Gaughran v Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (Secretary of State for the Home Department intervening – WLR Daily

Posted May 15th, 2015 in criminal records, DNA, human rights, law reports, Northern Ireland, police by tracey

Gaughran v Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (Secretary of State for the Home Department intervening: [2015] UKSC 29; [2015] WLR (D) 214

‘The policy in Northern Ireland, England and Wales of retaining indefinitely the DNA samples and other information obtained from persons who were arrested and subsequently convicted of an offence was proportionate and justified, and was within the margin of appreciation afforded to member states. A convicted person’s the right to respect for his private life guaranteed by article 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was therefore not infringed when the police refused to give him an assurance that his DNA samples would be destroyed.’

WLR Daily, 13th May 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk