General Duty Research Articles

POLITIK HUKUM PEMBENTUKAN URUSAN PEMERINTAHAN PEMBANGUNAN DAERAH TERTINGGAL DALAM PENYELENGGARAAN PEMBANGUNAN NASIONAL

Based on Law Number 39 of 2008 concerning State Ministries, it is stated that there is government affairs in development of disadvantaged regions as one of the specific affairs in the government. It was later determined that government affairs of development of disadvantaged regions were carried out in the context of sharpening, coordinating, and synchronizing government programs. In accordance with the general duties of the government, the government affairs of development of disadvantaged regions are carried out as a manifestation of the government's duties in the context of realizing general welfare through the implementation of national development. In this regard, it is important to conduct further research on the legal policy of establishing government affairs of development of disadvantaged regions in the implementation of national development. In addition, it is also important to discuss further the role of government affairs of development of disadvantaged regions in the acceleration development of disadvantaged regions which is an integral part of national development as mandated in Law Number 17 of 2007 concerning the National Long-Term Development Plan of 2005-2025. The research method in this writing is normative legal research and uses a theoretical, conceptual, and statutory approach. The results of the research and discussion in this paper conclude that the legal policy of establishing government affairs of development of disadvantaged regions in the implementation of national development is a form of the government's commitment to giving development attention and alignments to disadvantaged regions with the aim of realizing a more equitable and just development which is characterized by the realization of equitable distribution of regional development as well as reducing disparities between regions. Meanwhile, the role of government affairs of development of disadvantaged regions is contextually aimed at coordinating the implementation of the acceleration development of disadvantaged regions with relevant ministries/institutions, provincial governments, and district governments through sharpening, coordinating, and synchronizing government programs nationally.

“Everything has changed”: detention officer roles and recreation time changes due to COVID-19 policies at a Southwest County Jail

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic responses in jails have forced detention officers to adjust how they approach the confinement and care of individuals while they are incarcerated. One aspect of incarceration affected was detention officers’ roles. The aims of this research project were to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the general duties of detention officers at a Southwest County Jail. Detention officers were recruited via email to participate in an online questionnaire from October to December 2020. Participants answered Likert scale and open-ended questions regarding how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their job duties. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used to identify themes and patterns in the responses.ResultsAmong 24 detention officers, 87% indicated agreement that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the duties of detention officers at CCDF. The most discussed change was the introduction of a 14-day quarantine process for newly incarcerated individuals. The 14-day quarantine increased the workload of detention officers.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic responses in jail may have unintended negative consequences for the job duties of detention officers. Current and future pandemic response strategies in jails would benefit from taking staff perspectives into consideration as they are directly impacted by the COVID-19 response strategies put into place. Policy implications are discussed.

Generální prevenční povinnost v systému deliktního práva

The paper at hand deals with role and function of the general prevention duty in tort law as introduced by the Czech Civil Code in 2014. The general prevention duty has been taken over from the former Civil Code with some minor legislative amendments. On the other hand, basic rules for tort liability have changed significantly. As opposed to the previous general tort law provision, the new tort law was modelled upon the German concept of liability. However, German tort law does not explicitly provide for a general prevention duty. As the paper points out, this creates a unique combination of rules that need to be examined and discussed thoroughly. The paper at hand strives to be part of the discussion and tackle the issue of whether the traditional understanding of the general prevention duty needs to be reassessed and if so, how. It poses major questions, which arise due to the aforementioned changes. It further evaluates existing opinions on the matter and elaborates on possible solutions to the problem.

Mitigation strategies to control a carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii outbreak in a dedicated COVID-19 unit

