| Popis: |
This paper discusses the justification for the use of facial recognition instruments in detecting and identifying the perpetrators of criminal offenses in the European area of criminal justice. Keeping up with different and new techniques of committing crimes and sophisticated tools used by perpetrators to thwart the goal of criminal proceedings, law enforcement authorities in some European countries have developed various facial recognition instruments in order to cope with contemporaneous criminality. At the same time, such modern ways of investigating criminal offenses pose a serious threat to the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms and open up the problem of illegal surveillance, bias, inaccuracy, and discrimination. Therefore, this paper first examines the current legislative framework established at the level of the European Union in order to determine the legal basis for the use of facial recognition instruments in criminal proceedings. Then, some already functional models of facial recognition instruments developed in selected EU Member States are presented with reflection on recent problems in their daily application, and domestic courts’ first decisions are noted. Finally, the European standards established at the EU level through the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights are analysed in order to propose minimum European standards that must be followed in order to provide minimum safeguards that should be followed in applying the facial recognition instruments taking in account that any interference with rights and freedoms of the individual has to pursue a legitimate aim, be in accordance with the law and necessary in a democratic society. |
