance policy expires, is not renewed, or the autonomous robot is not registered, the European Parliament proposed to create a compensation fund to cover the damage caused by the robot(van den Hoven van Genderen, 2019).
Also, granting legal personality to autonomous robots means an independent financial capacity for them, which means that the autonomous robot is a party to contracts capable of fulfilling contractual obligations(van den Hoven van Genderen, 2018). Registering robots will enable the other contracting party to realize the limits of the robot's liability; if the robot is subsequently contracted and the owner cannot fulfill it, the liability will be limited to the robot's funds(Floridi et al., 2018). Although agreements concluded by the robot are ultimately for the beneficiary (the owner of the robot), the robot is responsible for fulfilling them. Thus, if the robot contracts and cannot fulfill its obligations, the liability will also be limited to the funds owned by the robot(van den Hoven van Genderen, 2018).
2.2.1.1. The position of Islamic jurisprudence on granting legal personality to autonomous robots
According to article 1 of the UAE Civil Transactions Law, Islamic Sharia is a primary source of law in the United Arab Emirates.
Article 1: "Legislative provisions shall apply to all matters dealt therein, in letter and context. There is no room for personal interpretation in the presence of an unambiguous text. In the absence of a text in this Law, the judge shall adjudicate according to the Islamic Shari'a."
Also, the second article of this Code has made the provisions of Islamic jurisprudence an interpretive source for the texts of the UAE Civil Transactions Law.
Article 2: "The rules and principles of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) shall be relied upon in the understanding, constructing, and interpreting of these provisions."
Muslim scholars were unanimous that legal capacity is proved only to a natural person because he is the person who is addressed by the provisions of Sharia texts and is qualified to understand their conditions(Alqurtibii, 595). The texts of the Holy Qur'an provides that: " Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant (Chapter 33, verse 73). Therefore, Islamic jurists define eligibility as the legal personality granted by the state to a person, according to which he becomes the owner of rights and obliged by duties(Jamela modawar, 2018).
Recently, there has been a need for society to recognize other legal entities and give them independent legal personalities, such as companies and associations. Therefore, Islamic jurists have recognized the autonomous capacity of these entities so that they can be treated as legal persons with financial liabilities distinct from those of shareholders(Najma, 2017a).
Muslim jurists initially strongly opposed the idea of" legal capacity" on the ground that legal capacity can only be proven to a human being(Ahmed Ali Abd al-Rahman, 1994). For example, the jurist Al-Ghazali stated in his book Al-Mustafa: "sharia rulings only address the natural man." Also, there was a disagreement between the jurists of personal theory and objective theory in the definition of "right," where the first category considered that only a natural person could acquire rights because he can think. In contrast, the second group considered that interest is the basis of right and that the need and interests of society are the basis for granting personality to any being other than a human being if necessary(Ziyad Sobhy Dayab, n.d.-a). This group adds that there is no link between the status of a person and legal personality because personality is called any object that can, by law, acquire rights and assume obligations, regardless of its composition and form. Over time, the jurists of the objective theory prevailed and became the most significant category among the jurists of Islamic law(Ziyad Sobhy Dayab, n.d.-a).
Due to the need of society to find a legislative solution that recognizes the legal personality of these new entities, Sharia jurists have benefited from the legal provisions governing the legal capacity of the state and Islamic Waqfs as legal entities independent of their owners, so they have the independent financial capacity(Alkhafifi, 2010).
Also, no texts in the Qur'an and the Sunnah prevent companies and other institutions from being granted legal personality. The Muslim jurist Ali al-Khafif adds: "the provisions of the theory of legal capacity is a legislative and juristic organization that is intended only to adjust the provisions and their consistency, so they can change and develop according to the requirements of transactions and their development and diversity. Nothing in the Holy Qur'an or the Sunnah prevents companies, institutions, and public funds from being granted independent financial eligibility within the limits of their established goals," he said(Ziyad Sobhy Dayab, n.d.-b).
2.2.1.2. The challenges of granting legal personality to robots
Many contemporary jurists have considered that granting autonomous legal personality to robots is not the best solution to exempt manufacturers, engineers, and innovators from liability for damage caused by autonomous robots to third parties. Autonomous robots do not meet the traditional conditions for acquiring legal personality due to the overestimation of the actual capabilities of robots. Also, the legal personality of a robot cannot be granted in the same way as other legal persons (such as companies. The latter is entirely subject to the guidance of its representative, unlike robot conducts that have a degree of independence in managing their activities(Clark et al., 2019). Also, recognizing the legal personality of autonomous robots will relieve producers and other responsible authorities of their legal responsibility, and the emergence of an autonomous robot's control over a person, instead of becoming a tool to facilitate human life, will become a danger to him. Therefore, the general doctrinal orientation is not to exaggerate granting this legal personality; instead, make it limited to the extent that the tasks are commensurate with the goals that you want this robot to do. In this context, the Egyptian jurist Abdul Razzaq Al-Sanhouri reported in one of his writings: "the technological revolution has brought about a significant scientific development, large industries and fast means of transportation have been established, and man has harnessed nature to serve him, and he did not care that the means of control are blind or absolute and he can control them. If it gets out of his control, he will be the first victim of it, which forces us to reconsider our organization of responsibility for things"(Al-Sanhoury, 2011). Article 3 of the 2017 European Civil Code of Robotics is in harmony with this trend. It provides that the development of robot technology should focus on complementing human capabilities rather than replacing them, and it is necessary in the development of robotics and artificial intelligence to ensure the control of humans over smart devices at all times(Bertolini, 2013).
