Title:DNA Data in Criminal Procedure in the European Fundamental Rights Context
VOLUME: 8 ISSUE: 2
Author(s):Helena Soleto
Affiliation:Department of Procedural and Criminal Law. Institute Alonso Martinez. University Carlos III Madrid, Spain.
Keywords:Criminal procedures, DNA data, DNA profiling, DNA sample, European rights, fundamental rights.
Abstract:Despite being one of the most useful and reliable identification tools, DNA profiling in
criminal procedure balances on the border between the limitation and violation of Fundamental Rights
that can occur beginning with the collection of the sample, its analysis, and its use; and ending with its
processing. Throughout this complex process, violation of human or fundamental rights –such as the
right to physical and moral integrity, the right not to be subject to degrading treatment, the right not to
incriminate oneself, the right to family privacy together with that of not incriminating descendants or relatives in general,
the right to personal development and the right to informative self-determination– is possible. This article presents an
analysis of all the above-mentioned DNA treating phases in criminal process in the light of possible violations of some
Fundamental Rights, while at the same time discarding some of them on the basis of European human rights protection
standards. As the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights shows, the legislation on DNA collection and DNA
related data processing or its implementation does not always respect all human rights and should be carefully considered
before its adoption and during its application.