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAb) is considered a public health threat, and this pathogen is typically associated with hospital infections. At 3 months after opening the hospital’s dedicated COVID-19 unit, 2 patients were identified with CRAb. Infection prevention staff collaborated with staff in the COVID-19 unit, hospital leadership, and health department partners to develop mitigation strategies and to prevent additional transmission. Methods: Admissions to the COVID-19 unit were stopped. Biweekly surveillance cultures were collected to identify any patients potentially colonized with CRAb. An infection control risk assessment was conducted to determine breaches in infection prevention practices. The risk assessment included environmental rounding of the area, epidemiological investigation, environmental testing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) testing, and observing infection prevention practices. Results: The risk assessment identified multiple gaps in infection control practices, for example, gaps in hand and environmental hygiene practices. The extended use of personal protective equipment (PPE), staff shortages, fatigue, and staff taking on multiple roles and tasks outside their general job duties were other gaps identified by the team. Between June and September 2020, 43 additional CRAb cases were identified in the facility, with 4 (9.8%) cases outside the COVID-19 unit. Moreover, 29 cases (64%) were considered clinical infections and 16 (36%) were identified from surveillance efforts. Environmental cultures identified 1 positive surface with CRAb. PFGE testing was completed on 44 isolates; 42 isolates had identical PFGE patterns, and 2 isolates were unrelated to the COVID-19 unit; 2 isolates were closely related (with 3-band differences) but were not identified in the COVID-19 unit. Conclusions: The inability to definitively identify the source of transmission made it challenging to determine the best approach to eradicating the pathogen. Mitigation for outbreaks should focus on not deviating from core infection control practices.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

Constitutional Aspects of the General Duty of Defense the Fatherland in Poland

The author presents the constitutional aspects of the general duty of defense of the Fatherland in accordance with Polish law. The article is based on a comparative legal analysis of the provisions of the Constitution relating to the above-mentioned issue and, supplementarily, of the Act on the general obligation to defend the Republic of Poland. The work is theoretical and legal. At the beginning he analyzes the history and evolution of the concept of general duty of defense from the period of independence to the present day. The following part of the article presents the issue of the general duty of defense from the subjective and objective point of view. The author also presents normative acts which, apart from the constitution, regulate the issues of the general duty of defense. In addition, it indicates a number of entities that perform tasks in the field of defense, powers and competences.

Confirming or resisting the ‘racist cop’ stereotype?: the importance of a police officer’s ‘guardian’ identity in moderating support for procedural justice

ABSTRACT Police have been criticized for their biased treatment of minorities. While many officers do not hold prejudicial attitudes toward minorities, discrimination continues. Stereotype threat research offers one possible explanation for why this is so. Paradoxically, studies reveal that officers who feel more threatened by the ‘racist cop’ stereotype rely more on coercive force in interactions with minorities. This perpetuates the view that police are racist. This study examines whether officers can overcome the negative consequences of experiencing stereotype threat. It focuses on the link between stereotype threat and officers’ support for procedural justice policing, and examines how social identity moderates this relationship. Using survey data from 307 police officers (22.5% females, 11.1% non-Australian ancestry, and 69.4% general duties officers), we find that stereotype threat is associated with reduced support for procedural justice, but is moderated by how officers self-identify. Officers who identify more strongly as ‘guardians’ (i.e. they emphasize policing as a service) are more likely to display stereotype resistance; that is, they are better able to resist the negative consequences of the ‘racist cop’ stereotype. Those who identify less strongly as ‘guardian’ officers, in contrast, fall victim to stereotype threat and display stereotype conformity. Implications are discussed.

Ultimatums, bargaining, and the duty to preserve alternatives to war

When can states justly make ultimatums? How should the recipients of ultimatums respond to them? This manuscript argues that because bargaining behavior like ultimatums and redlines causes war by generating bargaining failure, these behaviors should be scrutinized in the same ways that overtly aggressive acts like invasion are examined. It then argues that parties have a general duty to avoid eliminating alternatives to war. Ultimatums can only be justified if they satisfy the just war criteria of just cause, necessity, and proportionality. Likewise, the decisions to reject ultimatums can impair later claims that a state is fighting justly if they do not reflect the same criteria.

Clarifying responsibility: professional digital health in the doctor-patient relationship, recommendations for physicians based on a multi-stakeholder dialogue in the Netherlands

