R (GC) v Comr of Police of the Metropolis

R (GC) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
Court	Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Full case name	R (on the application of GC) v The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, R (on the application of C) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
Argued	31 January, 1 February 2011
Decided	18 May 2011
Neutral citation	[2011] UKSC 21
Case history
Prior history	[2010] EWHC 2225 (Admin)
Holding
Appeal allowed By 5:2, Blanket retention of DNA evidence was unlawful under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 as read in conjunction with the Human Rights Act 1998. No specific remedy was granted, pending Parliamentary review of the legislation.
Case opinions
Majority	Lords Phillips, Judge, Dyson, Kerr & Lady Hale
Dissent	Lords Rodger & Brown
Area of law
DNA evidence, Right to privacy

R (on the application of GC) v The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2011] UKSC 21 was a 2011 judgment of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The case concerned the extent of the police's power to indefinitely retain biometric data associated with individuals who are no longer suspected of a criminal offence.^[1] In the case, a majority of the Supreme Court, including the Court's President Lord Phillips and the Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge reversed an earlier ruling of the High Court of Justice and found that the police force's policy of retaining DNA evidence in the absence of 'exceptional circumstances' was unlawful and a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court declined to offer any specific relief however, recognising that the policy is expected to be subject to legislative scrutiny as Part 1 of the Protection of Freedoms Bill 2011.^[2]