Storage of genetic data for criminal justice purposes: interests at stake, European regulations, solutions adopted by Italian lawmakers

• Autor(a) principal: Gabrielli, Chiara
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: ita
• Título da fonte: Revista Brasileira de Direito Processual Penal (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://revista.ibraspp.com.br/RBDPP/article/view/258
• topic: genetic data; genetic forensic database; public security; privacy; interference in private and family life.; Dati genetici; banca dati del dna; sicurezza collettiva; riservatezza; ingerenza nella vita privata e familiare; Dados genéticos; banco de dados de DNA; segurança coletiva; privacidade; ingerência na vida privada e familiar.

For any legal system, having a genetic database for the purposes of criminal justice represents an unavoidable but particularly delicate challenge. Unavoidable, because storing DNA profiles that belong to a given subjective population for computer comparison means providing investigators with resources of undeniable probative value. Particularly delicate, as the choices that determine the acquisition, conservation and consultation of genetically significant data generate the impact of the “biologisation of security” on so-called informational privacy, namely the right of the individual to check information that regards his/her personal sphere, defined by article 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.In Italy, the DNA database has recently become operational, following a laborious legislative procedure. This contribution sets out to analyse the technical and value-related bases for law no. 85 of 2009 and the provisions for its introduction. It also proposes to assess this law’s capacity to ensure an adequate balance between contrasting interests that keep within the parameters of reasonableness and proportionality, as well as being in congruence with the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. It is only on these conditions that the sacrifice required of “genetic privacy” for the pursuit of the aims of criminal justice could be deemed culturally and socially acceptable, as well as juridically legitimate. Indeed, there is no doubt that the collective demand for security has become progressively more insistent, also in view of the growth of terrorism. Just as undeniable, however, is the public’s growing sensitivity towards the various aspects of personal confidentiality, especially regarding a genetic heritage that is now seen as a mark of subjective individuality. No modern law system can thus avoid the task of making technology an ally of privacy, especially in the ambit of criminal justice.