BackgroundImplementation of digital health (eHealth) generally involves adapting pre-established and carefully considered processes or routines, and still raises multiple ethical and legal dilemmas. This study aimed to identify challenges regarding responsibility and liability when prescribing digital health in clinical practice. This was part of an overarching project aiming to explore the most pressing ethical and legal obstacles regarding the implementation and adoption of digital health in the Netherlands, and to propose actionable solutions.MethodsA series of multidisciplinary focus groups with stakeholders who have relevant digital health expertise were analysed through thematic analysis.ResultsThe emerging general theme was ‘uncertainty regarding responsibilities’ when adopting digital health. Key dilemmas take place in clinical settings and within the doctor-patient relationship (‘professional digital health’). This context is particularly challenging because different stakeholders interact. In the absence of appropriate legal frameworks and codes of conduct tailored to digital health, physicians’ responsibility is to be found in their general duty of care. In other words: to do what is best for patients (not causing harm and doing good). Professional organisations could take a leading role to provide more clarity with respect to physicians’ responsibility, by developing guidance describing physicians’ duty of care in the context of digital health, and to address the resulting responsibilities.ConclusionsAlthough legal frameworks governing medical practice describe core ethical principles, rights and obligations of physicians, they do not suffice to clarify their responsibilities in the setting of professional digital health. Here we present a series of recommendations to provide more clarity in this respect, offering the opportunity to improve quality of care and patients’ health. The recommendations can be used as a starting point to develop professional guidance and have the potential to be adapted to other healthcare professionals and systems.

OSHA Workplace Violence Enforcement.

To examine violence inspections at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The authors examined all inspections that involved violence against workers begun by January 1, 2019. They conducted semi-structured interviews with compliance officers who had conducted inspections on a sample of facilities that received General Duty Clause (GDC) citations (n = 22) or Hazard Alert Letters (HALs) (n = 22). By January 1, 2019, OSHA initiated 726 "violence" inspections, with 502 (69.1%) in healthcare. In healthcare, 45 (11.1%) resulted in GDC citations and 241 (67.7%) in HALs. GDC facilities received statistically significantly lower scores in 5 of 6 domains examined through semi-structured interviews than HAL facilities. Both groups of facilities had poorly designed recordkeeping systems. Health care facilities continue to generate worker complaints with poorly designed violence prevention programs.

Nursing Care of Low-Risk Newborns in Low Resource Setting: Nurses' Aides May Bridge the Gap at Community Hospitals

Objective: To study the role of a nurses' aide in the care for newborns weighing between 1500 and 2000 g at birth in a low resource setting.
 Study Design: Observational.
 Setting: The General hospital in 1994-95, in a public sector, located in a remote area in India
 Intervention: A female ward assistant with seven years of schooling trained, on-the-job, to keep babies warm, initiate maternal breastfeeding, and to detect rapid breathing. The nursing staff from the pediatric ward supervised her performance. A separate "warm room" appropriately heated for preterm and sick babies became a makeshift nursery. The nursing staff administered enteral feeding, oxygen, and antibiotics. Services of the resident doctors or general duty medical officers were not available.
 Results: The survival rate was nearly 100% for babies with birthweights between 1,500 and 2,000 g (none referred out).
 Conclusions: A nurses' aide may facilitate the delivery of special care for newborns where nursing personnel are grossly inadequate and saving babies weighing between 1,500 and 2,000 g may need minimal inputs. It may be worthwhile to target 1,500 and 2,000 g birthweight categories even when resources are meager.
 What is already known about this subject?
 
 Low resource settings face staff shortages, especially nursing staff.
 Health workers with midwifery skills can deliver nearly 90% of essential care services for maternal and neonatal health.
 A substantial proportion of neonatal deaths occur among moderately low birth weight babies.
 
 What does this study add?
 
 It is possible to train a semi-literate person to facilitate early breastfeeding and to keep a baby warm.
 A large proportion of deaths among babies with birthweight ranging from 1500 to 2000 g are preventable with meager resources.
 
 How might this impact on clinical practice or future developments?
 The facilities facing shortage of nursing staff in low resource settings, may employ nurses’ aide to deliver basic newborn care.

