The Committee discussed for the I reading the Draft Law on DNA Database, envisaging the mandatory profiling of the biological samples of the convicts/accused persons for their registration in the DNA database.

At that, the database shall reflect the genetic profiles obtained from natural persons, corpses, crime scenes and other items during the investigation of the criminal case for their registration in the DNA database.

According to the Deputy Interior Minister, Alexander Darakhvelidze, the authority to obtain the biological samples shall be granted to officers of Levan Samkharauli National Forensic Bureau, the Interior Ministry, and the Penitentiary service, and the DNA database management shall be assigned to the National Forensic Bureau.

The Draft envisages that the biological sample shall be immediately destructed upon the creation of a genetic profile. As for the storage terms of the genetic profile, they shall be differentiated according to the categories of the crime committed by a person subject to the mandatory profiling and his/her age. As the reporter added, the Draft becomes effective as of January 1, 2025, and the penitentiary departments will have a transitional term of 2 years to obtain the data on convicts from the database.

“The amendments mostly aim at the creation of a uniform and national DNA database with various purposes, first of all, the timely detection, prevention and investigation of crime, as well as the identification of persons missing”, - he stated.