International and national experience of DNA testing in forensic and criminal practice: comparative-legal analysis

Abstract

Over the past twenty years, DNA analysis has revolutionized forensic science and has become a dominant tool in the activity of law enforcement organs and security services. Today, DNA evidence is key to the conviction or exoneration of suspects of various types of crime. In forensic science, DNA analysis has become the new form of “scientific evidence.”

In this article, on the basis of analysis and generalization of international and national law and the practice of international organizations and government bodies of Ukraine, copyright ways to improve the organizational and legal bases of using DNA analysis capacity in the field of criminology and forensics are proposed—namely, to ensure the identification of the remains of those killed during antiterrorist operations. The basic problems of the identification process are isolated and supplemented. The foreign and international experience in the creation and use of databases of DNA profiles is presented, as well as the issues of human rights in ensuring the protection of personal (genetic) data.

According to the results of the research, it is proposed to make amendments and additions to the Laws of Ukraine “On the National Police” and “On the Security Service of Ukraine” concerning the regulation of the use of DNA profile databases, as well as to provide recommendations on the need to improve biological and forensic types of expertise at the legislative level. Emphasis is placed on the need to create a national database of DNA profiles for its subsequent integration into the relevant European database, in accordance with international standards in this area. The adoption of these measures, according to the authors, will help state authorities of Ukraine properly collect and compare DNA samples from relatives of missing members of the antiterrorist operation, allowing for the long-range identification of the remains of those killed and their transfer to relatives.