ADMINISTRATIVE LEGAL PERSONALITY OF A MEDICAL WORKER

The article describes the features of the implementation of the administrative legal personality of a medical worker. The methodological basis of the article is the general and special methods of legal science, in particular: the method of dialectical analysis, the method of prognostic modeling, formal-logical, normative-dogmatic, sociological methods. The expediency of understanding the category of administrative tortiousness of a medical worker as a rule of administrative law, which determines the extent of a medical worker's competence (a set of rights and duties), for the implementation of which, in fact, he will bear responsibility. It was determined that the conceptual problem of administrative legal personality (as a legal phenomenon) and related legislative dilemmas is the absence of a positive norm in the legislation that would reveal its content similar to the definition applied to civil legal personality. It is proposed to divide the rights of medical workers into: constitutional rights (respect for honor and dignity, equal rights of every person (equality), the right to freedom and personal integrity, freedom of thought and speech, etc.), general rights of medical workers (the right to proper conditions of professional activity; the right to mandatory insurance at the expense of the owner of the health care facility in case of harm to their life and health in connection with the performance of professional duties; the right to legal protection, etc.) and special rights medical workers (the right to engage in medical activities in accordance with the specialty and qualifications; free choice of approved forms, methods and means of activity, implementation in the established order of modern achievements of medical and pharmaceutical science and practice, etc.). At the same time, a classification of the duties of medical workers according to the scope of medical practice into: general professional duties of medical workers and special duties of medical workers is proposed.

Act of March 11, 2022 on Defense of the Homeland – Basic Principles and Institutions

Act of March 11, 2022. on defense of the Homeland is a classic example of an “executive act” for the constitutional regulation of issues related to state security, including military security. The Homeland Defence Act contains the so far missing specification of the normative solutions contained in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of April 2, 1997. They concern in particular the development of regulations concerning the following constitutional issues: the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, the duty of a Polish citizen to defend the Homeland, the President of the Republic as the supreme commander of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland and the Council of Ministers as the body that ensures the external security of the state and exercises general management in the field of national defense. The main goal of the legislator is to replace the archaic and incompatible with the current needs and tasks of the Polish state and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland regulations contained in the Act of November 21, 1967. on the general duty to defend the Republic of Poland.

Roszczenie współwłaściciela o zwrot wydatków poniesionych w związku z rzeczą wspólną

This study is devoted to the analysis of the legal basis, the premises and the content of mutual claims of co-owners for reimbursement of expenses associated with common property, as it is regulated in Polish law. The author expresses the view according to which in Polish law the above mentioned obligation of co-owner is a special case of the general duty to reverse unjust enrichment, based on Article 405 of the Polish Civil Code. This opinion is opposed to the standard view according to which the obligation to pay compensation for expenses associated with common property is based only on Article 207 of the Civil Code. The view according to which the obligation to pay compensation for expenses associated with common property is a special case of the general duty to reverse unjust enrichment makes it possible to justify widely shared assumption that only expenses beneficial to all co-owners should be compensated for. Such expenses include costs incurred in order to improve the common property as well as costs incurred in order to avoid deterioration or loss of the common property. On the other hand, co-owners are not obliged to reimburse for expenses made only in order to satisfy subjective preferences of one of them. The author also argues that on the basis of the statutory regulations concerning unjust enrichment it is reasonable to differentiate between the content of claim for reimbursement of necessary expenses associated with the common property and the content of claim for compensation of improvements made by co-owner. As far as necessary expenses incurred by one of the co-owners are concerned, the obligation of the rest of the coowners is only monetary. On the other hand, if one of the co-owners incurred costs in order to improve the common property and these improvements are significant the co-owner may claim such improvements “in nature”, which means that the co-ownership is dissolved and the object of the common property is granted to the co-owner who made these improvements. In such a case other co-owners obtain amount of money which equals the value of their shares in the common property estimated without taking into account the value of improvements. However, the author also discusses the special cases when the improvements of the common property cannot be compensated “in nature”. In the final part of the study it is argued that the right to reimbursement for expenses incurred by the co-owner is transferred to a person who acquires share of this co-owner in the common property through contract only when there is explicit agreement to that effect or when the contractual transfer of the share is gratuitous.

Advancement of the Duty to Cooperate in Marine Environmental Protection in the Jurisprudence of ITLOS

Abstract The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea sets forth an unprecedented regime for marine environmental protection that compels parties to cooperate and includes mandatory dispute settlement procedures with binding decisions. Although the Convention does not contain a specific article stipulating a general duty to cooperate, cooperation permeates the logic of the document. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) has recognised the importance of cooperation to marine protection and preservation in several cases. It could be suggested that the States Parties have a positive obligation to cooperate and a need to implement a range of actions to this end. ITLOS has consistently interpreted the duty to cooperate as comprising specific obligations: to consult, to exchange information, to monitor and assess relevant activities, to develop measures to prevent pollution or other environmental harm; which offers both the basis for the implementation of the duty to cooperate and the criteria for determining compliance.

