Parliament Expands Use of DNA Testing

The German Parliament, with support of the government coalition and the conservative Union bloc, has passed a law expanding the use of DNA analysis in criminal proceedings. Parliamentarians from the Free Democratic Party voted against the bill sponsored by the Social Democrats and Greens or abstained. The new rules mean that in some cases a judge's consent will no longer be needed to proceed with DNA testing. Up to now, a judge's order was always needed before investigators could examine anonymous samples using DNA analysis.