Information Note on the Court’s case-law No. 104
January 2008
Manka v. Germany - 23210/04
Decision 4.11.2008 [Section V]
Article 6
Article 6-2
Presumption of innocence
Collection of personal identification data for police records following the discontinuance of criminal investigation: communicated
In September 2003 the authorities discontinued a criminal investigation against the applicant (for burglary) for lack of evidence. Nonetheless, in October 2003 the police ordered the collection of personal identification data on the applicant (photographs, fingerprints and measurements) for their records. Since there was still some evidence that the applicant had aided and abetted the burglary, the authorities justified the collection of the data as being relevant to future investigations and necessary in order to prevent crime. The applicant objected to the order and subsequently brought a court action to have it quashed. His action was dismissed by the competent courts, which stated that it was lawful to collect personal identification data in respect of a person who had not been convicted, but against whom suspicion of the offence in question still remained.
Communicated under Article 6 § 2 and Article 8 of the Convention.
© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights
This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
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