Police Victimization and Insecurity in Mathare North Nairobi City County, Kenya

Police victimization is one of the growing cases in Kenya. There are reported cases of police being subjected to beatings and assault by citizens particularly in the low-income areas in Nairobi. Most of these reported cases have been traced to police actions, perceptions of community towards the police and even inadequate resources that the police use. These in turn affect the security situation. It is upon this backdrop that this study envisaged to scrutinize police victimization and security in Mathare North, Nairobi City County. The specific objectives of the research were; to examine the categories of police victimization and their implications on security in Mathare North, to analyze the causes of police victimization and their implications on security in Mathare North, and to evaluate the state of security in Mathare North and how it could be related to police victimization. The life style theory of victimization was used in the research. An exploratory research design based on primary data method was relied on in the study. In conducting this research, the target population was 321 police officers in Mathare North, Nairobi City County comprising of the 147 General Duty Police, 101 traffic police and 73 Administration Police. A sample size of 97police officers was selected from the target populace of Mathare North, Nairobi City County. Data collection was done through the use of questionnaires while the analysis employing descriptive and content analysis. The test for reliability showed that the variables used were reliable (Cronbach alpha was 0.759). The outcome from the study revealed that killings of the police was the main form of police victimization as shown by mean of 3.9829, followed by intimidation of police with mean of 3.7358 and assaults with mean of 3.6470. Sixty-three (63) respondents duly filled the questionnaires representing 64 percent of the total respondents. The findings revealed that the main causes of police victimization were proliferation of illegal firearms among civilians, lack of adherence to the justice system, corruption in the police, human rights violations and lack of public trust in the police. The findings revealed further that government support was necessary and influenced the relationship between police victimization and insecurity in Mathare North as shown by mean of 3.7437. The respondents agreed at mean of 3.7426 that police victimization negatively affect the security of Mathare North. A correlation test was also done and revealed that police killings, assaults on police and intimidation of police were significantly and positively correlated with insecurity based on their correlation coefficients of 0.476, 0.512 and 0.495 respectively. A regression analysis was also carried out and from the findings; police killings had a significant and positive effect on the insecurity of Mathare North with regression coefficient being 0.899 and p value of 0.006. Assault on the police had a significant and positive effect on insecurity of Mathare North as shown by regression coefficient of 1.020 and p value of 0.001. Intimidation of police had a positive and significant effect on the insecurity of Mathare North with a regression coefficient of 0.894 and p value of 0.004. The study recommends that the government should strengthen collaboration between the National Police Service and civilians in Mathare North to prevent cases of insecurity arising from police victimization. The study further recommends that the government must improve on its support in terms of equipment’s to the police in the area so that they can be able to defend themselves while maintaining the security in Mathare. Future studies should focus on other low-income settlements in Nairobi and major towns in Kenya.

The classification of obligations according to Samuel von Pufendorf’s doctrine

The article is devoted to the delineation of the content of the classification of the category of obligations according to Samuel von Pufendorf’s doctrine. The author emphasizes that the thinker divides human obligations into different types, in particular, distinguishes three groups: God (external and internal worship), self (soul and body) and other people (not to harm others, to treat to another as an equal, to be useful to others as much as possible). In addition, the scientist substantiates in detail the role of a number of other obligations arising from different statuses (states) and types of human activity in society and the state (obligations of husband and wife, parents and children, the implementation of contracts, property, human obligations in light of the use of language, etc.).The article also draws attention to the classification of obligations as a citizen. Thus, Pufendorf divides them into two groups: general and special. General are those obligations that arise from the general duty to subordinate to the civil (state) authority, while special – those that arise from the tasks and functions that the sovereign may assign to certain persons.Appealing to modernity, the significance of this concept is that it allows to strengthen the emphasis on the human obligations (and not on the rights or freedoms), which, subject to its extensive interpretation and further implementation, will build a harmonious relationship between people within state-organized society.

