When global science meets local legality: Deliberating and regulating forensic genetics

This presentation considered the tension between the global character of genetic techno-science and its local application in support of the rule of law within particular jurisdictions. It paid particular attention to the way in which technical issues have been separated from ethical and social issues in key policy deliberations and noted the potential negative effects of this division of intellectual labour on contemporary attitudes to forensic genetics. It also criticised the adequacy of current knowledge of the investigative utility of a range of forensic genetic technologies and suggested the establishment of an international ‘observatory’ capable of collating comparative data on the effectiveness of uses of forensic genetics in support of criminal investigations and prosecutions. The provision of such data is necessary to improve the quality of future deliberations of forensic genetics and the design of the regulatory frameworks that will govern their uses.