From Justice to Surveillance: Challenges of Unregulated Genetic Data in Forensics

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Excerpt: Forensic Genetics – The Crossroads of Justice and Surveillance

Forensic genetics, or DNA profiling, is a potent instrument transforming criminal justice but whose unregulated fast-track adoption threatens serious violations of basic rights. Genetic information is particularly sensitive, as it discloses not just a person’s identity but also their health predispositions and the data of non-consenting relatives.

A lack of a strong legal framework leaves room for four significant risks:

1. Invasion of Autonomy and Privacy: Unregulated collection, storage, and cross-border transfer of DNA information erodes individual autonomy and right to informational privacy.
2. Profiling and Discrimination: Representative forensic databases pose a risk of disproportionate surveillance of certain ethnic minorities, and genetic health information could be exploited by organizations such as insurers or employers.
3. Mass Surveillance: Unrestricted DNA retention of unconvicted persons threatens to establish a “genetic surveillance state,” an essential interest expressed in cases such as the ECHR’s S. and Marper v. UK (2008).
4. Identification Errors: Laboratory error, partial samples, and probabilistic evidence misinterpretation create erroneous false positives and wrongful convictions.

The Indian Supreme Court decision in Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India (2017) establishes that any use of sensitive genetic information by the state has to satisfy the high tests of legality, necessity, and proportionality. For ensuring justice and safeguarding human rights, forensic genetics needs urgent measures such as clear legislation, open regulatory scrutiny, and enforceable informed consent. Absent these restraints, this powerful technology could undermine the very freedoms it aims to secure.