Subsidies, Relocations, and Social Justice

Abstract This article examines Risse and Wollner’s discussion and rejection of several strategies a) in favour of developed countries subsidising their producers, and b) against the relocation of firms operating on their territory. It argues that their critical review of these strategies remains incomplete and therefore not decisive. It starts by bringing into relief two blind spots in their moral assessment of subsidies. The first concerns the imperfect nature of the general duties of global justice they focus on; the second concerns their understanding of the relation between these duties and duties of social justice. While addressing these two difficulties, it presents another possible strategy in support of subsidies, which Risse and Wollner fail to examine: the ‘equal citizenship’ strategy. This strategy is mobilised again in an assessment of Risse and Wollner’s treatment of relocations. In this context, some doubts are raised about the remedy Risse and Wollner prescribe to overcome both social injustices and exploitative relocations ― namely, the domestic redistribution by governments of the gains of international trade. It is argued that such a redistribution is both insufficient to combat social exclusion and threatened by the very practice of trade liberalisation that Risse and Wollner seek to defend.

German Transplants in Estonian Tort Law: General Duties to Maintain Safety

The jurisprudence and case-law approach of German tort law – and, more broadly, German-school legal thinking in general – has found its way into Estonian case law on torts and into Estonia’s scholarly texts on jurisprudence. From among the catalogue of transplants from German tort law that have reached Estonian law or legal practice, the paper focuses on one whose importance cannot be overestimated: the concept of tort liability based on breach of the general duty to maintain safety. This domain has witnessed remarkable change since the beginning of the 2000s, when an analogous concept of liability was still unfamiliar to many Estonian lawyers. The article examines whether and to what extent the concept of liability based on the general duty to maintain safety has become recognised in Estonian legal practice in the years since. Also assessed is the relevant case law to date, for ascertainment of whether any adoption of an equivalent concept of liability has been successful and, in either event, what problems remain to be resolved. The importance of this issue extends far beyond that of individual questions: the recognition of general duties to maintain safety affects our understanding of the very structure of tort law, of that of the general composition of tort, and of the connections that link the individual prerequisites for tort liability. Furthermore, this constellation influences our thought in the field of tort law more generally and our approach to the cases emerging in real-world legal practice.

1352 BMJ Military Health Webinar Series – Continued Professional Development for Medics and General Duties Medical Officers

Abstract Aim The UK DMS delivers military CPD at a local level. Medics are taught at the regimental level and GDMO’s can vary from local teaching, regimental teaching, or no teaching. GDMO’s are GMC mandated to have CPD covering all areas of practice. Due to the nature of the deployable role of both staff groups it is difficult to deliver consistent teaching that can be revisited. We aimed to deliver regular, consistent, high-quality teaching delivered by SMEs on military relevant topics. Method A Plan, Do, Study, Act approach was used with predefined measures such as structure, process and outcome elicited via a participant survey. Virtual teaching via MOD Zoom monthly for each group was arranged. Teaching focused on medic portfolio competencies, the GDMO syllabus. Teaching was delivered by tri-service SMEs, the sessions were recorded and edited and subsequently uploaded to the BMJ Military Health website at no cost. Results 16 webinars, 8 to Medics and 8 to GDMOs have been delivered. Maximum attendance has been 130 tri-service participants including reservists. Feedback from 111 SP been positive with 65% and 28% of participants rating the teaching as excellent or very good respectively. 98% stated the teaching is relevant to their practice, and 89% agreed the teaching will change their practice going forward. Conclusions We have demonstrated that it is possible to deliver sustainable high quality, relevant, and practice changing sessions across all three services. This teaching has had active engagement from the user community and senior SMEs within the DMS for minimal cost.

Making robo-advisers careful? Duties of care in providing automated financial advice to consumers

ABSTRACT 'Robo-advisers' are digital tools that provide automated, personalised advice to consumers. The uses of robo-advisers, and the sophistication of the technologies behind them, are growing. One field in which robo-advisers have already become prominent is financial services, where they are being used to provide credit, budgeting, insurance and investment advice. Professional advisers are subject to a general law duty of reasonable care, which overlaps with requirements of suitability or best interests commonly imposed under financial services legislation. This article considers how these kinds of duties should be interpreted in applying to financial robo-advisers. It argues that the legal duty of reasonable care for automated financial advice requires regard not only to the risks familiar from human advisers, of self-interested or poorly suited recommendations, but also the risks arising from the use of digital technology in providing advice, including the possibility of misunderstandings in interactions with consumers, and arising from inaccurate, opaque and possibly biased models.