Trolley Problem – Killing one Person to Save Many?
Abstract
Five young children are playing on railway tracks. An express train is approaching, and it is too late to stop the train before it hits the children, probably killing them. Operator D recognizes the emergency situation. He electronically flips a switch and thus deflects the train from its regular track to a little-used sidetrack. However, the lone repairman V is busy on the sidetrack, and the deflected train kills V, as D had anticipated. Is D criminally responsible for murder of V? The chapter examines national reports on how different legal systems address the issue, to determine whether there are recurring paradigms of justice.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Criminal Law and Policy
Philosophical Ethics and Theory
Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
Publication details
- Journal / source
- DUNCKER UND HUMBLOT eBooks
- Pages
- 365–370
- Publication date
- 1 January 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter