S M Solaiman

Papers

Total Citations

220

H-Index

About

S M Solaiman is a pioneering legal scholar whose work sits at the intersection of law, technology, and personhood. His key research areas include legal personality, artificial intelligence, and corporate criminal liability, with a particular focus on how existing legal frameworks grapple with non-human actors. Solaiman’s most influential contribution is his 2016 paper, “Legal personality of robots, corporations, idols and chimpanzees: a quest for legitimacy,” which has garnered 218 citations and is widely regarded as a foundational text in the emerging field of robot law. In this work, he provocatively compares the legal status of robots to that of corporations, idols, and chimpanzees, arguing that legitimacy—not mere functionality—should determine the grant of legal personality. His 2017 paper on corporate manslaughter by industrial robots further extends this inquiry, asking who should be held criminally liable when autonomous machines cause death in the workplace. Solaiman’s work is notable for its interdisciplinary breadth, drawing on common law principles, comparative jurisprudence, and real-world technological trends. For students and researchers exploring the legal implications of AI and robotics, Solaiman offers a rigorous and thought-provoking entry point into one of the most pressing legal questions of our time.