DNA DATABASES AND POSSIBLE VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS: THE STATE OF AFFAIRS IN SERBIA REGARDING EUROPEAN STANDARDS

DNA profiling and the storage of DNA samples and profiles in DNA databases can be widely used for forensic purposes. However, even though DNA profiling enables faster and simpler crime solving or the elimination of suspicion, its application is also associated with significant risks of limiting human rights through the violation of confidentiality of personal data. Hence, a balance should be made between the use of DNA profiling to achieve social interest, on the one side, and the protection of individual rights, on the other. The article is devoted to the analysis of the compliance of the Serbian positive legal framework with European and international standards in the context of DNA profiling for forensic purposes. The goal of the paper is to give certain recommendations of general importance, and especially recommendations regarding possible amendments to Serbian law. Also, standards deriving from the practice of The European Court of Human Rights have been singled out, which boil down to the fact that DNA profiling and data storage should be defined by a precise and sufficiently detailed legal framework that must be based on legitimate goals and must be consistent with the preservation of democratic values in modern society.