Landmark DNA ruling hits British law

Europe’s top human rights court ruled yesterday that storing DNA from people with no criminal record is in breach of their rights — a landmark decision that could force Britain to destroy samples of nearly one million people on its database.

Landmark DNA ruling hits British law

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that keeping samples was in violation of people’s right to a private life, a protection under the Human Rights Convention, which Britain is a signatory of.

The ruling is final though Britain has until March to either destroy the DNA samples or make a case on why some samples — such as people who have been repeatedly accused but not charged with sexual offences, assaults or terrorism — should be kept.

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