Also, a legal person in Islamic jurisprudence is granted eligibility with certain limits while remaining dependent on its owner. For example, the endowment in Islamic jurisprudence is given legal capacity with certain limits so that the Waqf supervisor has the right to sell the harvest of the endowment lands and to buy her what she needs of machinery and animals. In all cases, the goods purchased are owned by the endowment and not by the beneficiaries. Also, if the principal has paid the Waqf and the tenant is late in paying the due wage, the tenant is indebted to the Waqf entity neither to the principal nor to the beneficiaries(al -Hafi, 2020).
As for the idea of "legal personality," the natural legal personality is given to the physical entity of a person regardless of his perception and understanding, which is problematic for autonomous robots. Linking legal responsibility with legal personality requires revision because not everyone who has a legal personality is legally responsible for his actions. An unreasonable person has a legal personality and independent financial responsibility, although he lacks civil liability. This conclusion does not mean that such persons are absolved of harm; rather, the burden of this responsibility is transferred to the person he is responsible for and demands compensation(Mohammed Irfan al-Khateb, 2020).
Regarding the impact of granting legal personality to autonomous robots on the provisions for concluding contracts, at first glance, the use of the legal personality of robots in contract law may seem like a reminder of the legal personality of companies. Still, there is a clear difference between them. When a contract is signed between a person and a company, the company is a party to the agreement. Still, it is represented by its legal representative since the company can't agree without the consent of this legal representative. As for autonomous robots, they, alone and without human intervention, decide to enter into a contract with the other party. However, the agreements that the robots will conclude - Assuming that the robots work to help their human owner achieve a particular purpose - will be for the owner's benefit and not the robot itself. The robot appears to function like an agent who contracts on his behalf for the benefit of his benefactor. This provision will make this natural person a party to the contractual relationship and bear full legal responsibility for any breach of his contractual obligations(Coeckelbergh, 2010). In this form, the legal contract to which the robot will be a party is fundamentally different from the contract between a person and a company. Also, a legal person is granted total autonomous capacity within the limits of the purpose of its creation according to the principle of allotment but ultimately remains under human control. Unlike autonomous robots, granting them total legal capacity takes them out of the scope of human control, as they will simulate a robot, which may make it not serve the goals of their creation(Samir Chopra, 2009).
Also, one should not overlook that the issue of granting legal personality to autonomous robots is not a purely legal matter. Instead, it has political and economic dimensions aimed at reducing the burden of responsibility that falls on the shoulders of engineers and innovators in the event of damage, which does not hinder innovation. For example, paragraph (57) of the European Civil Code of Robotics of 2017 requires the legislature to find legal solutions to address all the problems resulting from the work of autonomous robots without hindering innovation. The European Parliament also recommended to the committee on civil law rules related to robotics to find a special legal status for autonomous robots capable of enjoying rights and performing obligations like other legal centers. Although this recommendation is not mandatory, it is mentioned in an important political statement that implies that the issue of their independent legal personality is not just a legal issue(Muhammad Ali Al-Qari, 1998).
3.2.1.3. The Nature of the Legal Personality of the Robot According to the EU Perception
paragraph (57) of the European Civil Code of Robotics of 2017 called for regulating the legal status of robots to bear legal responsibility for the damage they cause to others. It should be noted that the European Parliament did not use the concept of "legal person" but used the term "electronic person"(García-Micó, 2021). The electronic personality applies to a person who has electronic activity on the internet and therefore has an invisible virtual personality that differs from his real personality. There are two types of virtual personality: visible virtual personality (like robots) and invisible virtual personality (like a human using the internet). The latter is an invisible person, such as a robot used to answer automated messages or have conversations on internet networks to respond to browser queries(Eidenmueller, 2017). Therefore, this trend called for granting a special kind of legal personality to robots, giving them a virtual or electronic personality and not a legal personality such as companies, unlike the orientation of many Western jurists. The EU's approach aims to reach an intermediate area in regulating the provisions of this responsibility and reducing the legal capacity that may fall on the manufacturers, innovators, and programmers. On the one hand, they can unleash innovation and development away from the fears of bearing legal responsibility for the dangers of using these innovations. On the other hand, these robots are not entirely independent of their manufacturers in their work. Therefore they are partly responsible for this in the light of resolutions No. 2012, 2014, and 2015 of 202 (Novelli, 2022).
In October 2020, the European Parliament issued three resolutions on the legal aspects of AI systems that did not give AI systems legal personality(García-Micó, 2021). For example, paragraph 7 of the civil liability resolution of 2020 reported that giving legal personality to artificial intelligence systems is unnecessary. Tracing the precise damaging activities of artificial intelligence systems can be highly challenging, if not impossible, due to the ambiguity of these systems and their autonomy. Also, paragraph (6) of the same resolution stated that: "any changes required in the current legal framework should begin with clarifying that artificial intelligence systems have neither legal personality nor human conscience and that their only task is to serve humanity." It should be noted that these paragraphs indicate the EU's intention to grant legal personality to artificial intelligence in a human way, as it links legal capacity to human conscience. This approach does not make sense because legal persons such as companies lack "human conscience" but have acquired legal personality. Thus, it seems that there is an implicit intention that the European Parliament is considering granting legal capicity to robots on a par with humans in the long term. On the other hand, he has not stated this for the time being so as not to bear the legal consequences of granting legal personality to autonomous robots(Mocanu, 2022).
Also, civil liability requires the existence of financial assets for a person to be sued and to obligate him to compensate for damages caused to others. Granting a legal personality to artificial intelligence with a lack of complete autonomy cannot establish the features of a legal personality but rather is an indirect invitation to treat autonomous robots in a human way. This target requires raising these robots to the human level while remaining in control to correct their actions. This status can be reached by giving them incomplete legal capacity, equated to minors when conducting legal transactions(Jaynes, 2020).