Abstract

The present-day criminal law is characterised by a constant increase in the importance of the concept of deterrence. This is a reflection of the social development within a "risk-society". The discovery of DNA analysis is part of this development and at the same time increases its dynamic. For criminal investigation this means, on the one hand, a revolutionary discovery comparable to the discovery of fingerprinting and, on the other, it contains an even greater potential for control. The first aspect can be observed, and is illustrated by examples, in the use of DNA analysis in the process of criminal investigation started on the basis of an initial suspicion. The second aspect can be observed by examining the German plans to collect genetic data in order to aid criminal investigation. The concluding evaluation addresses more than constitutional considerations. In as far as the DNA analysis cannot be divided into a coded and a non-coded part, human dignity is interfered with. The vanishing point of this constitutional threshold is a normative demanding concept of the person, which represents an many faceted intersection of mainly social, moral and legal communication. The procedural content of Art. 1 GG comes to the foreground where there is uncertainty about the content of this intersection. The rule of dignity contained in this article requires that there is control of the intervention and that the person subjected has the right to appeal against the intervention