ECtHR: DNA samples taken in accordance with vague legal provisions breach privacy rights

Today, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) handed down its judgment in Dragan Petrović v. Serbia (application no. 75229/10), a case concerning the applicant’s right to respect for private life (Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, ECHR) and its alleged infringement by a police search of his house and by the taking of a DNA sample during a murder investigation.

The ECtHR found, firstly, that Article 8 ECHR had not been breached by the police having searched the applicant’s apartment. In this regard, the Strasbourg-based Court noted that the search was based on provisions of domestic law and that it served a legitimate aim. Moreover, it found that the search was proportionate, because it was based on a warran