DNA profiles in civil and administrative proceedings
DNA profile analysis is used not only in medicine and criminal prosecution. It is also used in civil and administrative proceedings ‒ and sometimes outside public or official proceedings ‒ predominantly to clarify ancestry or establish a person’s identity.
In such matters as inheritance, civil status or in questions of paternity, written consent by the person whose DNA profile is to be established is necessary. The exception to this rule is in a civil proceeding, where consent can be waived by judicial order.
As in criminal prosecution, only noncoding sequences of the DNA are used in civil or administrative proceedings. This means that, with the exception of a person’s gender, profiling determines neither personal attributes nor the state of a person’s health.
DNA profiling analysis may only be carried out by federally designated laboratories.
Last modification 19.08.2007